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btrach144

macrumors demi-god
Aug 28, 2015
2,858
6,964
Indiana
If Apple requires a cellular subscription, I'm going back to Fitbit. I don't need my AT&T bill to go up anymore.
 

deviant

macrumors 65816
Oct 27, 2007
1,187
275
You miss the point that a watch is still a stylized device, if by nothing else than the fact that it sits on your wrist and is visible to people at all times. A phone is not like that - while people will always like to use something that is aesthetically pleasing, they will not require it. I mean just look at the iPhone 6 and 6S - people still use that even though it looks like crap :p


My point, a watch is a stylized device sitting on your wrist 95% of the time, and a device you interact with 5% of the time. Your phone is in your pocket xx% amount of the time, and being used xx% of the time. Different dynamic.
that's.. like, just your opinion. i see iPhones 6 6plus everywhere, everyday, and people LOVE it. in fact they love it SO MUCH they don't use a cover with it cause it looks too generic, even though the user experience is not that good without a good cover (at least for me, it slips too much).
i'm not a super fan of the 6 design, i like the 5s more, but people around me (and around you) LOVE it. i know this is the situation like "millions of flies eat excrements, so they can't be wrong, can they", but if people love it, it means the phone is at least ok.
 

rp2011

macrumors 68020
Oct 12, 2010
2,319
2,626
The Watch sold well and whatever problems it may have, it was a good idea to get it out there and have a public beta to work out the kinks. I do not think this type of category could have had all of the kinks worked out in a bubble inside Apple. It needed to be out there in the wild and have people nit-pick it. I have no doubt that this form factor will find it's stride. And having crowd sourced feedback from paying customers was a great idea.

I look forward to buying version two and thank everyone for beta testing it for me. I think everyone knew how this would work out as many folks here predicted this exact scenario. Version one buyers went in with eyes wide open. Anyone "shocked" that version one was a little rough around the edges was also shocked that there was gambling going on at Rick's Cafe.
 

Vanilla35

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2013
3,344
1,453
Washington D.C.
that's.. like, just your opinion. i see iPhones 6 6plus everywhere, everyday, and people LOVE it. in fact they love it SO MUCH they don't use a cover with it cause it looks too generic, even though the user experience is not that good without a good cover (at least for me, it slips too much).
i'm not a super fan of the 6 design, i like the 5s more, but people around me (and around you) LOVE it. i know this is the situation like "millions of flies eat excrements, so they can't be wrong, can they", but if people love it, it means the phone is at least ok.

None of that means has any objective value either. I would argue that more people have/had cases on the 5S because it was a smaller device that could handle it without getting much bigger. With the 6/6S I bet that they would put a case on it, but it makes the device too bulky. That is certainty true of at least some of the Plus owners. I agree there is no real way to measure how much they like the design though. I am definitely biased, so I can't say anything is right or wrong.
 

rjbruce

macrumors regular
Jan 7, 2011
171
24
St. Louis, MO
If Apple requires a cellular subscription, I'm going back to Fitbit. I don't need my AT&T bill to go up anymore.
Based on AT&T's site, it shouldn't cost more. I definitely want this.

How much does NumberSync cost? Does it count against my wireless minutes?
There’s no additional cost beyond that of the wireless rate plans for your wearable device and smartphone. Note that data rates, rather than messaging rates, apply when you use NumberSync to send and receive text messages.

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/features/numbersync.html

EDIT: Just re-read that "...wireless rate plans for your wearable device..." so looks like another $10 on a shared plan.
 
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jlo1158

macrumors member
Sep 5, 2014
93
31
West County
Based on AT&T's site, it shouldn't cost more. I definitely want this.

How much does NumberSync cost? Does it count against my wireless minutes?
There’s no additional cost beyond that of the wireless rate plans for your wearable device and smartphone. Note that data rates, rather than messaging rates, apply when you use NumberSync to send and receive text messages.

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/features/numbersync.html

I'm pay $10 a month for my S2 with cellular. I need to check, but there's probably taxes and fees also. I have Directv so I get unlimited data on my devices also.
 

rjbruce

macrumors regular
Jan 7, 2011
171
24
St. Louis, MO
I'm pay $10 a month for my S2 with cellular. I need to check, but there's probably taxes and fees also. I have Directv so I get unlimited data on my devices also.
Yep, you're right. Was just editing my post. I would think it will be like the iPad with a sync version and a cellular.
 

csglinux

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
31
47
LA
I'm hoping this rumor's true. I love the stand-alone connectivity of my Gear S2. If Apple comes up with a killer Apple Watch V.2 with stand-alone cellular/data/GPS, I might one day be tempted to part with my S7 Edge and Gear S2.

BTW, I'm reading several comments here from folks that don't seem to understand that 1) stand-alone cellular watches do exist and 2) their battery life is quite good. I finish a regular day connected via bluetooth with about 75% charge left on my S2; on a day when I'm remotely connected via cellular (my phone left at home), I'll finish the day with around 70% charge. The Gear S2 pretty much nails it all, except for one feature - I'd like an always-on display (technically it does do that, but the "ambient mode" display is crippled for all watchfaces and it's a bit of a battery drain). However, there's no signs the Apple watch V.2 is going to have an always-on display either. That's one thing Pebble got right, IMHO. A watch needs to show you the time, all the time.
 

jlo1158

macrumors member
Sep 5, 2014
93
31
West County
I'm hoping this rumor's true. I love the stand-alone connectivity of my Gear S2. If Apple comes up with a killer Apple Watch V.2 with stand-alone cellular/data/GPS, I might one day be tempted to part with my S7 Edge and Gear S2.

BTW, I'm reading several comments here from folks that don't seem to understand that 1) stand-alone cellular watches do exist and 2) their battery life is quite good. I finish a regular day connected via bluetooth with about 75% charge left on my S2; on a day when I'm remotely connected via cellular (my phone left at home), I'll finish the day with around 70% charge. The Gear S2 pretty much nails it all, except for one feature - I'd like an always-on display (technically it does do that, but the "ambient mode" display is crippled for all watchfaces and it's a bit of a battery drain). However, there's no signs the Apple watch V.2 is going to have an always-on display either. That's one thing Pebble got right, IMHO. A watch needs to show you the time, all the time.

Finally, a well thought out and to the point response. I haven't tried always-on display though. I very seldom have an issue with raising my arm to see the display. At work I still wear my old Timex Ironman. There's no way i'm going to take my S2 on a construction site.
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Yep, you're right. Was just editing my post. I would think it will be like the iPad with a sync version and a cellular.

I don't know about other carriers, but with AT&T I use number sync. The watch does have its own number, but it rings when my phone rings also. When I call it uses its own number.
 

Boatboy24

macrumors 65816
Nov 4, 2011
1,092
1,224
1 Infinite Loop
This baffles me. Why would you want the Apple Watch to have its own cellular connection? You really have an interest in calling folks from your watch? You want yet another device added to your mobile bill? Really don't get it.


GPS I can understand.

Waterproof I can understand.

Longer battery life I can understand.

GPS and better waterproofing and I'll almost certainly upgrade to a SS model. As it is now, my watch is charging every night on my nightstand (it has replaced my alarm clock). I have plenty of battery to last me all day now. Maybe with GPS, I might not, but I'm usually still at 40+% when I go to bed.

Edit: very recently got a GoPro and today learned that the watch will act as shutter release and video start/stop using the GoPro app. Nice!
 
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douglasf13

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2010
1,773
1,077
Maybe they could include a battery that lasts longer than 1.5 days ...

Bought a Pebble a couple of weeks ago. It does 90% of what the Apple Watch does, costs a fraction and has a battery that lasts a week. And they don't exclude devs from accessing all the features.

I eventually ended up charging my Pebble every night, anyways, because it's harder to keep track of a week long charge cycle. I notice no functional difference in battery life with my Apple Watch.
 
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kyleh22

macrumors 6502a
Apr 26, 2012
629
783
Baltimore, MD
Do you, on average, last longer than 1.5 days without sleeping?

If not, the current battery life is perfectly adequate for your needs.

I regularly go backpacking over the weekend. It would be great to have a watch that would last 3 nights on my wrist without charging.
 

Dr.Chroma

Suspended
Apr 11, 2016
250
276
The heavy dependence on the iPhone makes me think the Watch really wasn't ready for the real world when it came out :/

Maybe not. But then again this was a first Gen product. How do you know Apple didn't put restrictions on the Apple Watch on purpose? I'm sure their engineers realized this and saw potential profit for version 2. After all, Even Apple did not know what to expect with Gen 1.
 
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J InTech82

macrumors 6502
Aug 10, 2013
375
353
I'm not going to give AT&T another $10 a month or more to connect a useless Apple Watch. If Apple can't sell more watches after the 2nd version is released, I think they should just drop this product category--it's meh.
Speaking for yourself.

Myself incluced, I see many AppleWatches in the wild and I for one love mine. I love getting notifications on my watch so I don't have to pull out my phone. I work in a job environment where I am rarely able to pull out my phone every time I get a text or notification so being able to glance down for a few seconds is much more forgiving. I also find if I am sitting for to long and maybe not wearing the watch I find myself saying "I should stand up and stretch" where as before the Apple lWatch I would never think of that.
 
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Dr.Chroma

Suspended
Apr 11, 2016
250
276
*All* the features? Like replying to messages?

I've owned 3 Pebbles and developed apps for them for 2 years before switching to the Apple Watch and let me tell you: The current Apple Watch, in its laughable state, is light years ahead of any Pebble.


Pebble is also crumbling due to monetary finda for research and development. Rumor was Pebble is working more on a 'Health' Based Warch, which is lacking from all their smart watches. They have zero fitness capabilities and users WANT this as an option, even if they so choose to not use this as an option. It's only a matter of time before Pebble collapses.
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Faster and Thinner for me. I would never pay to add cellular to the watch. If I am out, doing something with out the phone, and miss a call, I really don't care. I lived for 40 years with just a land line on the kitchen wall.
To me, make the battery smaller, and the watch thinner. I get 2 days from the watch now, and only need 1 day. Every night it goes on the nightstand on charge to act as an alarm clock anyway.

Agreed. I may be one of the few who will not utilize the GPS features. I understand why Apple will eventually introduce this feature. I typically have my iPhone with in range as is.
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First Apple needs to fix how ugly this thing is.

Second, we need someone who has more an educated breakdown of your highly intelligent response to "Apple needs to fix how ugly this thing is."
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If the watch gets thinner I am not very interested. I like if a watch casts a shadow. Like my g-shock.

I also appreciate the thickness and heft my Stainless Steel model. When Inspwnd $600.00 plus on a Smart a watch, I want it to be noticed and stand out. I love the way my Watch looks and I receive lots of compliments.
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It's all a taste of preference, and to me, the Moto 360 looks far better than the Apple Watch. Not that the Apple Watch is ugly, because I really do like the design, but you have to admit the 360 does look good. View attachment 628573 View attachment 628574


I agree the Moto 360 looks good. You mentioned earlier your Moto 360 receives More compliments than your Apple Watch. I think it's also fair to say a round watch is much more of a common watch versus the rectangular display. And the 360 Watch has a much larger Watch gave than the Apple Watch, which will also draw more attention.
[doublepost=1461644953][/doublepost]
Apple is behind on smart watch. They better think outside of box quick before I switch to LG Watch Urbane 2.

Have a nice trip and let us all know how you like your Urbane 2. We are eager to know!
 

Dr.Chroma

Suspended
Apr 11, 2016
250
276
Speaking for yourself.

Myself incluced, I see many AppleWatches in the wild and I for one love mine. I love getting notifications on my watch so I don't have to pull out my phone. I work in a job environment where I am rarely able to pull out my phone every time I get a text or notification so being able to glance down for a few seconds is much more forgiving. I also find if I am sitting for to long and maybe not wearing the watch I find myself saying "I should stand up and stretch" where as before the Apple lWatch I would never think of that.

This^ The Apple Watch will serve everyone differently. I love how seamless my texts and E-Mails are on the Watch. It has been a great experience for me. I too cannot always pull my iPhone out and the Watch mediates this for me. Your mileage may vary for the Apple Watch. I personally do not utilize all the fitness capabilities, but
My Qatch serves as a great middle man between my iPhone, and for me, this is was worth EVERY penny. I am looking forward to Apple Watch 2.
[doublepost=1461645800][/doublepost]
Oh my goodness this AW2 rumours are killing me. Been waiting months hovering over the idea of getting the first gen, but I know the 2nd gen will have ironed out so many bugs. Hopefully June....!


Hang in their. I am right their with you. However, the Watch 2 won't most likely be released before Watch OS 3 is available for beta testing, which leads me to believe we will see a September release. Either way, I will see you at preorder Launch along side the iPhone 7.
 

Mainsail

macrumors 68020
Sep 19, 2010
2,328
3,083
I really enjoy my Apple Watch. One of my favorite features is the ability to receive and quickly reply to messages when connected to wifi. My big iPhone 6s+ stays on my desk at home, and I don't need to carry it around the house, since I can get messages from my watch without being connected via bluetooth....this also works great at my gym where there is good wifi. I see folks with big phones strapped to giant arm bands whilst working out. I just wear my watch, and leave the phone in my locker.

Now, if the Apple Watch came with cellular, I would be intrigued....but, I assume Apple would charge about $130 extra for cellular connectivity vs the Wifi version (i.e. iPad). Then there would be about $10/month cellular fee....so, if we assume a 3 year useful life for the cheapest Sports edition watch, that's $300 for the wifi version vs $790 for the cellular version including data plan ($300 + $130 + $10x36 mo). This is almost $500 for the convenience of occasionally not carrying my phone when I leave the house.....but, I almost always take my phone with me when I leave the house, since I prefer the bigger screen for apps, maps, web searches, texting, emailing, reading pdfs & books, etc.

Bottom-line: not sure cellular on a watch would be worth it for me.
 

kyykesko

macrumors 6502
Nov 11, 2015
443
280
They should redo the whole concept and I'd buy one. Make the watch the actual phone. Instead of having an iPad and iPhone just have different size slates you can link up to your watch. For everyday use you could use a 5,5" phablet to complement your phone. When you go out in the evening you could switch to a cute little 4" one instead. If all you need is phone you could just go with your watch and maybe a bt handsfree dongle. For extended work you'd pull out your iPad-size one and keep working. The cellular connectivity would be in your watch along with the memory, apps and such. The pads would just be for user interface. All your apps in one place. Infinite possibilities.

But no. Let's make an awkward gadget nobody really cares about. Everyone loves having half a dozen data plans.
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I understand you are writing for comic effect here, but I have found the phone function surprisingly effective.

All they need is a Knight Rider edition. Black with a red moving light and Siri renamed to KITT. :D Even better if you can hook up your Tesla to it.
 

Gawjuz

macrumors member
Mar 22, 2016
62
89
United Kingdom
Maybe not. But then again this was a first Gen product. How do you know Apple didn't put restrictions on the Apple Watch on purpose? I'm sure their engineers realized this and saw potential profit for version 2. After all, Even Apple did not know what to expect with Gen 1.
I guess so. The early adopter tax and all that :D
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
I see lots of people talking into their white iPhone headphones. Apple would simply release a set of wireless headphones to go with the Apple Watch. There are already lots of rumours that Apple will switch to wireless headphones if they remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. I don't see any reason why people wouldn't continue to use them as before to either listen to music or make/receive calls.

On a phone fine, but on a watch? And they are only rumours that Apple is ditching the headphone port.

So tell me, all those on here who apparently are so desperate to have their watch replace their phones, just how long would you accept the battery life to be if you use cellular to make and receive calls using bluetooth headphones with your watch?
It can barely last a working day as it is, so I would half that, and you get a watch that lasts what 5 hours? 4 hours? And thus it is utterly pointless and you have money to waste if you buy it to make phone calls on!
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Considering bluetooth 4 is low energy why would there be a problem? Yes I do see people using them. I talk on my S2 in the grocery store and no one even turns their heads. I used to have the Motorola Sliver (think that's spelled correctly ). It was small enough to be barely noticeable. Now my hearing aids are bluetooth. When I wear them that is.

Because it's a watch, have you ever used bluetooth headphones to listen to music streaming from your Apple watch? Whats the battery life if you do? Lets not forget that currently it has no cellular features, constantly searching for signals in and out of buildings, whilst driving or travelling around, keeping signal when in a call.

People are definitely expecting way too much here, and ignoring the practicalities of it for I suspect geeking out at the concept of using an Apple watch as their phones.
 

jonnysods

macrumors G3
Sep 20, 2006
8,396
6,836
There & Back Again
This^ The Apple Watch will serve everyone differently. I love how seamless my texts and E-Mails are on the Watch. It has been a great experience for me. I too cannot always pull my iPhone out and the Watch mediates this for me. Your mileage may vary for the Apple Watch. I personally do not utilize all the fitness capabilities, but
My Qatch serves as a great middle man between my iPhone, and for me, this is was worth EVERY penny. I am looking forward to Apple Watch 2.
[doublepost=1461645800][/doublepost]


Hang in their. I am right their with you. However, the Watch 2 won't most likely be released before Watch OS 3 is available for beta testing, which leads me to believe we will see a September release. Either way, I will see you at preorder Launch along side the iPhone 7.

You know it!

Hopefully I'll have enough pocket money saved up for the SS. Love the space black.
 
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