Would it work to carry ONLY an Apple Watch around all day and leave the iPhone at home? I've never owned the Apple Watch before, but it occurred to me it would be nice to leave my phone and still be able to do some (limited) texting and phone calling if necessary.
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Apple Watch as phone replacement
- Thread starter ignatius345
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It's feasible but it really all depends on what your needs are and how long the battery will last on LTE.
I'd just want to be able to send/receive texts, look at calendar items, and maybe make the occasional call.
As far as the battery, I'm curious to hear from folks who are using their Apple Watches solo what kind of battery life they're seeing.
As far as the battery, I'm curious to hear from folks who are using their Apple Watches solo what kind of battery life they're seeing.
I hear you. In your case it might work. I haven't had my iPhone and Watch separated enough to find out how long LTE will last. I'm sure someone around here has done it.
I doubt it would last as long as you think, so I don't think so. I notice a difference in battery drain at the end of the day if I leave my phone at the office for lunch. That's one hour, and it's noticeable.
True, but I also wonder if it might help to simply leave the LTE turned off until needed. I can see the watch easily getting through the day using that strategy.
You definitely could do that. Without any radios turned on the watch will last at least a couple days.
What would happen if someone tries to contact you then? Personally I have my phone primarily so I can be contacted, vs me contacting people.
its not designed for this. It may get through the day on LTE with limited use but I haven't even found the need to even test it. I've been using mine on lte for the gym, short walks, grocery store etc each day and am pleased with the 75% or so battery life I have at the end of the day. Works as advertised.
This is why I wanted my watch and how I use it. My phone has not left the house since I got my watch on the 22nd. I don't text or call all day everyday but so far it has worked perfectly for me. I charge it fully before bed, use a sleep app over nite, wear it all day and by the time I put it back on the charger it is still somewhere around 40%.
Yes - this is why I wanted it and how I use it as well. I don't use any sleep apps but wear it from about 9am-11pm- It is usually between 50-60% at the end of my usual day. I leave the iphone at home all the time now.
Same here. Granted, I’m usually on WiFi at home or office so the LTE radio isn’t active. I now realize how little I actually need a phone. Calls, texts, maps, Siri - if you’re a minimalist like me, this is your ideal phone.
I too am often on wifi at home or office - so it is not trying to be on lte all the time I am wearing it or even most of the time.
I went for a four hour hike in a very spotty signal area, without the iPhone. Had LTE connection maybe 10% of the time. The rest of the time the watch was searching for signal. At the end of the hike I had 29% battery left. Screen was on for about 20 minutes total, trying to send a few iMessages, about half of which went through.
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ETA: I also tried making a phone call, for about two minutes, with only one dot signal strength. It didn't go through.
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ETA: I also tried making a phone call, for about two minutes, with only one dot signal strength. It didn't go through.
You can do it if you bring your charger. The battery life isn’t great - it’s good enough that it lasts all day but 2-3 calls and listening to music plus checking email and sending texts will run the battery down.
I am trying this today. i have wifi at my office so watch will be on that most of the day. i left my apartment at 6:45am (1.25 hours ago) and have done some texting and listening to music and at 94% battery. with the phone with me id have 99% at the same time.
My iPhone decided to die on me today so I'm going without a phone (not by choice) at work. My cellular is spotty so this should be interested. Thus far 3 hours in, I'm down to 83% battery with a few notifications and some texting.
Do you find it pretty usable for maps and such? I think my only needs are: texts, calls (occasionally), maps, my calendar, and the occasional alert for subway issues.
Yes! I used turn-by-turn in the car yesterday and thought it was great. It taps your wrist repeatedly when approaching a right turn and taps with longer breaks for a left turn. You can also glance at the watch. It's not as nice as Siri talking to you on the phone, but it works. Only problem is that the battery drains really fast when doing this!
[doublepost=1507139045][/doublepost]My assessment after a week and a half of not bringing my phone out of the house is that it definitely works as advertised. But I wouldn't go on a road trip or a day hike in the mountains with my watch only, mainly because of battery life. Or I guess you could do those things and turn cellular off until you need it.
[doublepost=1507139045][/doublepost]My assessment after a week and a half of not bringing my phone out of the house is that it definitely works as advertised. But I wouldn't go on a road trip or a day hike in the mountains with my watch only, mainly because of battery life. Or I guess you could do those things and turn cellular off until you need it.
I think I may well try this down the road (when battery life, etc is better), but probably not yet. The idea of leaving home with just a tiny strapless watch in my pocket is very appealing, but I don't know if the tech is quite ready.
Not to be "that guy" and bump the thread, but I'm curious to hear from anybody who has been using their Apple Watch as a standalone device all day on a consistent basis. Like a lot of people, I'm really feeling the distraction and attention drain of having my iPhone on me all the time. Something as limiting as an Apple Watch might hit the sweet spot between a crappy feature phone and a full-on computer in my pocket. I'd like to be able to text, get a phone call here and there, and have access to my calendar and maybe a little bit of map info. Anybody living the watch-only life?
There is No way I can use my Apple Watch as stand-alone device all day long. It would depend how much you’re actually actively using the Apple Watch and what for, messages, phone calls, etc. I don’t think the battery life is nearly that stable enough to support depending on what type activity someone experiences on a daily basis.
That would work, but as soon as you go outside range of any known wifi networks your watch would immediately turn from a smart device into a dumb device.
IE, no notifications, texts, emails, siri, maps and so on. It would tell time, show already known calendar items, reminders and so on. That's it. Oh, and the workout and health tracking features would still work as well.
I would expect much better battery life on LTE from the next generation watch. From what I understand, the cellular modem used in the series 3 watch is an older model which is more power-hungry than current chipsets.