Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. Adults Plan to Buy Wearable Tech

Wearable technology is on the verge of breaking through to the mainstream in the United States. According to a new study released by Ipsos, 8 in 10 American adults have at least heard of wearable devices, while more than 4 in 10 are very familar or even own a wearable gadget.

In terms of purchase intention, wearables are still far behind smartphones, tablets and laptops, but on par or ahead of mainstream devices such as video game consoles, eReaders and streaming devices. Almost 1 in 5 U.S. adults surveyed by Ipsos stated their intent to purchase a wearable device in the next 12 months.

Even though the iWatch hasn't even hit the stores yet, Apple is already the most popular brand in the wearable category. 62% of the respondents said they would consider buying wearable tech made by Apple, while less than half would consider devices made by Google or Samsung.