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Do we know details about the cellular chip being used? Is it Apple designed now? I wonder if to minimize it as much as possible they reduced the bands supported to simple the watch per region. No clue though, just thinking out loud.

You can only pack so much RF related electronics into a watch sized device.
 
The limitations are all coming out now, 1 hour battery life, no roaming. Wonder whats next?

Makes this far less desirable.

:-(

No doubt, the roaming issue will be fixed in the AppleWatch 4.

You forgot that Stainless Steel means you get LTE or nothing...this is my personal dealbreaker.
 
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I mean, I can understand the block on roaming, from the carrier side... But what's the problem if you move country and switch carrier...

This must logically be the same process as if you switch carrier within the same country. Otherwise this just appears completely arbitrary.
Why are the carriers charging $10 to add to your plan. This is just replacing data you would have been using on your phone. Charging for that is BS.
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You forgot that Stainless Steel means you get LTE or nothing...this is my personal dealbreaker.
My guess is they’re trying to cut down on the number of SKUs. How much more is the LTE version?
 
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Picked up an AW2 SS SB out of the Apple Refurbished Store several months ago for $469. I am not compelled to move to the Series 3 at this time. I love my Series 2.
 
I'm going to cancel my pre-order because of this. I was planning on traveling to Vietnam for 3 months and was hoping to get it to work over there, but now Apple comes out with this clarification. Ugh.

I was in Vietnam last year and the ATT passport package didn't work over there, so i had to pay full price for data. So... even if it worked there, you'd most likely pay through the nose.

Best option for such a long stay to to make sure your phone is carrier unlocked, and buy a new prepaid sim there.
 
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The limitations are all coming out now, 1 hour battery life, no roaming. Wonder whats next?

Makes this far less desirable.

:-(

No doubt, the roaming issue will be fixed in the AppleWatch 4.


Woah I didn't know it was only 1 hour battery life. It now seems super pointless if you have to get back to your phone and wait to recharge your watch for the rest of the day after your 1 hour workout or whatever use the lte for. Looks like if I finally take the apple watch plunge I'll just stick to a GPS version. Seems like it would still be nice to be able to track your run and listen to a downloaded playlist and not carry have to carry a phone.

Curious question for current apple watch users do you consider it just an expensive fitness/health tracker or do you do a lot of things on it while its tethered to your phone? I don't particularly love the feeling of wearing a watch and often forget to even wear my traditional watches but thinking Apple Watch might break that habit.

Appreciate any feedback.
 
Wait - if Cellular Series 3 watches are only available in countries with supported networks - does that mean if you're in a country where it's not supported that it's not possible to buy a stainless steel Series 3 watch? That would be quite odd if true.

Wow - I guess my thought is correct. I went to the site for a country that is yet to have a carrier supporting the Apple Watch, and there's no Stainless Steel model available.

For example, the Italian Apple site: https://www.apple.com/it/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch

- Yes, it's quite grotesque. It's a severe limitation in terms of style choices and quality of materials.
 
This is not new news - it was posted everywhere else immediately after the keynote. I knew this before buying, when I travel to other countries I'll simply keep my phone in my pocket if I intend to use watch features that consume data. It's probably not wise wandering around in a foreign country without a phone anyway.

Actually, it may not be entirely true that the Apple Watch Series 3 will work only in its specific country of purchase. Based on the Apple LTE bands document that the original post linked to, there appear to be three model groups of Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) — one for U.S./Canada/Puerto Rico, one for Australia, Japan, and the EU Countries, and one for China. Barring any artificial restrictions such as carrier locking, it seems likely that an Apple Watch purchased in the U.S. (A1860/A1861) could be used in Canada, and an Apple Watch purchased in the U.K. (A1889/A1891) could be used in France or any of the other EU countries where it's currently supported.
Correct, this is not a hardware limitation but a carrier limitation - the carrier doesn't want to be responsible for you roaming with a wearable for whatever reason.
 



With the LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 only available in a handful of countries at the current time, it might be tempting to purchase one in another country, but it won't work. Series 3 models appear to be limited to connectivity in their original country of purchase.

An Apple support representative who spoke to MacRumors reader Thomas said that an Apple Watch purchased in the U.S. online store will only work with the four carriers in the United States, perhaps due to hardware limitations.

applewatchseries3-800x308.jpg
Additionally, Apple Watch Series 3 models do not support roaming outside of a provider's network coverage area, according to Apple's fine print, so roaming when traveling to another country is not supported.

Unlike iPhones, Apple Watch Series 3 models also support a limited number of LTE bands, another factor that contributes to no support between countries. In the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, for example, only bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, and 41 are supported.

LTE Apple Watch models are currently only available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, the UK, and the United States. Apple says availability will expand to other countries next year.

Article Link: LTE in Apple Watch Series 3 Models Only Works in Country of Purchase
Limiting LTE in Apple Watch to only work in the purchase origin countries makes sense. The cellular component including the digital sim is designed and program to work with specific carriers in a specific country. The watches do not have a physical sim that can be interchangeable like phones. So, it is logical.
 
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Why are the carriers charging $10 to add to your plan. This is just replacing data you would have been using on your phone. Charging for that is BS.
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My guess is they’re trying to cut down on the number of SKUs. How much more is the LTE version?

Just because they are allowing you to share a number, they still have to register the IMEI into their system and allot resources for the extra devices. I agree that $10 is a bit high, but they are adding cost on their end.
 
This is not new news - it was posted everywhere else immediately after the keynote. I knew this before buying, when I travel to other countries I'll simply keep my phone in my pocket if I intend to use watch features that consume data. It's probably not wise wandering around in a foreign country without a phone anyway.

Its ligit to want to use your apple watch in other countries as you do in your home country.. i.e., to exercise and to take the odd phone call while you do so. Many people have dual passports too, or business trips etc etc and may travel between each more regularly.

Visiting other countries isn't scary*(!), and certainly don't really need to take your phone around with you everywhere!



* a few countries could be named that require more due diligence than others!
 
Only 3.5% of the US population has EVER traveled abroad. But we should probably blow this up into a HUGE problem because EVERYONE has to have their watch to talk when they're traveling.

We couldn't talk on our watches before 9/22 but it's IMPOSSIBLE to travel without that ability after that date. Cancel my trip.

That is a little shortsighted.

The world goes beyond the US borders.

I live in Europe, travel around Europe, Asia, Australia, USA and South America, I would expect the features of any tech I buy to be usable wherever I go.

I would understand if there were limitations in some countries, however, limiting a feature to the country of purchase is retarded.

It reminds me of region locking of SuperDrives in laptops, which caused me headaches in the past.
 
I have to wonder about the carrier agreements as well. Within their own networks, carriers can make allowances for multiple devices sharing a single phone, but having to contract out to another foreign provider could complicate how those devices are addressed. I can imagine people wouldn't be to thrilled to rack up a thousand dollar bill for using their watches overseas.
 
The limitations are all coming out now, 1 hour battery life, no roaming. Wonder whats next?

Makes this far less desirable.

:-(

No doubt, the roaming issue will be fixed in the AppleWatch 4.
The 1 hour of battery life seems like the bigger issue. Without battery power, it won't even work in the country you bought the watch.
One hour of LTE voice.......
 
Its ligit to want to use your apple watch in other countries as you do in your home country.. i.e., to exercise and to take the odd phone call while you do so. Many people have dual passports too, or business trips etc etc and may travel between each more regularly.

Visiting other countries isn't scary*(!), and certainly don't really need to take your phone around with you everywhere!



* a few countries could be named that require more due diligence than others!
I understand and absolutely agree, I don't think travelling in other countries is scary at all - but I also think the majority of the people on this thread are not regular business travelers or dual citizenship holders but people who are concerned their watch won't work when they are on vacation.
 
Wait - if Cellular Series 3 watches are only available in countries with supported networks - does that mean if you're in a country where it's not supported that it's not possible to buy a stainless steel Series 3 watch? That would be quite odd if true.

I'm fascinated how the whole eSIM thing will work. We'll see this eventually on phones as well as more carriers start to support it. I'm going to be connecting my Series 3 next week. So interested to see how that process is handled (it looks like it's done in the Watch app on the phone).

I am in India and a frequent traveler to the states. Just checked apple India website and your guess was correct. No SS watch in India. I preordered the Nike cellular and now have to cancel it because it would be completely useless. I was hoping India carriers start supporting it in a few months but now even if they do the US version will not work. I don't understand this. Isn't it cost effective for Apple to just manufacture a universal watch rather than fragment it for each country. They did this for the old iPhones but the new sim free ones work everywhere. I am hoping this article is not true and that support person didn't have full information.
 
I personally believe it's network-induced. International plans are good money, and $10 a day to go international isn't worth it.
 
Actually, it may not be entirely true that the Apple Watch Series 3 will work only in its specific country of purchase. Based on the Apple LTE bands document that the original post linked to, there appear to be three model groups of Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) — one for U.S./Canada/Puerto Rico, one for Australia, Japan, and the EU Countries, and one for China. Barring any artificial restrictions such as carrier locking, it seems likely that an Apple Watch purchased in the U.S. (A1860/A1861) could be used in Canada, and an Apple Watch purchased in the U.K. (A1889/A1891) could be used in France or any of the other EU countries where it's currently supported.

Correct, this is not a hardware limitation but a carrier limitation - the carrier doesn't want to be responsible for you roaming with a wearable for whatever reason.

- This is what I am thinking a well. Additionally, there doesn't seem to be any basis for the conclusion this article draws from the statements of that supporter. There's quite a difference between a US watch not working outside the US and no watch in the world working outside the country where it was purchased.

If it's just a matter of LTE bands, some models will work in some countries and some in others, with some degree of inter-compatiblity.
If it's because of artificial restrictions, I still fail to see the basis for the far-reaching conclusion the article draws from its limited information on one country.
 
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This will not be welcomed by folks in Europe who have just received continental roaming rights.

Indeed. I have 40 gigabytes of data a month included in my subscription. And it's now useable all over Europe.
This news has seriously dampened my enthousiasm for the Series 3.
I already own a steel Series 1, and I'll probably just grab a cheaper refurbished Series 2 for the water resistance. The limitations of Series 3 are just not worth it anymore.
 
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Limiting LTE in Apple Watch to only work in the purchase origin countries makes sense. The cellular component including the digital sim is designed and program to work with specific carriers in a specific country. The watches do not have a physical sim that can be interchangeable like phones. So, it is logical.

I would think that it would be logical if it was posible to update the digital sim settings to match the sim that is in your phone, so if you change your phone sim then your watch sim should automatically get the new settings.

This is what I would expect from Apple..... something that just works.
 
Also, with the exception of T-Mobile, all of the US carriers charge per device (per day) for international data - are you all really willing to pay an extra $10 a day to use your watch instead of just putting your phone in your pocket?

I'm not familiar with Non-US carriers' international data plans. I do think this is a huge bummer for European customers. Though I think anyone would only realistically travel between France, Germany & Switzerland (and maybe the UK) since those are the only supported countries at the moment so it only affects people that would do that regularly.

EDIT: T-mobile doesn't even have free 4G internationally, it is limited to 3G which the watch doesn't support - you have to buy an on-demand pass to use 4G - so any US customers that are mad about this are definitely overreacting.
 
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That's correct!

For instance, in Spain Apple is just gonna sell the non-LTE version. Neither Stainless steel nor ceramic model (W.Edition). Furthermore, the standart version has composite on the back instead of ceramic (like Series 1) :(

- Yes, it's quite grotesque. It's a severe limitation in terms of style choices and quality of materials.

Wow, that sucks. And just damn strange to think that only a handful of countries with cellular Watch support will actually have a stainless steel model for sale.
 
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