People don't want to pay more than $200 for a smartwatch

Listen up - smartwatches are too expensive
16913-original
Wareable is reader-powered. If you click through using links on the site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Smartwatch makers and buyers are still agreeing to disagree over how much one should cost. But we're going to call it - it's time to make them cheaper.

In a study by First Insight of 1,500 people in the US this July, 49% of people surveyed said they are "waiting for the prices of existing smartwatches to come down". Not only that but 74% of women and 69% of men said they want to spend either less than $100 or $100 - $200 on watches.

Read this: #Trending - How much should you pay for wearable tech?

Compare that to last week's Apple Watch Series 2 which starts at and the Series 1 which is still - by this study's standards - too expensive at .

That said, the Apple Watch did score highest when compared to an odd bunch of rivals in the form of the Moto 360, LG Urbane LTE and some Garmin smartwatches.

One more nugget: when asked what is most important in a smartwatch, 37% of people asked said features and functionality, 25% price, 18% quality, 12% style and just 8% brand. That doesn't exactly correlate with smartwatch sales so far where Apple has dominated its Android Wear and other rivals.

If you're looking for a smartwatch you can actually afford, check out our roundup of the best budget smartwatches including devices from Pebble, Sony and Asus.

People don't want to pay more than $200 for a smartwatch




How we test



By

Sophie was Wareable's associate editor. She joined the team from Stuff magazine where she was an in-house reviewer. For three and a half years, she tested every smartphone, tablet, and robot vacuum that mattered. 

A fan of thoughtful design, innovative apps, and that Spike Jonze film, she is currently wondering how many fitness tracker reviews it will take to get her fit. Current bet: 19.

Sophie has also written for a host of sites, including Metro, the Evening Standard, the Times, the Telegraph, Little White Lies, the Press Association and the Debrief.

She now works for Wired.


Related stories