As you know by now, yesterday Apple debuted their initial entrance into the increasingly popular wearables and Internet of Things industry with the Apple Watch. With Apple releasing an entirely new product, we decided to take a look at what aspects of the Apple Watch people were discussing most on social media and mainstream online websites leading up to, during and after the launch.

What we found through our global Social Intelligence platform was quite interesting. The design of the Apple Watch was the primary focus of global online conversations, with 40% of users predicting what the device will look like before the launch, and 47.6% of people discussing the design after the launch.

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What really stood out to us was that the phrases that were associated with the conversations included “luxury” and “fashion designers.” Consumers were clearly very impressed with this high-end device from Apple, both technologically and aesthetically. The second largest focus of global online conversations changed before and after the launch.

Leading up to the launch, the potential price of the Apple Watch (33% of online conversations), was what people cared about next. However, on the day of the launch (including during and after its debut), the functionality of the device became the second-most discussed topic (37.4% of online conversations). While functionality was the second-most important aspect of the Apple Watch after the launch, it was the third-most discussed topic before anyone saw what the device could do, with only 27% of conversations speculating on its features.

Once people found out that Apple Watch would cost $350, the price fell to a distant third-place, garnering only 15.1% of the online conversations.

Data after Apple Watch Launch-01 (1)
While it is always interesting to see how these numbers change over time, it is also very intriguing to see how the percentages vary in different geographic regions. For example:

North America Europe Asia & South Pacific Region
Design 44.6% 50.3% 51.3%
Functions 39.3% 35.8% 34.2%
Cost 16.1% 13.9% 14.4%

Synthesio’s software monitors and evaluates online conversations across social media platforms, review sites, forums, blogs and the comment sections of newspapers, in 50 languages and 200 countries.