Tech

Apple Watch is the best smartwatch, but not by much

J.D. Power's Smartwatch Device Satisfaction report concludes that the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch, but competitors are snapping at its heels.

Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor July 13, 2016 at 4:12 a.m. PT

What's the best smartwatch? According to J.D. Power's 2016 Smartwatch Device Satisfaction report, the best smartwatch is the Apple Watch. But competitors are snapping at its heels.

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The report measures overall satisfaction among smartwatch and fitness device customers who purchased a device within the past 12 months. It measures satisfaction across 11 factors.

For smartwatches those factors -- in order of importance -- are:

Ease of use, comfort, battery life, phone features, price, strength/durability, display size, styling/appearance, reliability, apps available, and customer service.

For fitness devices those factors -- again, in order of importance -- are:

Reliability, strength/durability, ease of use, battery life, price, variety of features, comfort, styling and appearance, display size, apps available, and customer service.

Overall satisfaction is then calculated as a score out of 1,000.

After crunching the responses from 2,696 smartwatch owners, the Apple Watch came out on top, with a score of 852. According to the report, the Apple Watch performed well in comfort, styling/appearance, and ease of use.

But close on Apple's heels is Samsung, which comes in second in the survey with a score of 842. Samsung's strong points include customer service, display size, and phone features.

When it comes to fitness bands, Samsung and Garmin are top of the list, with scores of 859 and 836 respectively.