Here is everything I have been able to gather from legitimate sources:
1. The Watch will utilize wifi, users do not have access to picking networks
2. The primary means of communication between the Watch and iPhone is Bluetooth
3. If a network exists and the iPhone sits on it, the Apple Watch will also join it, and in which case they will use a Bonjour-like method to discover & chat with each other instead of BT.
4. The Watch will not connect to the iPhone through the iPhone's hotspot, but that doesn't mean it's not possible (not much evidence on this).
5. The Watch can use BT High-speed (which is p2p wifi) for Bluetooth transfers if required, but will be unbeknowst to the user and if both devices are not connected to a mutual network.
A lot of people assume it "can connect via wifi" because of the "Use at home; away from phone" comment by Lynch, but he used home because it is a location with a router that can act as the bridge between the two devices instead of bridging directly through BT.
^ This is how Apple achieves this, but it doesn't allow for a device to sit on multiple wifi channels at once; it allows a device to see the wifi channels of other devices. Multipeer is the Rendezvous of 2015.
1. The Watch will utilize wifi, users do not have access to picking networks
2. The primary means of communication between the Watch and iPhone is Bluetooth
3. If a network exists and the iPhone sits on it, the Apple Watch will also join it, and in which case they will use a Bonjour-like method to discover & chat with each other instead of BT.
4. The Watch will not connect to the iPhone through the iPhone's hotspot, but that doesn't mean it's not possible (not much evidence on this).
5. The Watch can use BT High-speed (which is p2p wifi) for Bluetooth transfers if required, but will be unbeknowst to the user and if both devices are not connected to a mutual network.
A lot of people assume it "can connect via wifi" because of the "Use at home; away from phone" comment by Lynch, but he used home because it is a location with a router that can act as the bridge between the two devices instead of bridging directly through BT.
Apple Multipeer Framework
^ This is how Apple achieves this, but it doesn't allow for a device to sit on multiple wifi channels at once; it allows a device to see the wifi channels of other devices. Multipeer is the Rendezvous of 2015.