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John.B

macrumors 601
Jan 15, 2008
4,193
705
Holocene Epoch
iMessage is far more useful to me, vs. phone calls. That said, I'm not in the habit of trusting just any open WiFi network.
 

Daalseth

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2012
599
306
If I never wore a watch, I probably wouldn't ever buy an Apple Watch.

I wore a watch up until about 8 years ago. I have enjoyed not having anything on my wrist. Getting me to drop a few hundred bills on a watch will be an especially hard sell. Maybe by v4 to v6 it will have a killer function but for now I'll sit on the sidelines.
 

phpmaven

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2009
3,466
522
San Clemente, CA USA
Why is this notable? Apple said that even when the :apple:Watch is out of your iPhone's Bluetooth range but on the same WiFi network they can communicate to each other, that doesn't mean they have only have a direct WiFi connection to each other.

They never said that anything about them "being on the same wifi network", all they said was that they communicated over wifi when out of Bluetooth range. The assumption was that it was using the iPhone's wifi to make the connection. Kinda like a hot spot. Many assumed that since the Watch can't login to a wifi network, that this was how it worked.
 

thekeyring

macrumors 68040
Jan 5, 2012
3,485
2,147
London
The watch will turn into something very useful over time. It certainly has some novelty features that will turn out to not be useful in the long run but with software updates and then gen 2 models, we'll start to see some really useful features.

People need to remember that the iPhone, while revolutionary, was very limited at launch. The Apple Watch is limited now (but Apple opening it up to all developers will quickly close gaps) but has terrific potential.

That's a great point. It's easy to forget the iPhone didn't launch with an App Store, or 3G networking, and had only as much storage as an iPod nano.
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,460
Vilano Beach, FL
Me too! looking forward to 3rd party strap explosion

Holy smokes. :eek:

Personally, I'm looking forward to the wide range of Hello Kitty options.

Why is this notable? Apple said that even when the :apple:Watch is out of your iPhone's Bluetooth range but on the same WiFi network they can communicate to each other, that doesn't mean they have only have a direct WiFi connection to each other.

Apple hadn't (AFAIK)) come right out and indicated it would operate standalone vs. just using WiFi for iPhone communication. Per the reviewer:

And here's a surprising feature that Apple hasn't said anything about previously

We could _assume_ that since it has WiFi capabilities it could/would/should be able to establish a connection and operate independently, but with Apple, you never know (see NCF that's for payments only vs. file transfer/airdrop/etc)

:cool:
 

LordQ

Suspended
Sep 22, 2012
3,582
5,653
This is the kind of stuff they should have been talking about months ago. For a lot of the doubters, myself included, one of the biggest weaknesses was that it only could do most functions tethered to the phone. Only NOW are we finding out, and not from Apple, that it has independent abilities. The Apple Watch has a lot of capabilities without the phone and that is huge. Marketing was so fixated on style and appearance, and getting on the cover of Vogue and what it could do through the iPhone, that they have been not mentioning huge features like this. This is a huge screw up by marketing.

No, this is marketing trying to sell you on a new iPhone to work with your new Apple Watch.
 

QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,028
6,036
Bay Area
Oh man I'm nervous/excited about the Watch.

I agree with many of the criticisms and yet I can't believe Steve Jobs would have been the only one to stop this product. (Which people imply.) If it's no good, someone else at Apple in the last three years would have gone "This isn't working, we need to scrap it."

I think very few people think it's a *bad* product. Lots of people, however, think it's an *unnecessary* product (and product category). Very different critique.
 

BlueMoon63

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2015
2,055
959
Its actually not that impressive but pretty basic and expected from a tech product in 2015.

Considering that most of the bashing has been that it can't do anything without the phone, it is a significant item. I think most would agree with that assessment. But, I have said it before - the Apple Watch might not be for the majority people here - whether that is 49% or 1%.

I don't know the answer to this, but is there any other Smartwatch that can do this at all? Since we are talking about 2015? Some are on revision 3.

----------

I think very few people think it's a *bad* product. Lots of people, however, think it's an *unnecessary* product (and product category). Very different critique.

This one new tidbit would be a very good item that would be nice to have if you forgot your phone or outside cell phone range but have wi-fi or your phone is dead.

To me this is a necessary product at least for one new item that wasn't mentioned before. But I am sure it will be ripped.
 
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therayj

macrumors newbie
Apr 9, 2015
2
0
Other notifications?

Does this mean I can get other notifications as well, mainly the Mail app?

I want to go to the gym with my watch but leave my phone at home and still get mail app notifications -- will that work?
 

QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,028
6,036
Bay Area
I don't know the answer to this, but is there any other Smartwatch that can do this at all? Since we are talking about 2015? Some are on revision 3

Gear S has its own SIM so is totally independent from a phone other than loading apps. Don't know if there are any others.
 

k1121j

Suspended
Mar 28, 2009
1,729
2,764
New Hampshire
Umm yes apple has said previously have you seen the keynote. They say in the keynote it can use wifi and the phone can communicate width the watch on the same local wifi as well
 

Xultar

macrumors 6502a
Dec 4, 2010
742
34
Exactly.

I just tested this by sending some SMS texts back & forth between my iMac at home and my phone here at work. So the watch should work with SMS texts - this is great news because if I go out walking I can just bring my watch, and likely still have a way to communicate if i have to (there are cable company hotspots throughout my area).

As long as I don't get lost and need an accurate map :) (Though I wonder if it can do wifi location services)

Did you send the SMS to another iphone? if so it was iMessage which a Mac can send over wifi without an iphone. Try sending to an Android device to verify it was real SMS.
 

solipsism

macrumors 6502a
Jan 13, 2008
514
319
How can it send/receive SMS if the phone is dead?

1) Did they change the wording of the article because it says nothing of SMS.

2) It's still technically possible, and we know this because of iOS 8 and Yosemite's Continuity feature of forwarding SMS/MMS to the Messages app. This means that if your iPhone was on and an SMS came in it could forward via iCloud to the Messages app, which could be picked up by Watch OS even when your iPhone isn't tethered via the same local network. I'm not saying that has been set up, but it's certainly possible with their current tech.
 

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
Wow, great news on limited wifi access on the Apple watch. haha maybe you can surf the web on a small screen. :rolleyes:

Since I've eliminated myself from buying this piece of fluff (it doesn't add any net value to my Apple experience). I think the watch is an interesting direction to go but I don't wear a watch and it would be an adjustment to have one on again. Maybe rev 2 or 3 will more feature rich and cheaper.

I doubt we'll see a big jump in Rev 2. Probably be incremental and at the same price. 3 will add many more features but at the same price. Rev 4 will be the price drop. This is based on iPod Touch history.
 

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
I guess the same was said about iPad. We shall see...

I don't recall the iPad being called as polarizing as the Watch. I think this is a great device that is over priced. The iPad was a full blown device. The Apple Watch is more of an accessory... for now.

I still want one. I just think it's $100 more expensive that it should be for the base models.
 
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