Are there any limitation on the current cellular infrastructure about making smartwatches truly standalone products? Or is it just financial reasons on the part of Apple and the carriers to make them add-ons on the phone. I would love nothing more than to have an Apple Watch as my phone with a Cellular iPad or Mac with an Apple Watch app for maintenance. I am trying to combat phone addiction and I love that I can go without my phone on cellular I just hate that I need an iPhone for setting it up. My dream setup would be an Apple Watch and a 5G MacBook and that is it.
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I doubt there’s any technical reason why an Apple Watch couldn’t be set up with a Mac or iPad. It probably hasn’t happened because Apple sees it as an iPhone accessory, and doesn’t want to give people a reason not to buy an iPhone.
To me, the biggest disadvantage to using a watch as your only phone would be having to either take all calls on speakerphone or always wear earbuds. I find texting cumbersome on a watch, too, given the tiny keyboard and frequent text-to-speech typos that are hard to correct on a watch screen.
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You should be able to do what you want by just leaving your phone at home. If you have the cellular version it will work without your phone nearby. Since you probably already have an iPhone it won’t cost you anything to try it. Just leave the phone connected to a charger, maybe in a drawer or out of sight, and try using only your watch for a few days, and if it works for what you want you’ll save money on phone upgrades.
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Would a cellular Apple Watch have enough power to get you through the day? Would it help if your phone only contained Apple’s built-in apps?
Apple has designed just about all the devices they sell to work with an iPhone and/or a Mac. I think @Ben_Wah may have the only solution possible with current Apple technology
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The source of frustration right now is that I work in a public school and the cell signal is awful for watches. Hence why I would want a 5G Mac or iPad to tether it to.
The thinking is a watch as my Every Day Carry and an iPad or Mac for when I “need” apps. I am willing to forego a camera in my pocket. I do forego the phone some its just where I work the watch cell signal is hot garbage.
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Since 5G Macs don’t exist, does the school have a WiFi network you can use?
If so, can your existing watch connected to WiFi do everything you need if you leave your iPhone at home?
If you don’t have WiFi at the school, it looks like an iPhone that you leave at home, and a 5G iPad, mobile hotspot, or feature phone/hotspot would be your only options at this time.
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Yeah, the school WiFi is not friendly to watch only connections (no. way to open the login page.)
My question would next be if I left the phone at home and had a 5G iPad could it receive phone calls even if I’m in spots of low watch service? When it comes to Carrier provided phone calls and text messages I know the cross platform use can be spotty. (FaceTime and iMessage are generally flawless).
If only my school wasn’t made of industrial concrete.
The other alternative will be a 5G iPad and then a minimalist phone like light phone once my watch and phone give up the ghost. Im waiting to see what RCS is like on the Light Phone before I switch out of the Apple ecosystem.
Yes, cellular smartwatch connectivity isn’t nearly as reliable and the battery can’t handle a phone’s level of cellular activity. There are UX issues setting up without a paired device. Certifying a watch for cellular is harder than a phone. The trend in wireless protocol is towards higher transmission speeds over shorter distances/shorter wavelength which is harder for watches.
Business-wise, it’s not in the carrier’s interest to push devices that would hardly be used, and would be sold individually in low volumes. And of course the smartwatch makers would rather have them be an accessory to a phone.
A breakthrough in miniaturized cellular radios combined with short-range beaming of high-def video from a watch to AR glasses might get carriers’ interest, maybe…
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The following seems to say the iPhone and iPad would have to be on the same Wi-Fi network for this to work. But I might be mistaken.
If you take the phone in once and add it to the WiFi, the watch should automatically pair to the same WiFi network.
In fact, thinking about it, this should work with iPad or Mac as the WiFi networks are shared via iCloud.
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This was the details I was looking for. The technical aspects why they haven’t made the leap.
So it would require Apple basically making iPads truly giant iPhones (Their own cell numbers, phone app etc…) before what I wanted to come to pass.
So next go around looks like a Light Phone and a Cellular iPad and ditch the Watch. My Watch still has like 2-3 good years left in it. I got the watch to go minimal but the school job kind of threw those plans awry.
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My 6 series did with no problem on cellular all day.
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We got my wife the Apple Watch with cellular because she mostly doesn’t carry her iPhone around with her. It doesn’t make a great, no not even just good, phone. However it is better than nothing and suffices as an emergency device.
I alway carry my iPhone so my Apple Watch doesn’t have cellular. It can be used as a phone as long as the iPhone is within Bluetooth range. I’m not sure that I ever used its phone ability.
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I answered a call once on my Apple Watch, by accident. I’ve never done that again.
I have a cellular Series 9 and I answer calls on it quite frequently
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The ideal is to have AirPods or other bluetooths to answer calls then its fine.
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It is possible to set up a watch without a phone on the same Apple ID using Apple Watch For Your Kids (previously called Family Setup). However, it requires a phone from another family member to do it. And that family member’s phone will always be required to manage the watch. Its intended purpose is to provide a child (who is perhaps too young for their own phone) with a watch (set up from the parent’s phone). However, it is not restricted to children, so one could theoretically set one up from their spouse’s phone (or some other family member).
You can setup cellular for your watch.
7. Set up cellular and Wi-Fi
If your iPhone cellular provider supports Apple Watch For Your Kids, you can add the watch to your plan during this step.
If your carrier doesn’t support Apple Watch For Your Kids, or you’d like to use a different carrier, select Not Now.* You can choose an alternative carrier from this list of supported carriers and contact them directly to set up your cellular plan.
Next, choose whether to share your current Wi-Fi network with the Apple Watch.
* Some corporate cellular plans don’t support Apple Watch For Your Kids.
However, there are a bunch of things that do not work:
The following features and apps are not available: Medications, respiratory rate, irregular heart rhythm notifications, ECG, AFib History, Cycle Tracking, Sleep, Wrist Temperature, Blood Oxygen, Walking Steadiness, Audiobooks, Remote, News, Shortcuts, and the double tap gesture.
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I agree, but usually when I answer a call on my watch it’s when I’m not expecting it and I just use the speakerphone, which works quite well, despite the watch’s tiny speaker. If it starts to turn into a conversation, I usually ask if I can call them right back and put in my earbuds or use my phone.
The other example given for setting up a standalone watch was for an elderly relative which didn’t have an iPhone, but could benefit from the fall detection.