Apple Watch Series 3 Costs More Than $10/Month on Most Carriers, Can't Be Reactivated Without Fees

[stu.h]

I pay £8 a month for my SIM only contract (4gb data unlimited texts and minutes) with EE as they are the only carrier in the UK to offer cellular to the watch, as none of the others have the tech.
I think the 6 months free is due to expire around March and then EE will start charging £5 per month to keep it.
Anyone else in the UK keeping it, I do find it useful on occasion if I go to the gym or shop that I can get messages and calls. I did find it amusing to send a text in the swimming baths.
Ironically, I was in Asda and my first call without my phone was from a lady that had misdialled LOL

 

[ahargrave]

I was quite shocked to see how much carriers are charging in other countries! I'm in Australia, and the three supported carriers here charge $5AUD (approx $3.85USD) and there are no extra fees or charges, and can be cancelled and added at any time.

One of the only times we actually get something better value here.

 

[andresandiego]

It's so funny seeing people complain about something that no one is forcing you to get. If you think it is too expensive and not worth it to you just don't get it. Problem solved, you are welcome.

 

[Lumpydog]

It's so funny seeing people complain about something that no one is forcing you to get. If you think it is too expensive and not worth it to you just don't get it. Problem solved, you are welcome.

Way to miss the point. Advertised: $10/month. Reality: Not

 

[andresandiego]

Way to miss the point. Advertised: $10/month. Reality: Not

The point still remains, just don't get it

 

[Johnny365]

That's like saying unlimited data for $50, but charging $75 in the end.

 

[The Game 161]

I pay £8 a month for my SIM only contract (4gb data unlimited texts and minutes) with EE as they are the only carrier in the UK to offer cellular to the watch, as none of the others have the tech.
I think the 6 months free is due to expire around March and then EE will start charging £5 per month to keep it.
Anyone else in the UK keeping it, I do find it useful on occasion if I go to the gym or shop that I can get messages and calls. I did find it amusing to send a text in the swimming baths.
Ironically, I was in Asda and my first call without my phone was from a lady that had misdialled LOL

Yeah I’ve found it useful for simply things like just walking to the shops to get some breakfast stuff and milk. All I leave the house with are the keys. Got everything I need on the watch

For a £5 a month you don’t need to use LTE a lot for it to be useful

Just hope apps like pocket cast can make you able to use it to listen to podcasts on the go without the phone

 

[asdavis10]

Right, the point is that people are experiencing variation of up to 50% on the recurring cost of this feature, largely due to artificial fees created by the carriers. That's significant, and it presents a delayed surprise that has kicked in AFTER the return period of the product.

I guess I'm missing the point. Once the free trial ended, there would be a cost. As for that cost varying between carriers, that's no different than any mobile service plan. People switch for price, coverage, data speeds, etc. If the pricing of the watch plan is a sticking point, then customers will switch. I'd assume that the taxes on the plans could have been calculated at the beginning of these trials but I also assume that many customers didn't do that. Hence the shock at the additional costs. But these state/federal/country taxes are always there. If there are new fees just for the watch that weren't advertised beforehand, then there is a valid complaint and one could sue.

 

[DeepIn2U]

How long until we get to pay a monthly subscription for air?

Man don't EVEN joke about that! I recall being in Gr 5 and my school teacher mentioned one day buying water will be considered normal, here in the Western world where water is clean and free to everyone. When that occured I stopped snickering and looking confused in a state of shock. We already see a LOT of people of a particular culture walking around with medical masks/screens on due to poor air quality outside of their home territories; and it's freaking me out.

It seems you have a life outside the online world, so you‘ll survive being unavailable for 15 min a day. But honestly, he related to that WiFi already provides a lot of features to the Apple Watch.

Well said.

Funny enough, nothing, nothing at all has been shown as completely NEW for anyone using an LTE Watch or iPhone for data consumption than what we had been using for decades now on the laptop/desktop over broadband wired connections. Sure services, sites, portals are new ... but the data transmitted is pretty much the same, just a little more of our personal lives.

 

[cloneofsnake]

One thing I was really impressed with the kindle when it first came out was how Jeff negotiated to have free 3G worldwide for its device! With the LTE Apple Watch, I couldn’t help but think if Steve was alive, he would’ve strong-armed the cell service providers into giving his device worldwide coverage, while Apple charge its customers a flat fee for guaranteed quality service.

 

[Tinmania]

Yes, thank you for also pointing out the obvious.

I will assume by "the obvious" you mean not reading the article.


Mike

 

[EVGabe]

Seems like a pretty big ripoff. Here in Canada, I have my AW3 LTE activated on the Bell network, and it costs me 5 Canadian dollars, roughly 3.5 USD, for the service. Seems pretty reasonable.

 

[Tinmania]

Yes... the LTE Apple Watch would be undoubtedly valuable in an emergency if you break your leg while hiking. No argument there.

I think, even unactivated, a cell device is required to still access 911. So you could buy an AW LTE for emergencies without paying any monthly fees. That said, I wrote "I think" because I am not sure if that FCC regulation (in the US) applies to a watch with cellular connectivity.



Mike

 

[brian3uk]

obviously this wont be the case for everyone but my plan with t-mobile is basically free. i have kickback on my phone plan so if i keep my data under 2GB a month then I get a $10 credit. most of my data usage is music streaming at work (no wifi), so now I stream using my watch instead of my phone and poof a $10 credit every month now. sometimes its close, but so far its been pretty easy to stay under 2GB. in the end i still think $10 for the watch is too high but I made it work.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

Funny how we went from "The Apple Watch is useless without LTE" to "LTE on the Apple Watch is useless".

 

[PickUrPoison]

One thing I was really impressed with the kindle when it first came out was how Jeff negotiated to have free 3G worldwide for its device! With the LTE Apple Watch, I couldn’t help but think if Steve was alive, he would’ve strong-armed the cell service providers into giving his device worldwide coverage, while Apple charge its customers a flat fee for guaranteed quality service.

Was Bezos involved with negotiations for Kindle cellular usage? I hadn’t heard that.

I would guess Amazon is paying the carriers. But I don’t think Apple is willing to subsidize customers’ data use.

 

[imola.zhp]

I will assume by "the obvious" you mean not reading the article.

I read the article, thank you for your valuable comments.

 

[JackieInCo]

Funny how we went from "The Apple Watch is useless without LTE" to "LTE on the Apple Watch is useless".

I think a needful of people will find the service useful. I knew going when I purchased my first LTE Apple Watch that I would not use the service. I am two weeks in to my three month trial and have used it only once. I will cancel (I'm with T-Mobile so it is truly $10/month). I knew when I bought the watch that I would not use the LTE service from the past when I had a Gear S watch. I kept the service activated for about 6 months and called to cancel. T-Mobile offered to charge me only $5 for the service. I kept that for 2-3 months and still cancelled.

Now I have three LTE Apple watches that I bought knowing for me, the service is something I just plain won't use. I do have three lines on T-Mobile so I could use the service on all three watches if I wanted to, just no need to use even one.

 

[Brent Mcnicoll]

I got Apple watch 3 but have not activated the cell ,just figured buying the 3 would keep my options open.

Using these watches for Emergencies with the elderly should anything happen ,like a fall or heart issues ,having a means to call for help that is wearable seems like a decent option for them . I know there used to be some really clunky options with fee's back in the day

 

[RF9]

Very good summary. One thing, my Apple Watch 3 LTE on AT&T cannot be called or texted using its assigned number: it is literally married to my iPhone's number (via AT&T's NumberSync). Prior to this watch, I had an LG Sport Android Wear watch, also with LTE (and also on AT&T using NumberSync). That watch DID allow calls to the watch's own number--I often got robocalls to my watch. In fact I hated how NumberSync worked on that watch, such as not receiving texts, but that is a story for a different day. Suffice to say NumberSync with my Apple Watch LTE is exactly how I expected it to work. I leave LTE on all the time, wear the watch to sleep for tracking, and by the time I charge it each morning it has a good 70% battery left. I could easily go two or, if I was careful, three days. This is Vs. like 7 hours if I left LTE on with my LG Sport.



Mike

My wife has one on Verizon and I can call the watch's number directly.
It has to be on LTE (or Wifi calling I believe) to work, though. If it's connected to the phone via bluetooth then it's just a bluetooth hands free at that point and it's not connected directly to the carrier (LTE is disconnected) so you cannot call it directly
Put the phone in airplane mode. When the watch goes to LTE, I can then call it directly. I have tested this.
It's not practical or useful, but the point is that it is it's own independent fully functional line when it's in LTE which is rare.
[doublepost=1514313608][/doublepost]

No, it can't. At least on Verizon it can't.

Yes it can. Put the phone in airplane
mode After the phone connects to LTE you can call it to it's own number (not the main iPhone number.)
When it's connected to the phone via bluetooth, the LTE on the phone is off so it cannot be called.
It's not practical to use it this way, just technically possible.
I've tested this in my wife's on Verizon.

 

[tdar]

Same thought here. With the announcement of the LTE AW with your same number I believed there wouldn't be any additional costs. $2.99/month is the max this is worth, if anything at all.

I know some people would love to just have the watch, not an option.

So the watch is roughly $400 outright, service comes in at $120-$150 a year before any additional taxes.

For anyone that doesn't know all Apple watches can make phone calls over WiFi. Works for me even if my iPhone isn't on the same network, ie I have my phone at home and I'm at work on WiFi.

This point above is super important for everyone to understand. The only benefit you get in a S3 LTE watch is that you can make calls independently of your phone. Like if it's turned off or the battery is dead. These things happen,but how often do they happen? Is that worth $120+ a year to you. For the 2 or 3 times a year when they happen? Sure you might be someplace and really need to make a call, your phone is not with you, it's got no power, you left it turned off, you are somewhere that has no Wi-Fi. Sure that could happen. But how often will that happen. That's the $520+ question.
[doublepost=1514320372][/doublepost]

Couldn’t Apple charge less for their product then? I thought being in business was about $$$

It's this thought that has made business suck. Being in business is about providing service to your customers. If you do that correctly you won't have to worry about the money. See Apple.
[doublepost=1514320516][/doublepost]

Don't know why anyone should feel tricked when the bills start coming in. They said it was going to be $10 per month. It is.

The extra $5 is a GOVERNMENT TAX. The cellular providers are not charging you that, your lovely government is charging you that. That's a 50% tax!!

I don't recall voting for a 50% tax on cellular communications, do you? That's called bureaucratic regulation. Don't blame the cellular companies, they're not the ones who did it.

Fine. But tell me why they should be allowed to then add a fee to the tax, for collecting the tax, on the service you already paid them to provide.
[doublepost=1514320742][/doublepost]

Those are not carrier fees. And yes T-Mobile chooses to pay those fees out of the $10 per month fee, and hopefully competition by them and others will push the charge down to $5 or lower, but the point is that this article is promoting a false impression that these fees are basically some scam by the carriers to pad the bill, when that is close to fake news. It not only inaccurately creates an impression in most readers minds, just look at the comments, it also lets the government off the hook for a never-ending increase in "hidden" taxes on items such as utility bills.

You, like others need to go and look at the bills screenshots. There are fees for service, then there are taxes, and THEN there are fees to collect the taxes. THAT is what people are complaining about.

 

[Phonephreak]

This point above is super important for everyone to understand. The only benefit you get in a S3 LTE watch is that you can make calls independently of your phone. Like if it's turned off or the battery is dead. These things happen,but how often do they happen? Is that worth $120+ a year to you. For the 2 or 3 times a year when they happen? Sure you might be someplace and really need to make a call, your phone is not with you, it's got no power, you left it turned off, you are somewhere that has no Wi-Fi. Sure that could happen. But how often will that happen. That's the $520+ question.
[doublepost=1514320372][/doublepost]
It's this thought that has made business suck. Being in business is about providing service to your customers. If you do that correctly you won't have to worry about the money. See Apple.
[doublepost=1514320516][/doublepost]
Fine. But tell me why they should be allowed to then add a fee to the tax, for collecting the tax, on the service you already paid them to provide.
[doublepost=1514320742][/doublepost]
You, like others need to go and look at the bills screenshots. There are fees for service, then there are taxes, and THEN there are fees to collect the taxes. THAT is what people are complaining about.

It sounds like you want the service, but only want to pay what you feel is fair.

Yes. Look at Apple. Charges a premium for a phone that suffers from the same problems as any other phone. You buy it because it’s worth it to you so Apple is doing it right. Same goes for the watch plan.

 

[Michael Scrip]

For anyone that doesn't know all Apple watches can make phone calls over WiFi.

Exactly. That's how I sold a friend and her husband Apple Watches for Christmas.

She was laying on the couch with her baby napping on her belly. Her phone rang but it was halfway across the house in the kitchen. Don't wake the baby!

I told her that the Apple Watch would let her answer the phone or at least see who was calling to see if it was important.

She ordered an Apple Watch the next day.

And her husband is interested in fitness (step tracking) in addition to the phone capabilities. So he got one too.

It's simple stuff... but it can be soooo convenient. If she's running all over the house... she won't have her iPhone on her. But the Watch will be!

 

[truthertech]

This point above is super important for everyone to understand. The only benefit you get in a S3 LTE watch is that you can make calls independently of your phone. Like if it's turned off or the battery is dead. These things happen,but how often do they happen? Is that worth $120+ a year to you. For the 2 or 3 times a year when they happen? Sure you might be someplace and really need to make a call, your phone is not with you, it's got no power, you left it turned off, you are somewhere that has no Wi-Fi. Sure that could happen. But how often will that happen. That's the $520+ question.
[doublepost=1514320372][/doublepost]
It's this thought that has made business suck. Being in business is about providing service to your customers. If you do that correctly you won't have to worry about the money. See Apple.
[doublepost=1514320516][/doublepost]
Fine. But tell me why they should be allowed to then add a fee to the tax, for collecting the tax, on the service you already paid them to provide.
[doublepost=1514320742][/doublepost]
You, like others need to go and look at the bills screenshots. There are fees for service, then there are taxes, and THEN there are fees to collect the taxes. THAT is what people are complaining about.

There are no fees to collect the taxes.

 

[cmaier]

The point still remains, just don't get it

People buy the watch because they’re told a certain monthly price. Then they get their first bill and it’s too late.
[doublepost=1514401727][/doublepost]

Exactly. That's how I sold a friend and her husband Apple Watches for Christmas.

She was laying on the couch with her baby napping on her belly. Her phone rang but it was halfway across the house in the kitchen. Don't wake the baby!

I told her that the Apple Watch would let her answer the phone or at least see who was calling to see if it was important.

She ordered an Apple Watch the next day.

And her husband is interested in fitness (step tracking) in addition to the phone capabilities. So he got one too.

It's simple stuff... but it can be soooo convenient. If she's running all over the house... she won't have her iPhone on her. But the Watch will be!

Even works if the phone is turned off (if carrier supports WiFi calling)