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1 hour of talk time? What's the point? You talk to someone and then have to take off your watch and wait around 2 hours to get it back to full charge.

I agree, this is pretty short, but I can't see needing to talk for more than 2 or 3 minutes on a call. I would consider the watch to allow you to be reached anywhere, but if you want to have a lengthy phone conversation grab your phone, or tell the person you'll call them back at a more convenient time.

The battery technology is just not there to be able to pack that amount of power into such a small device. If it were, Apple would have done it. I'd much rather enjoy the benefits of a LTE connected watch that has limited battery life than not get LTE in my watch at all. Things will get better, they always to, but this is still amazing tech in such a small device.
 
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I'll be holding on to my current series 1. The battery life is still not where an upgrade would be worth it.
 
Calls via LTE would likely be limited to emergencies that take place while out when you decided not to take your phone. Running for example, you may not want to take your phone with you where in the past you did so you could make a call if you had to. I assume this will work with AirPods. If so, it would not be a big deal to take/make a call and talk with someone via headphones. I could do an hour easy. I dont however think I will rely on my watch for this function. My phone will be with me 99% of the time. It will be treated as insurance.

With HomeKit, I assume I could find myself using Siri to unlock my door or open the garage without my phone nearby. Like wearing a key. Never know when that might be needed. One thing I worry about is low LTE signal. In places where the service is weak, it kills my phone so I wonder what it will do to my watch.

I have been wearing my Series 0 since launch day. It works great but ready to update so I plan to order this one. LTE will be an added feature I may not use a lot but it is nice to know it is an option if needed. The data portion, assuming it works with apps like weather, might be something that comes in handy a few times. I won't need to have my phone out as often if I dont want to.
 
Does that LTE connection piggyback on your data plan?

If so, the AW is now the ultimate notification engine. Stream data to your AW without your phone. Crazy.
 
I take my watch off at work and charge it on my desk for an hour or so. I'm able to sleep with it on and get to work the next day where I charge it again. Not a big deal.

Same here. I sleep with it on every night. It's my wake up alarm each morning and I set it to silent so it just vibrates on my arm to wake me up without waking up my wife (I typically get up 30 minutes before her in the morning). I work out with it in the morning and head off to work. Work all day with it on. Get home in the evening and first thing I put it on the charger. Don't need the watch on when just cooking and eating dinner and winding down for the night. 2 hours later I have a fully charged watch and ready to go again.

I can get about a day and a half on a full charge, so if that routine can't be followed it's not the end of the world. But 95% of the time that's how it goes and the watch never fails me. It's not an inconvenience at all. I love my watch and can't wait to upgrade to an LTE version. Having my entire iTunes music collection on my wrist when I run without having to have my phone with me...game changer!
 
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Am I the only person that was horrified by the red crown? Apple designs aesthetically pleasing products. That red crown is beyond horrible. I was shocked at how horrible it looks. It's completely unnecessary and looks ridiculous to me. But maybe I'm the only one. I guess I've never felt that way about anything Apple has created so it was shocking to me.
 
The Third watch, and yet no circular watch option...

does not Apple know that the Majority of people choose circular over the rectangular watches ?

this is not rocket science , look at the Majority of watches in the market from Rolex to OMEGA to w/e what is the major shape of the watches around ?
 
I'm predicting that the Apple Watch will become our phones in 5+ years and cell phones will become our PCs. You connect BT Headphones to the Apple Watch, you can make and receive calls. Replying to Texts/Tweets can be done via Siri: 'Hey Siri, read me my twitter feed' 'Reply to the_donYou Suck #MAGA'

If you need to look something up, or entertain yourself on a larger screen, you take out your 'cell phone' which is now just a LTE connected iOS device with a larger screen (i.e. iPad with LTE). The concept of a dedicated 'cellular phone' will disappear as more devices become LTE enabled.

This would be a post-pc word. Your daily interaction with technology is seamless. The problem is, a lot of this technology is still a few years away at the earliest. Such as the battery technology. You're going to need an Apple Watch that lasts a lot longer than 1 hour talk time for it to replace your phone. This is the baby steps towards abandoning the concept of a 'cell phone'. This is where I think Apple is 'thinking differently'

There's a huge flaw in that thinking. You're forgetting deaf people, people who have speech problems or those who
have difficulty talking, will prefer full texting capabilities. The Watch will not provide that ability. You cannot even have a full text conversation on the Watch since the screen is too small to do it. Also, Airpods are an industrial design insult to those who have hearing aids. AirPods cannot fit with the hearing aids as one has to take it out and put the headset in. And guess what? AirPods won't work even if one tries to use it as a 'hearing aid'. Hearing aids and 'in the ear' headphones ( like EarPods ) don't work the same way.

I have a severe hearing loss threshold and I tried using the EarPod once to see if it'll fit in my ear. It did'nt. Plus, when I tried to dig it in deeper to see if I could hear anything, not much could be heard coming from it. And the AirPod design is lazy. Not everyone's ears are built the same way.

I know about bluetooth hearing aids, but they're expensive and unnecessary. I use a standard digital hearing aid and it gets the job done.

When I want to listen to music, I use my open ear bud Sennheiser headphone with 3.5 jack or a HATIS headset that's slim and sits next to the hearing aid and it also has a 3.5 jack. The HATIS requires no power and is designed to block out background sound on telecoil mode, allowing only the incoming caller's voice or music to be heard.

You have to do this on the phone/tablet or desktop class computer. The phones will eventually end up as docking computers just like Samsung demoed. It will get to that stage. Tablets, however, might end up evolving into super computers with a detachable keyboard, whether it's optional or not. Desktops will not go away but may end up as a terminal for the phone/tablet devices.

I'm deaf/hard of hearing and prefer using text on the phone which is a lot easier to do. Having Siri send text messages while driving is a pain sometimes when it can't understand what I'm trying to convey. Also, many deaf people use sign language, with BOTH hands, in front of a screen in video calls, so the Watch cannot be the answer to becoming a phone. It's the wrong approach.
 
Battery life will have to become significantly better, which I doubt. Who wants to wear earphones everywhere when talking? Otherwise phone conversations become very public!

Siri would have to be significantly better for >99% reliability, especially for the Scotland ;-)

LOL - "Post PC" world. Still not here, and still won't be here in 5 years time.

"Post PC era" is a marketing term in order to sell more tablets.

Apple isn't the first to add voice capabilities to a watch, there is no "think different" here.


I'm predicting that the Apple Watch will become our phones in 5+ years and cell phones will become our PCs. You connect BT Headphones to the Apple Watch, you can make and receive calls. Replying to Texts/Tweets can be done via Siri: 'Hey Siri, read me my twitter feed' 'Reply to the_donYou Suck #MAGA'

If you need to look something up, or entertain yourself on a larger screen, you take out your 'cell phone' which is now just a LTE connected iOS device with a larger screen (i.e. iPad with LTE). The concept of a dedicated 'cellular phone' will disappear as more devices become LTE enabled.

This would be a post-pc word. Your daily interaction with technology is seamless. The problem is, a lot of this technology is still a few years away at the earliest. Such as the battery technology. You're going to need an Apple Watch that lasts a lot longer than 1 hour talk time for it to replace your phone. This is the baby steps towards abandoning the concept of a 'cell phone'. This is where I think Apple is 'thinking differently'
 
When Apple nails Solar charging on the watch, and make it waterproof rather than water-resistant, thats when I'm buying.

That's something they should've done to make it compelling. Solar charging is a very good way to keep the Watch going, even if the actual battery depletes and you have nowhere to plug it in to charge, the solar panels will do the job outside or via window. Then again, the night time is another concern.
 
There are many situations when voice dictation on a Watch is just not a practical option for texting......concerts, sports events, busy coffee shops, parties, libraries, meetings, etc.

So, I am afraid that I would be shlepping around the iPhone anyway and wondering why I paid $70 premium and $10 per month for LTE on my wrist when I have a superior LTE device in my pocket.
 


Apple watch is another poorly conceived product, cramming too much stuff in a tiny space, and make it impossibly to use it comfortably.


Apple says its Apple Watch Series 3 offers "all-day battery life" with 18 hours of usage, but in some cases, the LTE model's battery will drain more quickly.

The 18-hour usage metric includes 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback, and on the LTE model, it includes 4 hours of LTE connection and 14 hours of connection to iPhone via Bluetooth.

applewatchseries3-800x308.jpg

When talking on the Apple Watch or working out, though, battery life is shorter when using an LTE connection.

The Series 3 Apple Watch offers 1 hour of battery life when talking to someone on the phone over LTE, or three hours when connected to the iPhone.

For audio playback when connected to the iPhone, the Apple Watch battery will last for up to 10 hours, which is an improvement over the Series 2 (6.5 hours). Apple does not mention how long the battery will last when listening to music over an LTE connection, but the Apple Watch Series 3 will support streaming from Apple Music without an iPhone.

When it comes to workouts, the Apple Watch battery will last for up to 10 hours during an indoor workout with an iPhone nearby, but that number drops for an outdoor workout sans iPhone. With just GPS activated, the battery in the Series 3 Apple Watch will last for five hours (the same battery life as the Series 2 with GPS on), and when connected to LTE and GPS the battery will last for four hours during an outdoor workout.

According to Apple, the Apple Watch Series 3 will charge to 80 percent in one and a half hours and 100 percent in two hours using the included Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable. These charging numbers are identical to the Apple Watch Series 2.

Apple's Series 3 Apple Watch models will be available for pre-order on September 15, with the device launching on September 22. Pricing starts at $329 for non-LTE models, and $399 for LTE models.

Article Link: Apple Watch Series 3 Battery Lasts Up to 18 Hours, But Varies Based on Activity
 
Does the watch and the phone have to be on the same network? It sucks Rogers in canada wont carry it.
 
There are many situations when voice dictation on a Watch is just not a practical option for texting......concerts, sports events, busy coffee shops, parties, libraries, meetings, etc.

So, I am afraid that I would be shlepping around the iPhone anyway and wondering why I paid $70 premium and $10 per month for LTE on my wrist when I have a superior LTE device in my pocket.

You can always switch off the LTE and skip that 10 bucks a month if it turns out not to be worth it.
 
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You can always switch off the LTE and skip that 10 bucks a month if it turns out not to be worth it.

It seems to me the AW3 capabilities better fit a "usually have phone, sometimes leave it behind" usage model than and "usually leave phone behind" usage model. I suspect the on-LTE/away-from-phone battery life will be limiting.

As for texting from the watch, don't forget the various canned text responses, or use the Scribble capability to draw letters. Not viable for long messages, but still useful for short responses.

Does the watch and the phone have to be on the same network? It sucks Rogers in canada wont carry it.
I'd fully expect they need to be on the same network and in some manner supported by the carrier.
 
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And no Bluetooth Ant+ support? seriously Apple? Just wasted an opportunity there

It definitely has Bluetooth. As for Ant+ they probably did not support it by intention. Unfortunate in a way - I see that point of view and agree somewhat. Too bad for cycling power meters etc, but really the power meter guys and all the Garmin's etc of this world need to pick up their game and comply with what Apple wants, not the reverse. I was going to spend $2000.00 on a cycling power meter, but then found out it didn't have Bluetooth! Stupid decision by the company I'd say. Not every Triathlete is so dedicated that he would not consider using an Apple Watch or iPhone. I've had Garmin's etc, but became curious if my iPhone could do nearly as good and with more convenience. It ended up that I sold all my Garmin stuff and I am happier with what I can do with my iPhone and Apple Watch now, and I look back at the years of all the irritating ANT+ USB dongles and silly charging cables for these old Garmin GPS watch things and will never go back probably.
 
I wish apple was able to get charge of the watch to 80% in 15-20 mins that way i could use it as a sleep tracker and plop it on the charger in the morning while i shower and get ready for work.
 
That red digital crown is ugly. Makes it look like a toy, kind of like how kids plastic guns have that red cap on the end.
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I guess that's Apple's way of letting everyone know it's the newer model. Still ugly.

i think it has something to do with the how they merchandise and demo the watch. at any random moment at an apple store, there's several watches out -- of sizes/bands/casings. red dot could make it easier to manage which models and sort. maybe?
 
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