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BrandonHacks

macrumors regular
Aug 21, 2012
247
18
Texas
It must be a cellular watch in order for them to get messages and other activity alerts required data. It’ll pair to your phone, but get it’s own phone number through the cell provider of your choice and then the watch can be used without constant connection and syncing to your(parents) phone.
 
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tl01

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
Do we know battery life when the child is away from the parents phone?
 

canyonblue737

macrumors 68020
Jan 10, 2005
2,123
2,549
I don’t quite get how this will work. Can anyone explain it to me?

1. You need to own an iPhone (yourself, not your child.)
2. You need to get your child an Apple Watch with cellular capability.
3. You can add your child's Apple Watch to YOUR cellular plan. Most carriers charge about $10 a month for this, some charge a bit more. This gets your child a phone number for their watch as well as data for it. That way you can call them, they can make calls, and you can text them etc. It basically makes their watch into a phone with no need for them to have their own phone.
4. You can use parental controls of who they can contact with their watches as well as things like notifications for you when they move into or out of certain areas etc.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
33,635
48,235
In the middle of several books.
1. You need to own an iPhone (yourself, not your child.)
2. You need to get your child an Apple Watch with cellular capability.
3. You can add your child's Apple Watch to YOUR cellular plan. Most carriers charge about $10 a month for this, some charge a bit more. This gets your child a phone number for their watch as well as data for it. That way you can call them, they can make calls, and you can text them etc. It basically makes their watch into a phone with no need for them to have their own phone.
4. You can use parental controls of who they can contact with their watches as well as things like notifications for you when they move into or out of certain areas etc.
It is a shame we can’t have a working separate watch number already, for those of us without big people wannabes.
 

ssledoux

macrumors 601
Original poster
Sep 16, 2006
4,164
4,022
Down south
1. You need to own an iPhone (yourself, not your child.)
2. You need to get your child an Apple Watch with cellular capability.
3. You can add your child's Apple Watch to YOUR cellular plan. Most carriers charge about $10 a month for this, some charge a bit more. This gets your child a phone number for their watch as well as data for it. That way you can call them, they can make calls, and you can text them etc. It basically makes their watch into a phone with no need for them to have their own phone.
4. You can use parental controls of who they can contact with their watches as well as things like notifications for you when they move into or out of certain areas etc.

What if you have a watch also?
 

canyonblue737

macrumors 68020
Jan 10, 2005
2,123
2,549
What if you have a watch also?

That doesn't matter, you can choose whether or not you want a cellular account for it too... the only thing that matters is you have an iPhone and a cellular provider who offers Apple Watch plans (which all the big ones in the US do)
 

jaysen

macrumors 6502
Sep 16, 2009
281
10
Has it been confirmed if this feature will trickle down to ALL cellular-capable watches? Considering buying my son an older 4, possibly 5 Watch... No point buying an SE or 6, when second hand market will be flooded with 4-5s
 

AJ44

macrumors regular
Aug 12, 2019
227
313
What if you have a watch also?

I have had two cellular watches connected to my phone before. I had some maddening issues with Verizon getting them both going but the senior tech said up to 5 could be connected. That was a couple years ago so don’t known if 5 is still true and have never tested.
 
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swamyg1

macrumors regular
Dec 11, 2007
233
75
Are these features baked into the OS and not related to hardware? My kids have a series 3 and series 4, both with GPS.
 

canyonblue737

macrumors 68020
Jan 10, 2005
2,123
2,549
Are these features baked into the OS and not related to hardware? My kids have a series 3 and series 4, both with GPS.

yes it works Series 4 and on BUT it’s for watches with cellular capabilities.
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Has it been confirmed if this feature will trickle down to ALL cellular-capable watches? Considering buying my son an older 4, possibly 5 Watch... No point buying an SE or 6, when second hand market will be flooded with 4-5s

Series 4 cellular models and newer per Apple.com
 
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canyonblue737

macrumors 68020
Jan 10, 2005
2,123
2,549
Has it been confirmed if this feature will trickle down to ALL cellular-capable watches? Considering buying my son an older 4, possibly 5 Watch... No point buying an SE or 6, when second hand market will be flooded with 4-5s

Series 4 cellular models and newer per Apple.com
 

Boil

macrumors 68040
Oct 23, 2018
3,124
2,712
Stargate Command
Do we know battery life when the child is away from the parents phone?

Same as any Apple Watch with cell service, proximity to the "host" phone has no bearing...

The only thing the "host" phone is used for is a base account with the cell provider, cell service to the Apple Watch is not being routed thru the "host" phone or anything like that...
 

tl01

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
Same as any Apple Watch with cell service, proximity to the "host" phone has no bearing...

The only thing the "host" phone is used for is a base account with the cell provider, cell service to the Apple Watch is not being routed thru the "host" phone or anything like that...
I would I disagree. My son’s series three watch is dead by lunch time when he doesn’t have his phone in his pocket. It has been that way since we bought it new. He isn’t supposed to have his phone with him at school. I want a watch with cell that I can reach him on when he is at school.
 
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MacGekko

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2009
666
226
1. You need to own an iPhone (yourself, not your child.)
2. You need to get your child an Apple Watch with cellular capability.
3. You can add your child's Apple Watch to YOUR cellular plan. Most carriers charge about $10 a month for this, some charge a bit more. This gets your child a phone number for their watch as well as data for it. That way you can call them, they can make calls, and you can text them etc. It basically makes their watch into a phone with no need for them to have their own phone.
4. You can use parental controls of who they can contact with their watches as well as things like notifications for you when they move into or out of certain areas etc.

For the people who want to use this with a relative's Iphone, to use an Apple Watch independently of owning an Iphone, Apple says there are certain watch features not available but does not list them, does anyone know what they are?

How much data are we talking about, if you are piggybacking off an unlimited data plan, will the Apple Watch have the same data plan?

Apple says it can be for someone under 17 or over 17, so obviously that means you can turn off the child tracking features, can everything that can be tracked via the Iphone be turned off, is there anything else that ties the Iphone to the Apple Watch that they are not highlighting?
 

MacGekko

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2009
666
226
Same as any Apple Watch with cell service, proximity to the "host" phone has no bearing...

The only thing the "host" phone is used for is a base account with the cell provider, cell service to the Apple Watch is not being routed thru the "host" phone or anything like that...

I get that but why does Apple mention something about the battery only lasting 14 hours per day in relation to a child utilizing it?
 

ElectronGuru

macrumors 68000
Sep 5, 2013
1,656
489
Oregon, USA
For the people who want to use this with a relative's Iphone, to use an Apple Watch independently of owning an Iphone, Apple says there are certain watch features not available but does not list them, does anyone know what they are?

How much data are we talking about, if you are piggybacking off an unlimited data plan, will the Apple Watch have the same data plan?

Apple says it can be for someone under 17 or over 17, so obviously that means you can turn off the child tracking features, can everything that can be tracked via the Iphone be turned off, is there anything else that ties the Iphone to the Apple Watch that they are not highlighting?

The excluded features seem to be those that require the watch and other apps on the phone. This would include quite a few health features that only record on the watch and need the full app to review and chart.
 

tl01

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2010
2,350
649
I get that but why does Apple mention something about the battery only lasting 14 hours per day in relation to a child utilizing it?

i am hoping it really lasts 14 hours. That would be great compared to the series 3 we are using mostly without a phone. The watch drains more quickly when it isn’t with the phone. Cellular takes more battery than Bluetooth.
 

MacGekko

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2009
666
226
The excluded features seem to be those that require the watch and other apps on the phone. This would include quite a few health features that only record on the watch and need the full app to review and chart.

Would this include getting real time driving directions?
[automerge]1600360784[/automerge]
i am hoping it really lasts 14 hours. That would be great compared to the series 3 we are using mostly without a phone. The watch drains more quickly when it isn’t with the phone. Cellular takes more battery than Bluetooth.

A stupid question on my part, but you can turn cellular off when you don't need it, right?
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 601
Jul 20, 2011
4,726
3,839
Has it been confirmed if this feature will trickle down to ALL cellular-capable watches? Considering buying my son an older 4, possibly 5 Watch... No point buying an SE or 6, when second hand market will be flooded with 4-5s

But a brand new LTE SE for $329 is gonna be pretty close in price to 2nd hand Series 4/5 with LTE? Assuming 40mm of course.
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 601
Jul 20, 2011
4,726
3,839
Would this include getting real time driving directions?
[automerge]1600360784[/automerge]


A stupid question on my part, but you can turn cellular off when you don't need it, right?
You mean turn off the cellular function or stop the cellular billing on demand? Turning off the function is as easy as turning off Wi-Fi, but that doesn't stop the billing.
 

MacGekko

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2009
666
226
You mean turn off the cellular function or stop the cellular billing on demand? Turning off the function is as easy as turning off Wi-Fi, but that doesn't stop the billing.

Yeah I just meant turning it off to conserve battery when you didn't need any real time data. Which Apple Watch do you have currently, 40 or 44, and are you considering upgrading to the 6?
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 601
Jul 20, 2011
4,726
3,839
Yeah I just meant turning it off to conserve battery when you didn't need any real time data. Which Apple Watch do you have currently, 40 or 44, and are you considering upgrading to the 6?

In my experience, LTE (or possibly GPS?) impacts battery level when you're outside without your iPhone. For example, I notice it when I go for a jog. I would never consider turning it off, as this is when I'd need the LTE functionality the most. If you're just around your house or even driving around, the LTE doesn't impact the battery because I believe it's getting data from your iPhone.

I'm using the 44m Series 4, black stainless steel LTE. I've tried to justify a S6 ten different ways. If they had blue/red with a sapphire crystal, I might have pulled the trigger. The titanium would be nice, but the AC+ cost increase seems excessive. AOD is probably nice along with blood oxygen, but we're still talking several hundred dollars upgrade cost from a S4 LTE stainless. Also, I live in Texas, so an altimeter doesn't do anything for me :p

Tech is my hobby, and I get a new iPhone/iPad every year. Maybe it's easier to justify those because the resale value is higher and/or I can repurpose those devices easier via family/friends vs. a watch.
 

Alan Gordon

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2014
476
318
Dawson, GA
Here's a scenario I'm wondering about how it would work:

I have a cousin, who is a Google PixL owner, and has no intention of switching to an iPhone. He has always been interested in an Apple Watch though.

If I were to add him to my Apple Family Family Sharing group, and he got an Apple Watch, what would happen with this new set up?

Would he get texts? I'm thinking no.

Any other downsides that I'm not aware of, or thinking of?
 
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