Feasible to use all day without phone?

[johannnn]

When S5 gets released this autumn I’m contemplating whether to get the LTE model. One argument is whether I can go to work without the phone in terms of battery.
This would involve an hour commuting to work, 8h at work with WiFi (I assume the watch connects to the WiFi if the phone already has the password?), an hour commute back home, and 2-3h before bedtime. Is this feasible? Or would I need to charge it at work a well?

 

[CobraPA]

I think it really depends on amount of phone calls you take. Haven’t tried myself, but if you keep it under about 1hr of LTE phone calls, I bet you could do it.

 

[PaladinGuy]

I think it would be a stretch. If your signal quality drops much, it puts a large strain on the battery from searching for service.

I honestly don’t think the LTE is ideal other than for short periods like exercising. I’ve even contemplated getting rid of it at times. If it were even 5 dollars more a month, I’d cancel it.

 

[Shirasaki]

Very rough. I was forced to use Only Apple Watch series 3 LTE all day cause my iPhone was dead. And I had to recharge it once mid day just because I made 7-8 phone calls. Apple Watch series 5 may be more energy efficient in that regard, but I still doubt it can actually last all day without recharging in your scenario.
LTE on your Apple Watch, I think, is to make sure you are reachable even if your iPhone is not with you. I’d consider it a backup of your iPhone connection instead of a main device, although I can see Apple trying to push it towards a standalone device (individual App Store on the watch for example).

 

[sslade6752]

It depends on the Apps also like my bus pass ap does not have an Apple Watch version and a few other apps that need an Apple Watch version

 

[Newtons Apple]

Unless they do something to increase battery capacity or make the circuitry MUCH more efficient, using the phone for 45 to 60 minutes will have a large impact. Not to mention is you are exercising using the GPS. I tried the cellular and the amount of power it used made a big difference. I got rid of cellular mainly because I have to carry my phone with me anyway.

 

[johannnn]

Thanks for all the replies. Seems I’ll wait some more years before going LTE on the watch. The extra cost of the watch together with the monthly cost is too much for me just to have it when I’m outside jogging. Would love to leave the phone at home but seems the battery engineers at Apple need to do some more work first.

 

[parseckadet]

I think everyone is misreading the original post. It sounds like you're really only talking about a total of 2 hours where you're actually on LTE (during your commute). The rest of the time you're either at your office or at home. You indicated you have WiFi in the office, and I assume you do at home as well. I think everyone just read your thread title and assumed you meant using LTE all day long, which would have a big impact on the battery even without making any calls.

So here's my thinking, though take it with a grain of salt, since I don't actually have my watch's LTE activated. I think you would be just fine with this scenario. I don't think you would get the 2-days plus of battery life that some people claim, but I do think you would get through an entire day. And that's even with a gym workout, though perhaps not with a workout that used the GPS like any of the outdoor ones. Then again, you can deactivate GPS for those workouts in settings, so I still think you could make it work.

I say all of the above assuming we were talking about a series 4. There's just no way to tell right now what to expect from the series 5. Apple could improve efficiency, but then they could make the watch thinner with a smaller battery, or introduce some feature that uses up that efficiency gain, thus making for a net zero battery life gain.

 

[xraydoc]

Thanks for all the replies. Seems I’ll wait some more years before going LTE on the watch. The extra cost of the watch together with the monthly cost is too much for me just to have it when I’m outside jogging. Would love to leave the phone at home but seems the battery engineers at Apple need to do some more work first.

I think for the daily run, it will work perfectly without the phone. The barrier here is, as you said, the added cost -- do you want to spend the $10+ per month extra for an LTE subscription.

Going a full day, however, with watch only (commute, full day at work, commute home, etc., and what if you don't go right home after work...) might be tight, especially if you like to respond to lots of work emails from your mobile device (which would be the watch in this case) or need to spend more than an hour on LTE data.

Had LTE on my S3. Probably only really used it a handful of times in the last 18 months. Even when I could have left my phone at home, responding to longer messages or email can be cumbersome on the phone. Plus, if say, you wanted to buy movie tickets while you were out or something, you'd be stuck if you didn't have your phone anyway. Meanwhile, I paid an extra $180 is service fees to T-Mobile. All depends on its value to you.

 

[GomerBoy]

I think for the daily run, it will work perfectly without the phone. The barrier here is, as you said, the added cost -- do you want to spend the $10+ per month extra for an LTE subscription.

Going a full day, however, with watch only (commute, full day at work, commute home, etc., and what if you don't go right home after work...) might be tight, especially if you like to respond to lots of work emails from your mobile device (which would be the watch in this case) or need to spend more than an hour on LTE data.

Had LTE on my S3. Probably only really used it a handful of times in the last 18 months. Even when I could have left my phone at home, responding to longer messages or email can be cumbersome on the phone. Plus, if say, you wanted to buy movie tickets while you were out or something, you'd be stuck if you didn't have your phone anyway. Meanwhile, I paid an extra $180 is service fees to T-Mobile. All depends on its value to you.

I agree. I cannot see my Apple Watch as a stand alone device from the phone. It’s juts not possible and not worth the added cost of cellular IMO. I Snapchat and take pictures a lot with my phone...the watch can’t do that. Responding to emails on the watch would be a major chore. I always have my iPhone on me. I just love the watch because I can get notifications without having to pull out my phone. When I text someone though, it’s always easier to pull out my phone though. The scribble feature on the watch is fun, but takes longer than typing on the phone’s keyboard.

 

[Kboy250]

When S5 gets released this autumn I’m contemplating whether to get the LTE model. One argument is whether I can go to work without the phone in terms of battery.
This would involve an hour commuting to work, 8h at work with WiFi (I assume the watch connects to the WiFi if the phone already has the password?), an hour commute back home, and 2-3h before bedtime. Is this feasible? Or would I need to charge it at work a well?

This is quite feasible. There are quite a few variables though. If you are going to make 15-30 minutes calls on the commute both ways. Then connect to wifi at work and then connect back to iphone at home via bluetooth or wifi you should be fine. You could check emails on the watch while at work and respond back on work pc. Sending and receiving texts should be fine also as well as weather apps and the like.
The variables are time on phone calls and LTE strength. You should be able to make at least an hour of calls and still make it through the day. Also, I could be wrong but it seems less LTE signal uses more energy. I also think using the airpods over the built in speaker are more efficient.
As a last resort, you can also put the watch on the charger on your desk 30 minutes before you leave work and still receive voice calls with the speaker or airpods while charging and have a full battery for the home commute.
I regularly go to college football games without my phone, watch only, and it works fine for 6 or so hours I'm without the phone. Voice dictation for responding to texts works just as well or better than the Iphone in my opinion. I make calls, send and receive texts, read emails, check weather apps and use workout to track the outdoor walk for exercise credit.
Within a few days of using it you will see what your limits and options are, and I'll think you'll be just fine to accomplish what you are trying to do.

Cheers

 

[asfalloth]

When S5 gets released this autumn I’m contemplating whether to get the LTE model. One argument is whether I can go to work without the phone in terms of battery.
This would involve an hour commuting to work, 8h at work with WiFi (I assume the watch connects to the WiFi if the phone already has the password?), an hour commute back home, and 2-3h before bedtime. Is this feasible? Or would I need to charge it at work a well?

I can only comment on this scenario using EE in central London, simply no, battery cannot cope on my S4. (Even without a workout)