( CNN ) -- Apple , as the reports go , is working on a `` smart watch , '' although the secretive company wo n't say anything about it , of course . So , after months of speculation , what does its chief rival in the mobile world do ? Announce that it definitely is working on a smart watch . Lee Young Hee , executive vice president of Samsung 's mobile business , said as much during an interview in South Korea , where the company is based . And he said it 's not a knee-jerk reaction to Apple 's rumored plans . `` We 've been preparing the watch product for so long , '' Lee told Bloomberg . `` We are working very hard to get ready for it . We are preparing products for the future , and the watch is definitely one of them . '' He did not give any details on when the watch may be released , what features it will have or how much it will cost . With its Galaxy S line of smartphones , Samsung has become the first competitor to provide a real challenge to the dominant iPhone . While Apple 's iconic phone remains the single-most popular mobile device -- the release of the iPhone 5 led to a record sales quarter and was the most popular of the 75 million devices running Apple 's iOS system that were sold in those three months -- Samsung moved into a solid second place with its Galaxy S III . The S III outsold the iPhone 4S during the third quarter of last year before the iPhone 5 's release , and the company announced last week that the Galaxy S4 is on its way . Now the companies seem poised to go head-to-head again in what appears to be an emerging market -- wearable tech . Nike 's fitness-oriented FuelBand has led the charge . But few new products have captured the imagination of the tech-minded such as Google Glass , an eyewear-like headset that offers augmented-reality images as well as basic smartphone-like features . The device is due later this year and has started popping up on the faces of field testers . Then there is Pebble , the smartwatch that raked in about $ 8 million on Kickstarter and has begun shipping to backers . But will there be a market for these devices outside of early-adopter technophiles and loyalists who will scoop up any new product their favorite company creates ? Early signs say the public might need a little more information first . According to an unscientific survey of users by mobile deals site BuyVia , 26 % of respondents said they were interested in buying a rumored iWatch , 38 % said they were not interested and more than a third , 36 % , said they were n't sure . ( The survey was conducted before Samsung confirmed it 's in the game as well . ) The top five features respondents said they 'd like to see in a watch were e-mail and texting , phone calls , GPS , Wi-Fi and weather updates . `` While consumers are seemingly divided about their desire to own the rumored Apple iWatch , it 's fascinating that the most desired features for the watch mirror popular iPhone capabilities , '' said BuyVia CEO Norman Fong . `` It 's as though consumers are only interested in a watch that offers everything the smartphone does , only in a more convenient 'package . ' What they seem to crave is a way to more easily access iPhone features everywhere they go . ''
Samsung says it plans to make a `` smart watch '' Company executive says watch has been in development a long time , report says . News comes amid reports Apple also plans to make a watch . If true , rivals would face off in growing wearable-tech market .