Apple Watch + EarPods as a secondary phone?

[di1in]

I use an iPhone SE as a secondary phone right now (lot of calls only; browsing, emails, etc are on a Note 8). I was considering an upgrade but the other iPhones in the market are too big for a secondary phone (don't want both my pockets stuffed).

So:
1. Anyone here has experience on how good an Apple Watch Cellular + Wireless EarPods will work as a secondary phone without an iPhone around?
2. Will calls on the Watch be routed to my Mac like iPhones do?
3. Can I connect other Bluetooth headsets (like a Bose QC35) directly to the Apple Watch?

 

[akash.nu]

Depending on your reason for a secondary line. You have to have an active phone line to even get a cellular Apple Watch line activated and also need a phone to setup the watch. It can function as a stand-alone device but you still need to have a phone for it to work to begin with.

Also bear in mind,

1. it’s supposed to be used as an accessory for your phone, not a separate device on its own.

2. It doesn’t forward calls. Your iPhone forwards calls to all the other devices that are connected to the same iCloud account.

3. It does connect to other Bluetooth headphones.

Basically at present it seems apple wants to use the iPhone as the hub of communication and everything else hangs off of that. A kind of a wheel and spoke system.

 

[di1in]

Depending on your reason for a secondary line. You have to have an active phone line to even get a cellular Apple Watch line activated and also need a phone to setup the watch. It can function as a stand-alone device but you still need to have a phone for it to work to begin with.

Also bear in mind,

1. it’s supposed to be used as an accessory for your phone, not a separate device on its own.

2. It doesn’t forward calls. Your iPhone forwards calls to all the other devices that are connected to the same iCloud account.

3. It does connect to other Bluetooth headphones.

Basically at present it seems apple wants to use the iPhone as the hub of communication and everything else hangs off of that. A kind of a wheel and spike system.

Thanks, Akash. That is helpful.

 

[musicpenguy]

I currently do this - my iPhone is often not near me and I rely on just my Apple Watch and have done some pretty long phone calls and the battery holds up for calls when on WiFi and is better than I’d expect on LTE. Headsets help I think with battery life - I believe the speaker is part of the large battery drain.

Your Mac and iPad can and do get calls if you enable WiFi calling in which case it doesn’t matter that your phone isn’t nearby as your carrier is doing the call routing - not 100 percent sure about the Mac on this - know the iPad does this and frequently use my iPad as a phone. Nice loud speaker etc.