Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The battery required for adding a GPS/cellular connection will be the limiting factor. Can't see it happening for a few years yet. They may be working on it, but not yet. Jony Ive probably has a wearable battery pack that is truly stunning to go along with it.
Everyone keeps forgetting about the BAND. There is already a third party company, reservestrap (See http://reservestrap.com/blogs/news/143508487-apple-watch-cellphone-strap) that has embedded a SIM card and the extra juice to run it in a smart band for the Apple Watch. If someone else can do it, you don't think Apple can do it better?
 
It's kind of hard not to speak awkwardly into it though. I mean, you're talking to your wrist in public. It's going to attract attention, and if it's quiet enough, everyone will hear your phone call. Or, you'll be yelling at your wrist if it's too loud. I don't see how to make it not awkward :D

One possibility is for Apple to adopt something like Samsung R&D's new "TipTalk" watchband, which they showed off to good reviews at CES... and which will supposedly go on sale later this year.

2016-samsung-tip-talk.jpg


Mostly meant for privately listening to voice mail, it sends the audio up your arm so only you can hear it when you put your finger to your ear. Another good thing about this method, is that holding your finger to your ear is already a socially known gesture to indicate that you are engaged in listening to something important.

For a two-way phone, you'd need a similar method for the microphone. Maybe a way to pick up your voice going the other way down. Or perhaps a mike on a pinky finger ring, so you can do the ubiquitous holding-a-phone-to-your-head "call me" thumb and pinky gesture that everyone also knows. (There's actually a glove phone like that.)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Flow39
Do you, on average, last longer than 1.5 days without sleeping?

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

Not at all. If I have to make an excuse and schedule daily "recharges" for my smartwatch, it's use as a watch is nullified. For those times when I need a watch, wear, use as needed, take off when done, is the plan. For a monitor, my fitbit lasts days.
My use / need. For me, a smartwatch did nothing to enhance my life nor replace my smartphone.
[doublepost=1461686167][/doublepost]
This would be THE MOST POINTLESS feature ever, I hate watches with cellular radios, why? Whats the point? you look like an utter idiot talking into it, you can't hear anyone speaking back to you in noisy places, it's battery life will be even worst then it is now. It would also no doubt be thicker, unless they make the battery smaller!!

A smartwatch is supposed to be an extension of your smartphone, not replace it.

Why? A smartwatch can and should be many things. Some want BT/WF only while others want LTE/4G. Some want it as an accessory to a smartphone while others want a device that can pair with a smartphone as needed. Some with any smartphone as needed.

Currently the Apple Watch is an iPhone accessory. It's time it grew up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: McCool71 and lyngo
Decided to buy another Apple Watch after selling my first model.
I honestly don't care for cellular connectivity. My phone is always with in a reasonable distance.

I would like the watch to be slightly sleeker., but am damn happy.
 
iPhone 8 and Apple Watch will become the same thing. iPhone Plus will become a new size of mini iPad.
 
That doesn't make it independent, and it doesn't need to be anyway.

The only thing the Apple Watch needs is to be faster.
Processor speed is a factor, but the BT-to-Watch-to-internet round trip is a far more prominent constraint. Compare any native function on the watch with any function that has to reach out for external data, and it's clear that the lack of direct connectivity is the culprit. The phone apps for Transit and Citymapper yield information instantly, while they often take 10 seconds on the watch.
 
Well that should bring apple watch's battery life to around 2 hours.

IF you use it continuously. This is the assumption a lot of people make when trying to discredit the idea, of any power hungry technologies. The current battery life when using the watch continuously as a phone is 3 hours. So guess what, people don't use the watch exclusively for making phone calls, but the option exists. And which is better, having the option to occasionally use something, or not having the option at all?
 
Nowhere near 90%, and nowhere near as nicely.



And yet, in the twisted imagination of forum commenters and pundits, the Apple Watch is a flop. Far from that. It's version 1.0, go have a coffee and imagine v. 4.
90% my patoot. I HAD a pebble...over and done
[doublepost=1461699551][/doublepost]
I have the watch in stainless steel. I will probably sell this off. Bad product. No magic.

Give ya 50
 
I do not know of anyone who uses them. And it may be fine for a phone, but adding bluetooth headsets to a tiny watch along with cellular functions will only lead to really pathetic battery life.
Nah, there are already smart watches with both cell functionality and bluetooth (which is the only sensible way of using them as a phone) that easily lasts 2 days of regular use today. The 1,5 year old Samsung Galaxy Gear S being a good example, still my favorite in the smart watch category by a huge margin.

Bluetooth these days does not need much power. Back in the day people used to turn off bluetooth on their phones when not having a device connected to save power, I just leave mine on all the time now, doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
 
Nah, there are already smart watches with both cell functionality and bluetooth (which is the only sensible way of using them as a phone) that easily lasts 2 days of regular use today. The 1,5 year old Samsung Galaxy Gear S being a good example, still my favorite in the smart watch category by a huge margin.

Bluetooth these days does not need much power. Back in the day people used to turn off bluetooth on their phones when not having a device connected to save power, I just leave mine on all the time now, doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

Somehow I don't believe you... I'm sure it would last 2 days if you don't actually do anything with the watch, you have just claimed a watch that is older than the Apple watch, lasts double the time an Apple watch does currently yet with more battery draining features and a 300 mAh battery.

What's the talktime of the watch?
 
you have just claimed a watch that is older than the Apple watch, lasts double the time an Apple watch does currently yet with more battery draining features.

Every single smart watch out there outlasts the Apple watch by a huge margin when it comes to battery capacity. Open your eyes and throw a glance outside of the walled garden once in a while.

Yet, the early smart watches were ridiculed for lasting just a couple of days. When the Apple watch arrived though, one day was suddenly accepted as 'good enough' by the majority of the tech press for some odd reason.
 
Prove it then.

No need for me to prove it, there are hundreds of reviews online confirming it. But whatever you do don't google it, it will just break your neat little world into tiny pieces.

Here's a couple of quick ones:

Samsung Gear S2: "I found myself getting to a third day of use with the screen set to middle brightness -- not bad at all."
http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-gear-s2/2/

The Gear S (with cell functionality) has a significantly lower battery capacity than the 360's 320mAh and the G Watch R's 410mAh but I was able to get almost two days of usage before needing to charge up again. Usage here means having the pedometer on, getting notifications, messing around with apps, texting, checking emails and of course, using the phone.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/wearables/samsung-gear-s-1263307/review/5
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Osamede
No need for me to prove it, there are hundreds of reviews online confirming it. But whatever you do don't google it, it will just break your neat little world into tiny pieces.

Here's a couple of quick ones:

Samsung Gear S2: "I found myself getting to a third day of use with the screen set to middle brightness -- not bad at all."
http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-gear-s2/2/

The Gear S (with cell functionality) has a significantly lower battery capacity than the 360's 320mAh and the G Watch R's 410mAh but I was able to get almost two days of usage before needing to charge up again. Usage here means having the pedometer on, getting notifications, messing around with apps, texting, checking emails and of course, using the phone.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/wearables/samsung-gear-s-1263307/review/5

I was actually referring to the claim you made about EVERY smartwatch. Not your Samsung watch.
 
Can some one tell me if this new smartwatch will replace the iPhone? You will not need iPhone or any smartphone?

You can do e-mail, texting and make calls on his news smartwatch? This new smartwatch is like small iPhone? You can do all the things on this smartwatch that you can do on your iPhone?

You will not have to own a iPhone?
 
They may sell two models, the wi-fi and the cellular like they do with iPad.
I wouldn't buy the cellular model but some people would, there is a demand for GPS on the Watch and the ability to receive a call would be interesting to a part of the market.
With a cellular Watch it would be possibile to have a Watch and an iPad and get rid of the phone. Some people may be interested in that scenario (I'm not one of them) but it is a possibility. Tiny screen to handle notifications and bigger screen for everything else. I don't think it is necessary to have at the same time a Watch, an iPhone and an iPad, too many devices.
The main problem with a cellular Watch is battery life. The hotspot kills the battery on an iPhone, imagine what would happen on a Watch if it had to share connection with an iPad.
 
*sigh*
This is just dumb if true. Cook really has no clue. Reminds me of Sculley. The killer feature of the watch has nothing to do with cellular connectivity. It has to do with health monitoring. Please focus your efforts there you numskull!
 
  • Like
Reactions: skinned66 and lyngo
You people make me laugh. A round smart watch is not a good idea functionally. Be honest, if it were round you'd consider buying one and then stop yourself to complain about something else.

I guess it's really personal preference. The Gear s3 has an awesome round look and the UI to me is superior to the AW. For all of them the buttons need to be turned into touch/force sensitive areas or relocated/reconfigured as fidgeting with these things gets irritating after a while. As of course smart watches demand much more interaction than a normal watch.
 
Or maybe not as there are allready offers available that share one data plan over 2 devices.
Perfect solution would be 2 devices on just 1 celluar number, so one would get calls on the watch if the phone isn't near.

I would be ok with it if I didn't have to pay for a separate plan. Otherwise, I don't have a compelling need for the watch to be independent of the phone since I rarely use the watch without the phone nearby or on the same wifi network.
[doublepost=1461876443][/doublepost]
It's a watch.

Not this round obsession again :rolleyes: I really don't understand it. I guess you don't like to read text comfortably on the watch.
 
It's interesting to read the rather wide variety of opinions on the one product that's not lived up to the hype. Fortunately with nearly endless resources and the finest marketing department in the universe, Apple can create whatever image they want for the next version of this iOS device. Perhaps whatever Apple chooses to do will catch the publics eye.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.