Newsletter 
A smartwatch, even more than a smartphone, is a highly personal item, and just about everybody will have a different opinion about each one, let alone the one they wear on a daily basis. While some decry the Apple Watch for a number of reasons, J.D. Power’s recent consumer survey places Cupertino’s wearable at the top of the smartwatch heap, terming the competition, “The Rest”. People are immensely satisfied with their Apple Watch units. Though Samsung scores only 10 points out of 1,000 lower, they are grouped into “the rest” thanks to the Apple Watch’s high number pushing the average up. The rankings were from a survey of 2,949 fitness band owners, and 2,696 smartwatch owners, all of whom bought the devices they were being asked about within the past 12 months.
On a 1,000 point percentile based on factors like comfort, satisfaction with display size, and customization, the Apple Watch pulled ahead of the pack and scored a strong 852 points. This brought the average up to 847, relegating all of Apple’s competitors to “the rest”, despite relatively small point differences with some of them. Samsung, for example, scored 842, only 5 points below the average. Sony was a very close third, coming in at 840. Fitbit was one point behind that at 839, and LG had a large gap from its nearest competitor, coming in at 827. J.D. Power noted that the rankings were influenced the most by ease of use, then by comfort, then other factors like price, durability, and other features. Consumers’ biggest issues were generally battery related, and could impact their scores by up to 21 points.
The ranking for fitness trackers went a bit differently, with Samsung taking the crown by a wide margin and sitting pretty at 859. The nearest competitor was Garmin, with 836 points in total. With the average set at 829, everybody but those two fell into “the rest”. LG scored 827 points, Fitbit was one point behind with 826, and Jawbone got 814 points. Ease of use, price and brand recognition factored highly into the rankings. As for how consumers approached buying fitness bands, most used information from online shopping sites, while slightly fewer consumers went off recommendations from family and friends.
