10 Percent of Consumers Really Want a Smartwatch

About 10 percent of people polled recently by UBS are "very likely" to purchase a smartwatch in the next year, with the strongest demand coming from China.

Of the 4,000 people questioned by UBS, 10 percent are very likely and 17 percent are somewhat likely to buy a connected watch in the next year. At the moment, buyers are most interested in the Samsung Gear (though the survey did not specify which Gear smartwatch), followed by the Apple Watch. UBS, however, believes this will change in Apple's favor once the Apple Watch is actually released in early 2015.

Another smartwatch on people's radar is the Sony SmartWatch, though only 6 percent expressed an interest in buying. The Motorola Moto 360 ($179.97 at Amazon), Garmin Forerunner, and LG G Watch were all at 2 percent.

UBS broke out its data by region - U.S., U.K., China, and Italy - and found that demand for smartwatches is particularly strong in China. There, 17 percent are very likely and 34 percent are somewhat likely to buy a smartwatch in the next year. (For more on that, see The Apple Watch: Designed for China.) In the U.S., 12 percent are very likely and 11 percent are somewhat likely to purchase.

UBS stressed that intention does not always translate into purchases. At the moment, the firm predicts Apple Watch sales of 24 million (about 10 percent of iPhone users) in the second quarter, though that could be high if it does not come out until later in the year, UBS said.

Half of Samsung and Apple smartphone owners said they would stick with the brand if buying a smartwatch. UBS said that's rather low for iPhone given its high phone retention rate, though again, Apple Watch is not out yet. Nokia and BlackBerry users prefer Samsung over Apple, while Sony and Motorola phone owners want the Apple Watch more than a Samsung Gear device.

About two-thirds of those who said they will probably get a smartwatch said the device will be in addition to rather than in place of a traditional watch, which is good news for smartwatch makers since 70 percent of respondents already own a watch. UBS suggested that people might be most interested in Apple Watch Sport in order to track their activity.

For more, see PCMag's roundup of The 5 Best Smartwatches, as well as our Hands On With the Apple Watch, slideshow above and video below.