Apple Watch Series 4 - Will there be a non cellular model?

[fokmik]

iPad is not carried everywhere, but the AW like iphone, yes. Apple wants in the future that the AW will be the next "brain" and you cannot achieve that with just wifi model...just like an iPhone
We will see, 9 days more

 

[borntrouble]

I'd even say that Apple sells more non-LTE models than LTE models

 

[fokmik]

ofc, because apple for once, it selling the LTE models in a much smaller amount of countries, and two, because APple still sells the non LTE, and let the users choose
If apple will come with just LTE and make the AW starts from 349$...they should sell it in all the countries that Apple sells the non -LTE now, otherwise is pointless

 

[BlankStar]

In Belgium the LTE-version of the Series 3 isn't for sale, since there aren't any providers that joined up with Apple for the service.

Hope that doesn't mean they won't sell the Series 4 here, because my Series 0 is due for a nice upgrade... I hope there will be a non-LTE-version for the countries that don't have the LTE-service available...

 

[bluespark]

My BIG rhetorical questing: Will that new Watch Face be limited to the S4 only? I really like the curved Complications and the amount of data on the screen.

That face is displaying nine complications simultaneously. I doubt current watches could handle that with anything approaching a satisfactory experience.

 

[macduke]

I bet they will always keep around the old version and have it without cellular. Even when Series 5 launches next year, we may see Series 4 without cellular as a cheaper model. It's kinda unfortunate because I'd like to get the stainless steel without cellular, but at least they got rid of the giant red dot. But I wish I could just pay less to not have it, and maybe they would have more room inside for a slightly larger battery? Though I might end up doing a cellular trial to see how I like it. I find myself not using my iPad data plan as much any more, so perhaps I could cancel that and add the Apple Watch.

 

[Lennyvalentin]

In Belgium the LTE-version of the Series 3 isn't for sale, since there aren't any providers that joined up with Apple for the service.

eSIM support will undoubtedly become more commonplace as technology progresses. Electronically stored data tends to displace physical objects (it's largely happened with money already in Europe), so those annoying little SIM cards will also go the way of the dodo some day.

That face is displaying nine complications simultaneously. I doubt current watches could handle that with anything approaching a satisfactory experience.

Nine or ninety wouldn't make much of a difference, honestly. They don't actually do all that much, if anything; mostly they're just bits of graphics on the screen, and microprocessors are fast these days.

 

[Der Keyser]

eSIM support will undoubtedly become more commonplace as technology progresses. Electronically stored data tends to displace physical objects (it's largely happened with money already in Europe), so those annoying little SIM cards will also go the way of the dodo some day.

Undoubtedly yes, but here in europe the carriers have been EXTREMELY slow at adopting E-sim because they are in a MUCH MUCH more competetive landscape compared to the politically established carrier monopoly in the US. So here they really fear that customers can change carriers so easily - plus they would rather prefer to avoid the investments in supporting e-sim as they have a hard time making money as it is. (They don’t make billions of dollars robbing the public by paying the politicians to prevent competition). Just as a comparison - here in Denmark you can get a monthly plan with free speech/texts and 40GB of data (with 2 SIMs - one for your iPad) for 20 dollars/month. And remember, 4 of those dollars are sales tax. So there’s not much left for the carrier - but it’s GREAT for us customers. Competition is great

 

[Deguello]

Undoubtedly yes, but here in europe the carriers have been EXTREMELY slow at adopting E-sim because they are in a MUCH MUCH more competetive landscape compared to the politically established carrier monopoly in the US. So here they really fear that customers can change carriers so easily - plus they would rather prefer to avoid the investments in supporting e-sim as they have a hard time making money as it is. (They don’t make billions of dollars robbing the public by paying the politicians to prevent competition). Just as a comparison - here in Denmark you can get a monthly plan with free speech/texts and 40GB of data (with 2 SIMs - one for your iPad) for 20 dollars/month. And remember, 4 of those dollars are sales tax. So there’s not much left for the carrier - but it’s GREAT for us customers. Competition is great

Absolutely, competition is great. How many carriers do y’all have in Denmark?

It’s kind of hard to do apples-to-apples for a lot of reasons, one of which is that Texas alone is about 16 times larger than Denmark and not nearly as densely populated, so infrastructure, at least, is wildly different.

I don’t have an AW, yet. One of my daughters does, and she has a cellular model. I go back and forth in whether I want that, but it kind of sounds like they will all be cellular, whether it gets activated or not.

 

[Der Keyser]

Absolutely, competition is great. How many carriers do y’all have in Denmark?

It’s kind of hard to do apples-to-apples for a lot of reasons, one of which is that Texas alone is about 16 times larger than Denmark and not nearly as densely populated, so infrastructure, at least, is wildly different.

I don’t have an AW, yet. One of my daughters does, and she has a cellular model. I go back and forth in whether I want that, but it kind of sounds like they will all be cellular, whether it gets activated or not.

The number of carriers is always changing because we have laws that forces the 4 (in reality 3) major carriers that actually owns and builds the infrastructure (by way of financial incentives), to allow any other “non infrastructure owning” carrier to purchase access for very little above cost (the added cost is fixed by accepting the financial incentive to build the infrastructure in the first place). Right now we probably have about 10 carriers to choose from.

 

[BuddyRich]

The number of carriers is always changing because we have laws that forces the 4 (in reality 3) major carriers that actually owns and builds the infrastructure (by way of financial incentives), to allow any other “non infrastructure owning” carrier to purchase access for very little above cost (the added cost is fixed by accepting the financial incentive to build the infrastructure in the first place). Right now we probably have about 10 carriers to choose from.

As a Canadian Im envious of even US plans compared to Canadian Carriers plans. It could be much worse!

 

[Lennyvalentin]

but here in europe the carriers have been EXTREMELY slow at adopting E-sim because they are in a MUCH MUCH more competetive landscape compared to the politically established carrier monopoly in the US.

You might be very right, I don't have any expert knowledge in this field. However, more devices with eSIMs will undoubtedly launch; I hear cellular iPads use eSIM as well, and there will be an increasing number of cellular smartwatches too in the years to come, probably also cellphones in not too long a while considering the SIM tray takes up a (comparatively large) volume of valuable internal space which could be put to better use on other things. Plus there's the needed waterproofing seals around the tray which could be eliminated, making the device easier and cheaper to manufacture (and safer to use in wet environments.)

 

[Der Keyser]

You might be very right, I don't have any expert knowledge in this field. However, more devices with eSIMs will undoubtedly launch; I hear cellular iPads use eSIM as well, and there will be an increasing number of cellular smartwatches too in the years to come, probably also cellphones in not too long a while considering the SIM tray takes up a (comparatively large) volume of valuable internal space which could be put to better use on other things. Plus there's the needed waterproofing seals around the tray which could be eliminated, making the device easier and cheaper to manufacture (and safer to use in wet environments.)

I hope so, because I would LOVE to be able to get a LTE apple watch But only one of the infrastructure carrier supports the LTE Watch, and they are the one with only major city coverage which makes it unavailable for me.

 

[BlankStar]

Seems Denmark and Belgium have a similar situation, but unlike you, I don't really care much for an LTE-version, but I do want a Series 4... And I fear, if only an LTE-version will be released, they won't release the S4 here :-(

 

[Pennypacker83]

There will definitely be a non-LTE version of S4. Thanks to Apple, we can only choose between the three Aluminium Sport models here in Finland, and none of the carriers offer an eSIM yet. Sweden seems to be the lucky one.

 

[loybond]

As a fellow Canadian, I'm mostly jealous of European, Asian and Australian plans. It seems that they get 20, 30, 40, 50 and even 100+ GB for like $20-30 in a lot of places, while here I'm supposed to feel special with 13GB for $60 (CAD obviously).

As a Canadian Im envious of even US plans compared to Canadian Carriers plans. It could be much worse!

 

[Lennyvalentin]

Sweden seems to be the lucky one.

One carrier supports eSIM, and it's the carrier with the generally worst reputation, from what I understand. (Incidentally, the lone bank which supports Apple Pay is also the most disliked national bank of them all, so two for two Apple! You sure know how to pick 'em lol.)

 

[rdy0329]

Non-LTE Stainless steel hopeful here as well. Otherwise, I'll just buy where SS is available and just don't use the LTE function. My country also doesn't support eSims yet.

 

[caspergirl]

It's a scam to launch only cellular S4 especially when there are MANY countries that the cellular is not supported. For example, I want to buy an Apple Watch now but even if I wanted a cellular version there is no deal with mobile phone providers so why force me pay extra for something technically useless?

 

[Lennyvalentin]

Maybe you need to look up the definition of the word "scam"...

 

[oeagleo]

It's a scam to launch only cellular S4 especially when there are MANY countries that the cellular is not supported. For example, I want to buy an Apple Watch now but even if I wanted a cellular version there is no deal with mobile phone providers so why force me pay extra for something technically useless?

But, if it's part of the "base" price of the watch, it's not "extra". Perhaps it "used" to be extra, but not now. Sort of like buying a car with a cigarette lighter, if you don't smoke? Or perhaps a better example would be buying a Garmin that has a setting for "Run Intervals", when I simply don't run, or don't do intervals.

 

[KarimLeVallois]

It's a scam to launch only cellular S4 especially when there are MANY countries that the cellular is not supported. For example, I want to buy an Apple Watch now but even if I wanted a cellular version there is no deal with mobile phone providers so why force me pay extra for something technically useless?

People have such a go at Apple for the LTE roll-outs, but it has absolutely nothing to do with them. Do people really think Apple hold back launches and obvious revenue just for being awkward? The carriers don't have the infrastructure to cope with the shared numbers required for the LTE to work, hence why we only have EE here in the U.K. It's the carriers, not Apple driving the roll-outs...

 

[BlankStar]

Apple is obviously not the culprit when it comes to the rollout of eSim support or LTE-networks.

But it would be nice of them to sell a non-LTE version for a lower price for us who don't even have acces to a supported network.

But maybe we're all just getting ahead of ourselves, since it is still a rumor saying that there will only be an LTE-model

 

[Lennyvalentin]

since it is still a rumor saying that there will only be an LTE-model

It's not even a rumor; right now it's just someone making something up.

 

[Akrapovic]

I really hope there is a non-LTE model. In the UK, only EE supports it, and the additional cost of the contract is not worth it for me. I love my Watch (more than I expected!), but I have no need for a data contract for it. I have a S3 and would consider an S4 if there are new faces and Activity features, but not if there is not a non-LTE model.