One fifth of U.S. consumers want an Apple iWatch, sight unseen

A 1,713-strong survey of North American consumers says that 19 percent of us want a shiny new iDevice that doesn’t even exist yet. Or, at least, isn’t public and isn’t purchasable.

Yep, that’s the Apple iWatch.

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The iWatch, which has been rumored for months but never confirmed by Apple, is potentially a roll-up flexible display wrist device that connects to your phone to relay alerts, function as a remote, and potentially much more. Rumors about the new device were conveniently leaked to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg within the space of a few days in February, possibly because Samsung is also building a similar device.

ChangeWave’s recent telecom report shows that, sight unseen, one in five consumers want an iWatch, mostly because of Apple’s track record of “delivering ultra-convenient, easy-to-use, innovative products with a perceived ‘cool factor.'”

I guess that’s what brand will do for you.

One in five may not sound like many, but if one were foolish enough to believe that prerelease product surveys accurately predict product demand, it would mean that 63 million Americans would buy one. Or at least be tempted to.

Don’t hold your breath.

Image credit: iWatch mockup by VeneStudio; Hat tip: Cult of Mac