Will Women Wear A Smart Watch?

There has been a lot of talk about smart watches these days. Apple is rumored to be working on the iWatch and today, Samsung came out and stated that they are working on a smart watch (and have been for a long time apparently…sure). Nonetheless, all this talk got me thinking a bit about the possibility of a woman actually wearing one of these smart watches.

What it really comes down to is the style of the watch itself. Are companies that are developing smart watches going to make two different models of the watch (male and female)? Or are they going to go in the unisex direction? If you ask me, I’d venture a guess that a unisex smart watch is more likely (at least in the first generation) than having both a male and female model.

But is that the right decision?

There is absolutely no denying that Apple is the company that brought sexy back in regards to technology. The iPod and iPhone are stunningly beautiful devices, but everything Apple has done to date has been in the realm of traditional electronics. Now, with the rumored iWatch, they will be venturing into the “fashion accessory” business. It really is a whole other beast, especially for women.

I was speaking with Cassie about this and she told me, “I think that for women, they want something that isn’t so exposed, they want their technology to fade into the background.” And being that she’s one of the most technology oriented women I know, that speaks volumes to me. “An iWatch just seems like a big geeky gadget attached to your wrist that isn’t an accessory but a wearable computer. I don’t think it will resonate with women,” she said.

I think a lot of us are forgetting that a watch is a fashion accessory and in some cases a very personal one at that. There are so many watches available in the marketplace, people try on a bunch just to find one that “fits” them. It can speak volumes about you and your personality. Can that be replicated with a mass produced smart watch regardless of who makes it?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Its been reported that smart watch market is estimated to be worth $60 billion a year, which is about 16 percent of the $358 billion a year smartphone industry. So perhaps, the smart watch business is going to be used a gateway product to lure people into buying other more expensive devices. Even still, it doesn’t seem like it would be a good idea to ignore women’s interests.

What do you think?