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I have an original Apple Watch (Series 0?) and was thinking about upgrading to the Series 3. I was hoping that it'd support Bluetooth 5 like the iPhone 8 for the increased range and speed, but the Series 3 is still using Bluetooth 4.2 unfortunately.

What benefits do you believe you'd gain from the increased range and higher speed of the watch's bluetooth connection to the phone?
 
THIS! this is all people need to know/worry about the 4 hours of battery on lte so be ready to charge your watch 4/5 times a day

so you charge at night thats #1 lets say you wake up at 7am and have to be at work at 9

7-12 (I'm adding an extra hour to battery because everyone will have their phone lets be real)

the time from 12-1pm is spent charging the watch (I'm guessing it will take an hour) charge #2

1-6pm (time to go home if it takes you an hour to get to work your watch should/maybe die before you get home)

now if you wait till 4:30 to recharge again before you leave thats #3 (you still charge at 12 noon) you should be at 30% so a 30min charge should put you back at 80%

so from 5pm you should be able to make it to 9pm with


a lot of people work out so an hour long working out where you stream apple music over your watch should put you in that 4/5 charge a day world

I understand your point, and agree that 4 hours on LTE means that the Apple Watch is not a practical "all day" alternative to bringing your phone along for the day. However, in fairness, I believe the Watch will only use LTE if there isn't a lower power alternative (wifi or Bluetooth) available from a paired iPhone. So, if you have your phone with you for most of the day, you probably won't need to recharge the Watch as often as you have calculated. Of course, if you have your phone with you, what's the point of having an LTE enabled Watch?

All of this said, the LTE version of the Apple Watch is for individuals with unique needs that justify the price premium plus carrier fees. I would think an avid distance runner who doesn't want to carry a phone would be a potential customer. We have seen this before with other devices. The iPad with LTE has a smaller customer base than the Wifi only version because of the $130 purchase premium for the radio plus the monthly carrier fee. Most people opt for the wifi only iPad, since wifi is readly available in many locations and the iPhone hotspot provides a connection which allows them to avoid extra costs.
 
I understand your point, and agree that 4 hours on LTE means that the Apple Watch is not a practical "all day" alternative to bringing your phone along for the day. However, in fairness, I believe the Watch will only use LTE if there isn't a lower power alternative (wifi or Bluetooth) available from a paired iPhone. So, if you have your phone with you for most of the day, you probably won't need to recharge the Watch as often as you have calculated. Of course, if you have your phone with you, what's the point of having an LTE enabled Watch?

All of this said, the LTE version of the Apple Watch is for individuals with unique needs that justify the price premium plus carrier fees. I would think an avid distance runner who doesn't want to carry a phone would be a potential customer. We have seen this before with other devices. The iPad with LTE has a smaller customer base than the Wifi only version because of the $130 purchase premium for the radio plus the monthly carrier fee. Most people opt for the wifi only iPad, since wifi is readly available in many locations and the iPhone hotspot provides a connection which allows them to avoid extra costs.


oh I'm not complaining just cutting through the bs so people can make a better decision...im the person who bought a cellular iPad just because it had gps and i needed it for geo tagging wedding photos for my side job so yea i have zero room to talk lol will i still be buying the new lte watch yea i most likely will along with the iphone x EVEN though i know they will be adding touch id back in next year
 
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What benefits do you believe you'd gain from the increased range and higher speed of the watch's bluetooth connection to the phone?
Hard to say how big of a difference it'd make in day-to-day usage, but all things being equal, I'd prefer a device with the better range and speed, same reason why I'd want to upgrade to a Series 3 for a faster processor and GPS. Regarding range, I was hoping with Bluetooth 5 for maybe a nice middle ground between the original Apple Watch and the new Cellular version with regards to how it's able to operate independently of the iPhone being nearby without requiring a separate data plan. For speed, clearly this would benefit watchOS update, app installation, and app communication speeds.
 
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Oh, hmmm... So it's not that the iPhone is still running the apps like the first year the Watch came out. It's that the data being fed to the Watch by the iPhone is less draining than the data coming from LTE. I got that before. But it specifically said that for workouts the battery lasts longer when near an iPhone -- which made me wonder if the Workout app runs on the phone when it's nearby? I dunno. I'm confused.

GPS. It's off on the Watch when the phone is in proximity.
 
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OK, serious question: should I spring for the iPhone X and keep my series 1 watch? Or should I go minimalist, keep my iPhone 7 (or even downsize to an SE), and just get the new LTE watch? If the battery lasts long enough, I could honestly see myself not carrying my phone, on most occasions, in the near future-- just the watch and Airpods. I hardly ever talk on the phone anymore, and I can dictate texts quite well on my watch (I've been doing it on my series 1 for a while now).

It would be the best of two worlds... Still having full internet/cellular communication (plus nav, music, etc.) functionality, but not having the constant temptation to sink into the world wide web via my phone screen.
 
Look again.

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I Stand corrected.
[doublepost=1505419803][/doublepost]Does anybody know what the monthly charge would be on EE for the watch?
 
I Stand corrected.
[doublepost=1505419803][/doublepost]Does anybody know what the monthly charge would be on EE for the watch?

Macrumors said:
EE has announced that customers can add an Apple Watch to an eligible SIM only or pay monthly plan for £5 per month, with the watch and iPhone sharing the same phone number. The carrier hasn't confirmed if it will be offering an introductory three-month trial, or if there will be an activation fee.
 
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Apple still doesn’t know what to do with the Apple Watch. I use mine on the daily but it’s not ~great~ at doing anything it does.

I think it just depends on how you have set up your "Apple lifestyle" because I think the killer app for the Apple Watch can be in using your voice to control things and do things. For example, using Siri (on Apple Watch or iPhone) you can send a text, like "Tell Jason I'll be 10 minutes late". I still marvel at the speech to text capabilities of Siri for sending messages.

I also use my Apple Watch sometimes to adjust my Philips Hue lights. I have a TV wall with shelf LED strips and 5 other ceiling lights and I have a few favourite settings that I can easily activate for watching movies or reading etc just by saying "Hey Siri turn on the reading lights"

Soon I should be able to use the Chamberlain garage door opener using Siri.

What else? I have a bluetooth deadbolt - but I haven't bothered to hook it into Home Kit - I think they made some Bluetooth to Wifi Bridge to facilitate that, but I haven't gotten to doing it.

I like getting weather and sunset time and AAPL stock price at a glance - available for when I care to look at it.

What else? Ok - I think it's more Siri stuff :)

Setting alarms and timers in a flash - I do that all the time when I BBQ. "Set a timer for 3 minutes".

I guess I can do it all with iPhone, but when I am barefoot about the house, I usually do have the Watch on my wrist.

Aha! Here is the killer app. I use the Watch for finding my iPhone - you can "ping" your iPhone and it pings and pings until you figure out where you left it. That has saved me a dozen times at least, and it is VERY satisfying when you realize you left the phone in the garden, laundry room, garage, etc etc - places I would not have been searching right away, and luckily the Apple Watch was able to make the iPhone ping ping ping so I could find it. That's the best.

What else is the Apple Watch good for? Well, those fitness rings really can be a motivator. If you do good on your fitness program and look back at the last month, you can feel proud. I send screenshots to my cousin to show off what a good boy I have been. Apple Watch catches lots of data that I rarely look at, but who knows, maybe someday my Doc might take interest? Maybe in the near future the Insurance company will be paying for my Apple Watch and giving me a discount on insurance.
[doublepost=1505442942][/doublepost]
I do not understand why Apple did not improve the battery life of the Apple Watch? It makes no logical sense.

I think they try their best. Power efficiency is key. But they have to balance that with bells and whistles.
[doublepost=1505443674][/doublepost]
OK, serious question: should I spring for the iPhone X and keep my series 1 watch? Or should I go minimalist, keep my iPhone 7 (or even downsize to an SE), and just get the new LTE watch? If the battery lasts long enough, I could honestly see myself not carrying my phone, on most occasions, in the near future-- just the watch and Airpods. I hardly ever talk on the phone anymore, and I can dictate texts quite well on my watch (I've been doing it on my series 1 for a while now).

It would be the best of two worlds... Still having full internet/cellular communication (plus nav, music, etc.) functionality, but not having the constant temptation to sink into the world wide web via my phone screen.

If you can't get both or all of it, then I guess I would choose to get the iPhone X and get a used Series 2 Apple Watch maybe or keep whatever Watch you have. If you are an avid jogger - then you will want the Series 3 Watch for sure though.
 
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OK, serious question: should I spring for the iPhone X and keep my series 1 watch? Or should I go minimalist, keep my iPhone 7 (or even downsize to an SE), and just get the new LTE watch? If the battery lasts long enough, I could honestly see myself not carrying my phone, on most occasions, in the near future-- just the watch and Airpods. I hardly ever talk on the phone anymore, and I can dictate texts quite well on my watch (I've been doing it on my series 1 for a while now).

It would be the best of two worlds... Still having full internet/cellular communication (plus nav, music, etc.) functionality, but not having the constant temptation to sink into the world wide web via my phone screen.

Definitely go for the X. The watch still looks the same and does pretty much the same as a Series 1. Now the phone is a new design, significantly faster, etc. It’s a no brainer!
 
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I just rang EE to enquire about the pricing about the watch. The lady on the phone was actually genuine and quote straight forward which I liked. She told me it's £25 a month, for 24 months. I had the series 1 before and sold it but for me personally I can't justify it at this price.
 
Not sure I fully understand those numbers, but ok.... It’s quite clear we need a battery breakthrough next. It’s got to be the next big thing in this industry.

Totally agree. While technology has advanced at a fast rate, battery technology has been left WAY behind.
 
OK, serious question: should I spring for the iPhone X and keep my series 1 watch? Or should I go minimalist, keep my iPhone 7 (or even downsize to an SE), and just get the new LTE watch? If the battery lasts long enough, I could honestly see myself not carrying my phone, on most occasions, in the near future-- just the watch and Airpods. I hardly ever talk on the phone anymore, and I can dictate texts quite well on my watch (I've been doing it on my series 1 for a while now).

It would be the best of two worlds... Still having full internet/cellular communication (plus nav, music, etc.) functionality, but not having the constant temptation to sink into the world wide web via my phone screen.

You have to decide what each upgrade (iPhone 7 to iPhone X and Apple Watch 1 to Apple Watch 3) would do for you. From your description, the new watch would do much of what you need without having to carry the phone most of the time. However, I suspect that you'll still want a phone for some things. Given that you have an iPhone 7, which is a very good device, I would keep it and upgrade the watch unless cost is no object.

I have an iPhone 7 Plus that I'll either keep or upgrade to an X. Because it's going to be in very short supply, I'm planning on pre-ordering as early as possible so I can try it myself and decide whether or not to keep it. My Apple Watch Series 1 still does a good job of showing me appointments and messages discretely, so I'll probably keep it.
 
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