Smartphone users, regardless of their mobile preference, consider Apple the 'coolest brand' for wearable technology.
This is according to Juniper Research's recent survey which notes Apple was followed by other technology brands - Samsung, Google, LG and Sony.
The, Juniper Research Consumer Wearables Market Survey asked over 2 000 smartphone users (1 003 in the UK, 1 028 in the US) aged 14 and over about their use of and attitudes towards wearable technology.
Apple's first major wearable device, the smart watch was launched in April. By July, it was reported Apple had sold between two million and 2.5 million Apple Watches, which brought in approximately $1 billion revenue to the company. The Apple Watch was debuted in SA in October.
The study says the smartwatch market is moving towards a duopoly of Apple-Samsung - over 75% of respondents preferring either Apple or Samsung.
Despite the prevailing opinion that wearable devices need to be more fashion-oriented, it was apparent that non-technology brands were not popular - with no fashion or sports brand supported by more than 3% of respondents.
The survey also says even with tech-savvy buyers, the value proposition for wearable devices still remains unclear for many, adding the lack of a convincing use-case as being one of the main barriers.
Conversely, fitness wearables have a very clear use-case, and consequently have become the most popular wearables category, says Juniper.
James Moar, research analyst at Juniper Research, says as well as a more definite use, fitness devices also win on value.
They are the least costly wearables in the market, and the only category consistently under $175, which Juniper's survey identifies as the price ceiling for most consumers, adds Moar.
Apple is quite clearly the coolest wearable brand in SA, but this market is relatively resistant to coolness for its own sake, especially if it comes at a high price, says World Wide Worx MD, Arthur Goldstuck.
He points out in SA, there is a massive uptake of fitness bands, in particular from Fitbit - Apple Watch will have a much lower uptake due to price, but the market may just surprise us.
"On the back of a deeply-ingrained emphasis on cutting-edge design in tandem with cutting-edge technology, Apple has succeeded in creating an aura of what I call 'wantability' around its products."
This means that the popularity of their products is not based on what people need, but on what they are convinced they really want, he adds.
There are two key factors in the purchase of wearable devices - cost and utility, says Goldstuck. He believes the two go hand in hand - an expensive device with little utility will make little headway, while a cheap device with high utility can transform the market.
"Low utility in a low-cost item mean sales are dependent almost entirely on the effectiveness of marketing.
"Fitbit is a good example of high utility at a reasonable price, although not cheap - Apple Watch is high utility at a high price, so affordability will become the key criterion."
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