Apple Watch SE + Family Setup + No Celluar

[ftaok]

OK, I haven't been able to find any answers, and I'm still confused.

Here's my situation. We are planning to get my kid (10 y.o.) an Apple Watch SE GPS-only. He has an iPhone6 but no celluar plan (basically an iPod touch).

As the iPhone6 is limited to iOS12, there's no way to pair the AW SE to the iPhone6.

I have an iPhoneXs that I could use to do the Family Setup thing for him, but the information says that the AW has to have celluar, but with an asterisk.

What you need​

• An Apple Watch Series 4 or later with cellular,* or Apple Watch SE with cellular, with watchOS 7 or later.
• An iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14 or later for the initial watch setup.
• An Apple ID for yourself and one for the family member who will use the Apple Watch. Your Apple ID needs to have two-factor authentication turned on.
• A Family Sharing setup that includes the person who'll use the Apple Watch. You need to have the role of organizer or parent/guardian to set up an Apple Watch for a family member.

* A cellular plan isn't required to set up an Apple Watch for a family member, but is necessary for some features.

Set up Apple Watch for a family member - Apple Support

Family Setup lets family members who don't have their own iPhone enjoy the features and benefits of an Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

I'm wondering what the asterisk means when it says that "a celluar plan" isn't required to set up ..."

Can anyone confirm if a non-cell AW SE can be set-up? I understand that "some features" would be unavailable. I just want him to be able to track his health stats and such. We aren't planning on getting him a celluar plan for at least a year or two.

I suppose another option would be to find an old AW that is still running wOS5. I'd give him my AW S2, but it's already running wOS 6.2.8 and I'm not sure if Apple would downgrade it for me.

Thanks.