True. Unless Apple magically comes up with a way to speak/text on the AW discreetly, it's a poor substitute for having an actual iPhone. If anything, an iPhone-free AW would be most useful for certain activities like jogging, etc.
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How Long Until the Watch Has a SIM Card?
- Thread starter rillrill
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True. Unless Apple magically comes up with a way to speak/text on the AW discreetly, it's a poor substitute for having an actual iPhone. If anything, an iPhone-free AW would be most useful for certain activities like jogging, etc.
How useful is GPS without cellular data?
Non-techie friend: "Does the Apple Watch have GPS?"
You: "Yup!"
Friend: "Cool, so I can use the map to get around!"
You: "Uh, not really. It doesn't have a data connection."
Friend: "Well... why not? It has GPS, right?"
Yeah, explain that one.
I forgive my Garmin Forerunner for not having 3G/4G/LTE because it isn't good at anything else besides recording my runs. The AW's OS and hardware allow a much more capable interface, so I want it to do more. Half-assing it with GPS but without data would be aggravating. Somehow, though, I'm okay with giving up both data and GPS by leaving my phone at home.
Non-techie friend: "Does the Apple Watch have GPS?"
You: "Yup!"
Friend: "Cool, so I can use the map to get around!"
You: "Uh, not really. It doesn't have a data connection."
Friend: "Well... why not? It has GPS, right?"
Yeah, explain that one.
I forgive my Garmin Forerunner for not having 3G/4G/LTE because it isn't good at anything else besides recording my runs. The AW's OS and hardware allow a much more capable interface, so I want it to do more. Half-assing it with GPS but without data would be aggravating. Somehow, though, I'm okay with giving up both data and GPS by leaving my phone at home.
Guys, the GSMA just standardized the embedded SIM standard for consumer devices (or the should have, deadline was December 18), which means the SIM can now be soldered directly to the PCB instead of being inserted in its own SIM card tray. This solves size and distribution problems, so I expect we'll see the Watch with an embedded SIM in 2017.
Battery is still an issue though as LTE/GSM is still using more power than BLE, which might slow down adoption on the watch.
Battery is still an issue though as LTE/GSM is still using more power than BLE, which might slow down adoption on the watch.
The Internet of Things is actually what's driving the embedded SIM card. Cell phone service providers will have to step up and support the technology before it gains momentum in consumer devices. Power consumption will need to be addressed before you'll see a SIM card in your watch.
I have never thought about an integrated sim, but it makes sense. Just tell you your phone company your sim number so they can allocate the phone number and that's it. How many people actually swap a SIM card between phones?
You will more likely go thru a setup page where you select a provider and plan, rather than be able to walk into any provider with your SIM number... This is one of the fears of the providers - that they will be locked out.
Being able to switch to a local provider and number on a second phone number is quite common in Asia. I know dozens of people who either carry two phones or have a dual SIM phone for this exact reason.
If I could just activate a Chinese number while in China, rather than pop in my local SIM, that would be very sweet.
I think this is a natural progression and I hope to see it in Apple Watch 2 this March. However, I'm not willing to pay a separate access fee to the carrier, so I wonder what that situation will be.
For the record, even if the watch gains cellular ability and becomes independent to the iPhone, I don't believe they would ever let you activate a watch without a paired iPhone. iPhone will always be home base and the purchase of Apple Watch will always necessitate purchase of the iPhone.
For the record, even if the watch gains cellular ability and becomes independent to the iPhone, I don't believe they would ever let you activate a watch without a paired iPhone. iPhone will always be home base and the purchase of Apple Watch will always necessitate purchase of the iPhone.
Of course, iPhone will be the home base, but with cellular abilities, the watch can be practically anywhere in the world with a connection to iCloud and still call home to the iPhone. That is where I think the real beauty lies.
One scenario that I can come up with is in my side hobby as a football official, on the field, I don't want my big iPhone 6S Plus flopping around in my pocket, just so that I can use my Apple Watch fully. I'd like to be able to leave the iPhone behind in the locker room and simply use the Apple Watch as my on-field smart device.