Analysis of the latest Adobe Digital Index (ADI) shows the popularity of the large-screen iPhone 6 Plus will fuel the demand for the Apple Watch, which has a screen at the exact opposite end of the size spectrum.
The latest survey shows 27 percent of people who had a smartphone or a tablet but did not have a smartwatch are interested in buying a smartwatch within the next six months. Two-thirds of those people said they are thinking of buying the Apple Watch specifically.
"We think that Apple Watch might take off a little bit more than one would think," says Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst at ADI. "There are some use cases for it that are kind of helpful, and one of them is that with the larger-screen smartphone, it's actually less convenient to pull it out all the time."
While it is much less convenient to constantly pull out a 5.7-inch iPhone 6 Plus to do things such as check the time, look at text messages, open emails, get social media notifications, or make short Facebook posts, Gaffney said it is much easier to do all these things on the Apple Watch, which is always available on the user's wrist.
"So the fact is that as the smartphone screen size gets bigger, then there's an alternative use case for this wearable-that if it's synchronized together with the smartphone, it makes for a good compatible couple of devices," Gaffney adds.
The ADI comes just a day before Apple's Spring Forward event, where it is expected to unveil the details of the Apple Watch before it gets shipped to market in April. Apple is expected to market the smartwatch as more than simply just another technology device but as a fashion statement, and a high-end luxury one at that.
One can surmise from Apple's inclusion of various designs and models, ranging from the low-end aluminum-and-plastic Apple Watch Sport to the mid-tier leather or stainless steel Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Edition in 18-karat rose or yellow gold, that the iPhone maker is out to meet the consumer's "expectation of choice" in a product that is worn and becomes part of one's outside appearance.
To sell the Apple Watch to fashion customers, Apple senior vice president of design Jony Ive flew via private jet to Paris on Fashion Week to showcase the smartwatch to the fashion industry's biggest names, followed by a 12-page spread inside the March edition of Vogue. Apple could also be "tweaking the experience in the store" for customers buying the Apple Watch to differentiate it as a luxury timepiece along the lines of Omega and Rolex, perhaps doing things such as installing mirrors, adding carpets, and adjusting the lighting to mimic the experience of purchasing something at an upscale fashion house.
The Apple Watch is Apple's first product since it introduced the iPad in 2011 and since its founder Steve Jobs passed away, which is why, as some analysts say, Apple is being careful about how it markets the item to its customers. Reuters cites some people who have direct knowledge of the matter that Best Buy, one of Apple's biggest partners, will not be selling the Apple Watch. The mobile carriers are not sharing their plans, but fashion retailers Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, and Barney's say they have will not sell the smartwatch.
"Apple is being cautious," says Van Baker, research vice president at Gartner. "There are too many unknowns around how this product will perform."
However, New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway says the Apple Watch already shares many characteristics with other luxury items, such as the high prices-the low-end model will cost $349-and the idea wearing an Apple Watch will immediately make one more attractive to other people.
