Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Can you take calls on this watch?
- Thread starter Gix1k
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I might add the Apple Watch has to be paired with the iPhone to send/receive calls.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks!! I figured it needed to be paired like the Gear series. Knowing this increases my chances of buying.
It's pretty much just a bluetooth speaker for your wrist. If they ever come out with one that can replace a phone, I'd be interested.
No it's paired.
It's the main thing this does. Useful of you own a BIG phone, which so many people do now. My Plus is so big it gets stuck in clothing.
It would be nice to have a satellite to the Death Star 6+ ....brick..
It's the main thing this does. Useful of you own a BIG phone, which so many people do now. My Plus is so big it gets stuck in clothing.
It would be nice to have a satellite to the Death Star 6+ ....brick..
You shouldn't have a problem.
Unless you live in a mansion.
----------
I think it's more of a in the car kind of thing or in the office kind of thing.
Since the Watch has both WiFi and Bluetooth, shouldn't it (phone calls) work if both devices are connected to the same home Wifi network?
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/201...e-Watch-Apples-Most-Personal-Device-Ever.html
<<Apple Watch also features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to pair seamlessly with your iPhone.>>
Um, does the iPhone and Watch on the same network both have to be on the same "g"??? What if your iPhone is on 802.11n, and the Watch doesn't have "n", then they are not connected?? I'm rusty on the whole Continuity thing.
EDIT====
This article explains things... http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...ty-coax-advanced-features-from-bluetooth-wifi
<<Apple's new Watch similarly needs to connect to an iPhone in order to do a variety of tasks. The kind of features Apple demonstrated, however, require more than basic Bluetooth tethering. That's why Apple says the new watch packs WiFi hardware even though it isn't designed to connect to your home's WiFi network. It uses WiFi the same way iOS AirDrop and Continuity do: as a way to speed up Bluetooth when needed.
As Apple's press release for the product noted, "Apple Watch also features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to pair seamlessly with your iPhone." Connecting over Bluetooth and using WiFi only when needed delivers the best combination of power efficiency and speed possible. It also works with vast majority of iPhones sold since iPhone 5 was first released 2012, not just a few new high-end models.
This allows Apple to perform Continuity-style features like initiating a call or text conversation on the watch and then moving it over to your phone if desired (and from the phone to your car or Bluetooth headset).>>
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/201...e-Watch-Apples-Most-Personal-Device-Ever.html
<<Apple Watch also features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to pair seamlessly with your iPhone.>>
Um, does the iPhone and Watch on the same network both have to be on the same "g"??? What if your iPhone is on 802.11n, and the Watch doesn't have "n", then they are not connected?? I'm rusty on the whole Continuity thing.
EDIT====
This article explains things... http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...ty-coax-advanced-features-from-bluetooth-wifi
<<Apple's new Watch similarly needs to connect to an iPhone in order to do a variety of tasks. The kind of features Apple demonstrated, however, require more than basic Bluetooth tethering. That's why Apple says the new watch packs WiFi hardware even though it isn't designed to connect to your home's WiFi network. It uses WiFi the same way iOS AirDrop and Continuity do: as a way to speed up Bluetooth when needed.
As Apple's press release for the product noted, "Apple Watch also features Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0 to pair seamlessly with your iPhone." Connecting over Bluetooth and using WiFi only when needed delivers the best combination of power efficiency and speed possible. It also works with vast majority of iPhones sold since iPhone 5 was first released 2012, not just a few new high-end models.
This allows Apple to perform Continuity-style features like initiating a call or text conversation on the watch and then moving it over to your phone if desired (and from the phone to your car or Bluetooth headset).>>
Last edited:
I hope so. That's a big reason to get one of these things for my wife. My iPhone is always in my pocket, but she often leaves hers on a table or in her purse with the ringer off, so she misses a lot of my calls...at least that's her excuse! LOL
Sorry, I think it's stupid to take phone calls via the watch. Or even texts. Why on such a small screen? Especially since the watch needs to be paired to the phone anyway. If the watch itself had phone and GPS capabilities, maybe a different story.
So now, a driver can leave their phone in a pocket or bag and then get distracted by a notification on a tiny screen on their wrist while holding a steering wheel instead of the larger iPhone screen on a dash mount connected to audio via bluetooth. Real smart.
So now, a driver can leave their phone in a pocket or bag and then get distracted by a notification on a tiny screen on their wrist while holding a steering wheel instead of the larger iPhone screen on a dash mount connected to audio via bluetooth. Real smart.
You'd be surprised how convenient it is just to see who is calling or texting without taking your phone out of your pocket a thousand times a day. Being able to react to the calls and texts, if need be, is a bonus. Talking into the watch is just like using the speakerphone on the iPhone, which I use all of the time.
I've owned both a Pebble watch and a smart band that gives text and call notifications, and it's incredible how much it cuts down on the amount of times you take your phone out of your pocket per day. Being able to actually respond to a text with a canned response, or occasionally taking a call via the watch will be even handier.
Actually, the lack of being able to take calls on Android Wear is why I'm probably going back to my Martian Victory watch, which has both a mike and speaker.
It's really handy to be laying on a couch and get a call on my phone in the next room... and just use the watch on my wrist to instantly see who's calling, and even answer, without getting up and finding my phone in time.
Yeah, sounds good. Especially with humongous phones. Since i've 'upgraded' to the 6+ it's actually rather a problem.
A watch with cellular radios is going to need a radically larger battery to get any decent runtime. Watches with phone capability tend to be quite fat.
You're saying looking away from the road to read texts from a dash-mounted display is safer than an essentially hand-mounted screen, which while dangerous and stupid, you could at least hold up in your general field of view ahead of you.
Second, it's up to you as a driver to choose wether you want to be distracted by incoming texts and whatnot or not. Of course, if you choose to be distracted, you deserve to get slapped in the face with your own driver's license about 50 times, only to then have it run through a document shredder and not have a new one issued to you for about five years or so.
This because you shouldn't friggin ever read any texts in any way whatsoever while you're driving, regardless how they're being displayed to you. Period. End of story. Keep your eyes on the friggin road where they belong.
It won't be terribly long until a watch the size of the initial Apple watch will have the capability to be a GPS and phone. Cell phones were huge bricks years ago and only made calls.
A dash mount display is typically in the same field of view or location as your radio or temperature display. Right next to your dash controls. Not on your wrist which typically would be facing outward while you have your hand on the wheel. By having to remove one hand from the wheel and change your vision and focus to a small screen that is not in-line with the dash and out the window, I think it's far more distracting.
Also, you don't have to read texts on the iPhone display...just have Siri read them to you while driving. A cheap in-ear bluetooth or integrated bluetooth is much safer as well. I agree with you that you should not be texting while driving, but a lot of idiots do it.
If it makes sense to them, Apple will add cellular capability in a future iteration. It may not happen, if they want the Watch as a "hook" to bring you into their iOS ecosystem, who the hell can say. Apple likes to do things their own way, not necessarily the way most would say is the most obvious. Just look how staunchly they've held on to the one-button mouse for example... (Because while you may need more than 640k of RAM, you apparantly don't need more than one mouse button... *cough*)
Now that was a lot of years ago, my friend! Phones haven't been huge bricks since the early 90s (well, not counting today's "phablets", of course...)
And your car's dash controls are in-line with the steering wheel, your hands and your view forward? That's funny, cuz that's where most cars have their gauges and warning lights and such.
Out the window, seriously? You can't hold a watch up in front of you?
And Siri doesn't do this already? I've no idea, it's not available in my native language (yet.) If it can't do this, then it'll surely get the ability eventually, as it would be a big boon for the visually impaired, and Apple has a big focus on accessibility apparantly.
In any case, your complaint about this doesn't make much sense. If people want to distract themselves with texts, they're going to do that regardless of how those texts are delivered to them. Even fiddling with your AC or radio is a dangerous distraction while driving.
Curious as to why would you want a watch with a tiny screen to replace your smartphone which serves a far greater purpose then making and receiving calls?
Can I ask you why you do that instead of using the phone 'normally' with it to your ear?
I find it really weird & annoying seeing people having conversations into their phones with speakerphone on.
It's also really annoying being the caller to someone who answers you 'via speakerphone'.
Not a dig, I'm genuinely interested.