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Ok...what ATT did to allow me to keep LTE was since I am a long time ATT subscriber (17 years) and Zi have three lines on my account including myself...they reduced my line access from $25.00 on each account to $20.00 so I save $15.00 and that should cover my monthly cost for LTE on my watch. Just contact Verizon, Tmobile, Sprint and ATT and mention that you want to keep LTE but the monthly cost is not worth it and maybe they can work something out for you.
Tried that with Verizon and was told they could not lower the price. So, I cancelled LTE on two watches. I was asked why I was canceling and told them cost is too high. Hopefully, if enough customers cancel they may lower the cost some day.
 
PS: A major Apple podcaster and website recently ran a half marathon with an apple watch, AirPods, and streamed apple music via LTE and nothing else. He used GPS and HR on the Apple Watch also. With the watch and AirPods at 100% he ran a 2:30 half marathon and finished with 13% on the watch and under 5% on the AirPods (the claimed AirPod 5 hour life isn't at full volume which he was close to with outdoor running.) He made NO phone calls during the race on the watch.

Most of course finish a half at sub 2:30 but bottom line is you can't use this watch for GPS/HR/LTE/Bluetooth for a marathon unless you are qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Even for a half you better make sure you start with 100% and have a plan to charge it post race, you won't have much battery left even for a phone call to friends to say you finished.

Interesting! I will not be sub 2:30. But at any rate, it doesn’t matter for this one, since I will have my phone. But this is making me think I should bring an old battery pack on the bus for last-minute top ups and leave it in my bag, so I can have my watch at 100 percent before it begins.
 
Interesting! I will not be sub 2:30. But at any rate, it doesn’t matter for this one, since I will have my phone. But this is making me think I should bring an old battery pack on the bus for last-minute top ups and leave it in my bag, so I can have my watch at 100 percent before it begins.

Streaming music over LTE was why Zac Hall’s (the 9 to 5 Mac editor) watch barely lasted 2.5 hours. As you said either here or in another thread that you wont have access to LTE for the run, you should be fine running your half using on board music. Also, since you’re bringing your phone, you won’t be using the watch’s GPS either, so your watch will be fine. My Series 2 watch will last over 4 hours of continuous exercise, playing music, using GPS and moniotoring Heart Rate. I was a little surprised that his AirPods were almost out of juice too, but I guess he had them on really loud and that uses a lot more power (he did say in the article that he turned them up to 100% for part of the race until he saw he was getting low on power and then dailed them back.)
 
Streaming music over LTE was why Zac Hall’s (the 9 to 5 Mac editor) watch barely lasted 2.5 hours. As you said either here or in another thread that you wont have access to LTE for the run, you should be fine running your half using on board music. Also, since you’re bringing your phone, you won’t be using the watch’s GPS either, so your watch will be fine. My Series 2 watch will last over 4 hours of continuous exercise, playing music, using GPS and moniotoring Heart Rate. I was a little surprised that his AirPods were almost out of juice too, but I guess he had them on really loud and that uses a lot more power (he did say in the article that he turned them up to 100% for part of the race until he saw he was getting low on power and then dailed them back.)
I’m sure I won’t have them up that high. And I was planning on putting the case in the belt anyway.
 
I initially though I would get the LTE AW but after I found out that it cant send or receive regular text message, I decided to snag a great deal on SS S2 and couldn't be happier.
 
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I initially though I would get the LTE AW but after I found out that it cant send or receive regular text message, I decided to snag a great deal on SS S2 and couldn't be happier.

What exactly do you mean that It can't send or receive text messages on the LTE model? Because It can.
 
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What exactly do you mean that It can't send or receive text messages on the LTE model? Because It can.

I should have been more clear, if the iPhone is off or unavailable, the text messaging wont work as per this article, but imessage and calling will

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205547

To receive SMS, MMS, or push notifications from third-party apps on your Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular), your paired iPhone must be powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or cellular, but it doesn't need to be nearby.
 
Please tell us after the inauguration in Sept how you are enjoying your apple watch series 3 with LTE.
I have decided to ditch LTE after my 3 month expired and called ATT but they were nice enough to encourage me to keep it and worked out a nice deal for me. Now often when I go out such as restaurants, jogging, basketball games, etc etc i keep my iphone 8 at home (yippee) With the new sensors added to the series there are many altimeter and barometer apps that now take advantage of the series 3. And also the Samsung gear s3 no longer is the top dog anymore.

I beg the differ. One of the major reasons as to why I didn’t pull the trigger on the Apple lte Watch was because I compared it to a true LTE Watch which is the Samsung gear 3.
 
I don’t get why it’s a big deal if your phone is home on the charger instead of powered off.
 
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I beg the differ. One of the major reasons as to why I didn’t pull the trigger on the Apple lte Watch was because I compared it to a true LTE Watch which is the Samsung gear 3.

So, what makes the Samsung Gear S3 a "True" LTE watch over the Apple Watch LTE model?
 
So, what makes the Samsung Gear S3 a "True" LTE watch over the Apple Watch LTE model?

Well for one the phone don’t need to be off or on for the Samsung gear 3 to send mms/sms emails calls etc to work. That in itself lets you know it stands along and true lte. Unlike Apple Watch lte you need to have phone on at all times and when it’s not on limited usage.
 
Does anyone really need an LTE connection on their watch?

Seems like service providers can produce a lower cost 3g data plan for watches.

If you can afford a few hundred dollars on a watch that you know will be obsolete in a year or two then $5 or $10 a month is nothing imo.
 
Well for one the phone don’t need to be off or on for the Samsung gear 3 to send mms/sms emails calls etc to work. That in itself lets you know it stands along and true lte. Unlike Apple Watch lte you need to have phone on at all times and when it’s not on limited usage.

But we know that the Apple Watch still uses LTE to be not tethered to the iPhone for running, Music streaming, etc. But the majority of smart Phone owners would have their smart phones turned on anyways. I don't necessarily see why the Samsung gear S3 trumps the LTE Apple Watch just because the iPhone has to be on.

My Question is, what else makes the Gear S3 that much better of an LTE experience over the LTE Apple Watch besides the phone being turned on? Both Watches essentially accomplish the same tasks, which allows the user to leave their smart phone behind and use their watch for notifications, streaming, phone calls, etc. is the market really that competitive for LTE in which watch is better? If somebody owns an android phone, I think the answer is clear which watch they would choose anyways. So it makes it difficult to see which is "Better" as it is, because actually someone's going to choose the smart watch based on iOS or Android.
 
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But we know that the Apple Watch still uses LTE to be not tethered to the iPhone for running, Music streaming, etc. But the majority of smart Phone owners would have their smart phones turned on anyways. I don't necessarily see why the Samsung gear S3 trumps the LTE Apple Watch just because the iPhone has to be on.

My Question is, what else makes the Gear S3 that much better of an LTE experience over the LTE Apple Watch besides the phone being turned on? Both Watches essentially accomplish the same tasks, which allows the user to leave their smart phone behind and use their watch for notifications, streaming, phone calls, etc. is the market really that competitive for LTE in which watch is better? If somebody owns an android phone, I think the answer is clear which watch they would choose anyways. So it makes it difficult to see which is "Better" as it is, because actually someone's going to choose the smart watch based on iOS or Android.
I liked the gear when I had it but apps were awful for it. It’s why Apple Watch is a clearly better smart watch certainly if you do choose to use LTE and leave your phone at home. I can still get access to texts, apps like SofaScore for sports updates. Yes apps might not work without your phone but some do and for music and podcasts using watch player it’s a better option for me personally.
 
I'm happy with my Space Black S3, but I think I might call Verizon and cancel my LTE service. I've only used it a few times in the last 4 months and I just don't know that it is worth $10 a month.

I'd be interested in what kind of deal AT&T offered you as well. Wonder if anyone calling to cancel on Verizon has been offered anything? I'd probably be willing to keep the service at $5/month, which is what they charged for smart watches before the Apple Watch S3.

I got the LTE version so I could take it to the pub without the phone. This was after I dropped my 6 ( days before getting an X ) and so I decided there are times when I really do not need an £1k device on my person.

Looking at your name, maybe that will work for you as well!
 
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I don’t get why it’s a big deal if your phone is home on the charger instead of powered off.
The method for using standard SMS, as I can best guess, relies on the phone to do the translating between iMessage and SMS. If the phone is powered on back at home, it'll receive the SMS message over cellular, turn it into an iMessage, then send it over the internet, which is how it gets to the Watch.

And, yeah, it doesn't seem like a problem to leave the iPhone powered on while it's at home (like a desktop or laptop).
 
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