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Cancelled my Sport and iPhone 6 plus is my Watch now

R

ricktat

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 18, 2013
1,937
1,770
I like a lot of people had a hard time justifying the price of the Watch. I ordered a Silver aluminum, black band, Blue leather band, Applecare plus, and a charging cable. I was at $700 for the base model that I kinda liked... but wouldn't love.

So I decided to take a different approach. My iPhone 6 plus will be my small portable device. I already have an ipad Air 2 that just sits at home.. but it's staying there.

I found that the new iPad mini 2 128GB LTE models are selling for $399. Best Buy, Walmart etc... prices fluctuate. I added it to my AT&T plan that always has 35 GB of data left each month (20 GB free upgrade and rollover $100 per month) for $10 a month. Now I have a new toy that I can take wherever. Not to say that I won't ever buy a Watch... but I will wait for the next model or prices to come down at other retailers.

Just my.. To each his own...cool story bro...story:D
 
So... You're using your iPhone. What a different approach.

Why not buy a Sport without the goodies? The Mini is useless with an iPhone and an iPad Air IMO.
 
MICHAELSD said:
So... You're using your iPhone. What a different approach.

Why not buy a Sport without the goodies? The Mini is useless with an iPhone and an iPad Air IMO.
Click to expand...

Agreed. What's the point of an iPad mini if you have the 6+ and an iPad? Don't blame you for skipping the watch though.
 
A mini and an iPad. The watch is about as justifiable as the iPad to me... both are extensions of the iPhone....except the watch is more portable.
 
The problem with having too many choices is that you might like one of them so much, you won't want the other available options. For me it was about the space black stainless steel, but I am not prepared to spend more than 1200€ for something I don't even know I need. I prefer to spend this kind of money for a new laptop, probably the Retina Macbook. It will be money much better spend.

Having seen the space black stainless steel model made me not want any of the cheaper choices. I don't want to spend 449€ for a sport watch (that's the price here in Germany for a 42mm sport watch). It's too expensive and even worse, I don't even like the looks of it. The second option would be the Milainese loop, but I have a hairy wrist and I am not sure about it. The Milainese costs 799€ in Europe..

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AdonisSMU said:
A mini and an iPad. The watch is about as justifiable as the iPad to me... both are extensions of the iPhone....except the watch is more portable.
Click to expand...

The iPad is not an iPhone extension. It is very similar to it, but certainly not an extension. It works alone and doesn't need an iPhone to work. Try using the Watch without an iPhone.
 
petvas said:
The problem with having too many choices is that you might like one of them so much, you won't want the other available options. For me it was about the space black stainless steel, but I am not prepared to spend more than 1200€ for something I don't even know I need. I prefer to spend this kind of money for a new laptop, probably the Retina Macbook. It will be money much better spend.

Having seen the space black stainless steel model made me not want any of the cheaper choices. I don't want to spend 449€ for a sport watch (that's the price here in Germany for a 42mm sport watch). It's too expensive and even worse, I don't even like the looks of it. The second option would be the Milainese loop, but I have a hairy wrist and I am not sure about it. The Milainese costs 799€ in Europe..

----------



The iPad is not an iPhone extension. It is very similar to it, but certainly not an extension. It works alone and doesn't need an iPhone to work. Try using the Watch without an iPhone.
Click to expand...
There are somethings the ipad still needs the phone to do like make calls...but you have a point. This is untested territory and the iPad can do many of the functions without an iphone but so can the watch.. music, heart rate type stuff presumably...who knows untill they really try it out and get under the hood...and I don't mean some reviewer trying to cobble together a review a few days before an Apple launch.
 
ricktat said:
I like a lot of people had a hard time justifying the price of the Watch. I ordered a Silver aluminum, black band, Blue leather band, Applecare plus, and a charging cable. I was at $700 for the base model that I kinda liked... but wouldn't love.

So I decided to take a different approach. My iPhone 6 plus will be my small portable device. I already have an ipad Air 2 that just sits at home.. but it's staying there.

I found that the new iPad mini 2 128GB LTE models are selling for $399. Best Buy, Walmart etc... prices fluctuate. I added it to my AT&T plan that always has 35 GB of data left each month (20 GB free upgrade and rollover $100 per month) for $10 a month. Now I have a new toy that I can take wherever. Not to say that I won't ever buy a Watch... but I will wait for the next model or prices to come down at other retailers.

Just my.. To each his own...cool story bro...story:D
Click to expand...

Wait, you realize you are going to have to take that iPhone out of your pocket, right?! I stand in awe of you, good sir! That is a herculean effort to take your phone out of your pocket on a daily basis. I, for one, do not know that I could handle a hardship such as that.

Back to reality, I actually think your solution is more sensible. Honestly, getting notifications on my wrist has made me look at my phone more than I normally would have. It has the opposite effect of what most people would intuitively believe, at least for me.
 
AdonisSMU said:
There are somethings the ipad still needs the phone to do like make calls...but you have a point. This is untested territory and the iPad can do many of the functions without an iphone but so can the watch.. music, heart rate type stuff presumably...who knows untill they really try it out and get under the hood...and I don't mean some reviewer trying to cobble together a review a few days before an Apple launch.
Click to expand...

An iPad does not NEED an iPhone. Period.
 
AdonisSMU said:
To make phone calls you need the iPhone.
Click to expand...

Yes but this is not a primary function of the iPad. You can use an iPad without an iPhone. You cannot even activate an Apple Watch without an iPhone. Most apps are running on the iPhone and transmit data via Bluetooth to the watch. How can you even compare the iPad to the watch?
 
ricktat said:
I like a lot of people had a hard time justifying the price of the Watch. I ordered a Silver aluminum, black band, Blue leather band, Applecare plus, and a charging cable. I was at $700 for the base model that I kinda liked... but wouldn't love.

So I decided to take a different approach. My iPhone 6 plus will be my small portable device. I already have an ipad Air 2 that just sits at home.. but it's staying there.
Click to expand...
So you initially ordered a Watch Sport, multiple extra straps, an extra charger and AppleCare+ (which is reasonable but can be bought within 60 days to offset the initial cost) and then got the cold feet because the "base model" was too expensive? Huh.
 
petvas said:
Yes but this is not a primary function of the iPad. You can use an iPad without an iPhone. You cannot even activate an Apple Watch without an iPhone. Most apps are running on the iPhone and transmit data via Bluetooth to the watch. How can you even compare the iPad to the watch?
Click to expand...

Because arguably with the release of the 6/6+ you could argue the iPad is not needed at any capacity. The watch probably serves more of a purpose than an iPad....even though to date the iPad is my favorite Apple Product EVER!!!! The watch coming in second, rMB third, iPhone 4th. I wish Apple wouldnt have made the watch totally reliant on the iPhone. Maybe Android users might want the watch.
 
AdonisSMU said:
Because arguably with the release of the 6/6+ you could argue the iPad is not needed at any capacity. The watch probably serves more of a purpose than an iPad....even though to date the iPad is my favorite Apple Product EVER!!!! The watch coming in second, rMB third, iPhone 4th. I wish Apple wouldnt have made the watch totally reliant on the iPhone. Maybe Android users might want the watch.
Click to expand...

If it's needed or not, this is a subjective opinion. The iPad works without the iPhone and that's a fact. The Apple Watch needs the iPhone to work. That's another fact.
 
ricktat said:
I like a lot of people had a hard time justifying the price of the Watch. I ordered a Silver aluminum, black band, Blue leather band, Applecare plus, and a charging cable. I was at $700 for the base model that I kinda liked... but wouldn't love.

So I decided to take a different approach. My iPhone 6 plus will be my small portable device. I already have an ipad Air 2 that just sits at home.. but it's staying there.

I found that the new iPad mini 2 128GB LTE models are selling for $399. Best Buy, Walmart etc... prices fluctuate. I added it to my AT&T plan that always has 35 GB of data left each month (20 GB free upgrade and rollover $100 per month) for $10 a month. Now I have a new toy that I can take wherever. Not to say that I won't ever buy a Watch... but I will wait for the next model or prices to come down at other retailers.

Just my.. To each his own...cool story bro...story:D
Click to expand...

This is truly a nice story. It's a novel idea to use your iPhone instead of a watch. I doubt anyone has thought of that before. I suspect many will now cancel their watch orders.
 
ricktat said:
...I was at $700 for the base model that I kinda liked... but wouldn't love...
Click to expand...

And that's sort-of where my wife is. The affordable $350 price drew her in - and I told her to go get it.

But then adding the strap she really wants, Applecare and a spare charging cable doubles it to $700.

Next, upgrading the watch body from aluminum to steel (to match her preferred band) adds another $200. So now we've almost hit $1K. (same as a nice 13" MacBook air - which she'd also really like whenever her 2012 Macbook Pro dies). I suspect this is going to kill the deal for her.

Me? I refuse to play the game. I just bought a plain Garmin Vivosmart band yesterday for $150. Very impressed so far:
  • I showered with it this morning.
  • Controlled iPhone music from the shower,
  • Got "glance" notifications in the shower and everywhere else.
  • Just got a silent "get up and move you lazy ba***rd" alert on my wrist :)
  • Used it to "find my iPhone" at home.

It also has the things I wanted that Apple watch didn't give me.
  • 7 day battery life.
  • 50M swim proof. A huge plus for me. Controls work while wet. (There are no buttons at all. Just a simple touch/swipe/tap OLED touchscreen that hides under the rubber surface until you double-tap the band)
  • The entire thing appears to be an understated black rubber band. I can wear it alongside my decades-old automatic watch.

It'll do for a year or two until Apple improve their offering. It's $150. Period.
 
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