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Cellular Apple Watch Series 3 Launching in Singapore and Hong Kong in February

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Starting on February 2, the Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity will be available for purchase in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to updated information shared on Apple's Singapore and Hong Kong websites.

Customers in Singapore and Hong Kong will be able to place orders for the cellular Apple Watch starting on February 2, with those orders set to arrive on February 9, the official launch date for the device.

singaporeapplewatch.jpg

Pricing on the LTE Apple Watch Series 3 will start at S$598 in Singapore and HK$3,188 in Hong Kong.

In Singapore, the cellular Apple Watch will be available with Singtel service, and in Hong Kong, both 1O1O and csl3 will support it.

The Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity is already available in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK. In other countries, only Apple Watch Series 3 models with GPS are available for purchase.

It was available in China at launch, but one week after launch, carriers in China stopped offering the cellular version of the device, likely due its usage of an eSIM, a new technology in the country, and government security concerns.

Article Link: Cellular Apple Watch Series 3 Launching in Singapore and Hong Kong in February
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/01/25/apple-watch-series-3-singapore-hong-kong/
Only 1010 and csl3 in HK? I wonder why none of the other carriers opted in?

Also,
The Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity is already available in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, and the UK. In other countries, only Apple Watch Series 3 models with GPS are available for purchase.
Click to expand...
:D
 
Considering you apparently can’t connect cellular to any country outside your specific region, Singapore cellular seems like a bad deal :p
 
iZac said:
Considering you apparently can’t connect cellular to any country outside your specific region, Singapore cellular seems like a bad deal :p
Click to expand...

Hong Kong isn’t much bigger and those two HK carriers are actually the same company and they only cover HK.
 
jermwhl said:
Only 1010 and csl3 in HK? I wonder why none of the other carriers opted in?
Click to expand...

Are the bands the other carriers use necessarily the same as the two that opted in? I assume Apple deliberately used the UK/Europe model for HK rather than the Chinese one to cut down on grey market sales, but perhaps it also means incompatibility with some of the other HK carriers for now?
 
In Hong Kong and Singapore, there are regulations that prohibit carrier locking on cellphones. As such, any phones sold, with or without contract, are unlocked out of the box. I wonder how the LTE Apple Watch would fall into that regulations.
 
nicho said:
Are the bands the other carriers use necessarily the same as the two that opted in? I assume Apple deliberately used the UK/Europe model for HK rather than the Chinese one to cut down on grey market sales, but perhaps it also means incompatibility with some of the other HK carriers for now?
Click to expand...
I’m not sure which specific LTE bands they’re using. I was using 3 and CMHK. My girlfriend uses SmartoneHK. All three supported LTE, although perhaps not the correct bands that the watch needs. My AW3 is connected via T-Mobile anyway, but would be cool if the watches eventually support roaming.
 
nicho said:
Are the bands the other carriers use necessarily the same as the two that opted in? I assume Apple deliberately used the UK/Europe model for HK rather than the Chinese one to cut down on grey market sales, but perhaps it also means incompatibility with some of the other HK carriers for now?
Click to expand...

Why would Apple care about gray market sales of a lower volume product like this? The only person losing on those sales is the Chinese government with lost tax revenue. Apple still gets the sale and the numbers are still included in the Chinese market numbers. The only reason they attempt to stop gray market iPhone sales in HK is because mainland resellers will buy up every available unit if they didn’t. I just don’t see that happening with the Apple Watch.
 
Huh?
Does Hong Kong already have the cellular or are they going to have it?
 

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mrow said:
Why would Apple care about gray market sales of a lower volume product like this? The only person losing on those sales is the Chinese government with lost tax revenue. Apple still gets the sale and the numbers are still included in the Chinese market numbers. The only reason they attempt to stop gray market iPhone sales in HK is because mainland resellers will buy up every available unit if they didn’t. I just don’t see that happening with the Apple Watch.
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1) while not huge, the grey market has potential to screw with stocks of the higher end (Hermès, mostly) watches where supplies can become tight at times because of the nature of the bands. It happened a lot earlier on, and going to Hong Kong to buy watches is definitely a thing. Mainland resellers won't be buying up the cheaper models, but the Hong Kong model will always be a different SKU to the Chinese one (because it needs a different wall adapter in the box), and Apple would be pretty embarrassed if people can't get things in HK that are plentiful in the mainland.
2) More importantly, the eSIM in the Apple Watch will probably be the same technology used in the iPhone if apple ever make that switch. If Apple and China share the same models of Apple Watch, you'd expect them to share an iPhone model if eSIM was adopted... differentiate them and there won't be a market for mainland resellers at that point.
 
If Apple were smart they would make it android compatible. An Apple watch with Google now would be dope!
 
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