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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 spend the summers overseas and this would have been amazing at the beach, oh well maybe they give us international LTE watch next year.
 
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 am not sure I would want to be wearing an Apple Watch that is out in the open on your wrist if I am too scared to carry an iPhone in my pocket or jacket.
 
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) :(

Now I am pissed. That composite back is just a really bad way of cutting corners. I was wondering how they managed to drop $40 compared to series 2. This is one of the things that made Kamlesh Totlani possible to reduce the cost. I wonder where else they have removed features.
 
This is rediculous.

It would be but I suspect MacRumors is blowing the issue out of proportion a bit.

Have a look at the different models of Series 3 here and the bands they support: https://www.apple.com/watch/cellular/

There is pretty much no band overlap between the North American one and the European/Asian one. So I think what the Apple rep meant is just that a watch bought in the US will work in very few other countries because it only support US bands. But a watch bough in Japan will probably work in Germany or Australia because these countries use similar bands.
 
So while i'm overseas, I use a mobile hotspot with a local sim that has data. I use the wifi calling feature on my phone so i wonder how this will be affected?
 
It would be but I suspect MacRumors is blowing the issue out of proportion a bit.

Have a look at the different models of Series 3 here and the bands they support: https://www.apple.com/watch/cellular/

There is pretty much no band overlap between the North American one and the European/Asian one. So I think what the Apple rep meant is just that a watch bought in the US will work in very few other countries because it only support US bands. But a watch bough in Japan will probably work in Germany or Australia because these countries use similar bands.
No, unfortunately you can't use them outside of your country of purchase - as the title says. You can't use a German-plan apple watch in neighboring France or Switzerland, for example.
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So while i'm overseas, I use a mobile hotspot with a local sim that has data. I use the wifi calling feature on my phone so i wonder how this will be affected?
It shouldn't be affected at all - the watch will just use wifi, and the AW has supported wifi calling for a long time now.
 
It a small watch get over it. Why do Americans complain so much.
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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.

It's obvious you don't own a watch yet. The watch charges up to a usable charge pretty quickly - stated time is 1.5 hours to 80%. If you take a jog and recharge while you shower, you should have enough usable charge to last most of the day.

fwiw, I don't like having my phone make noises all the time so I usually have it on silent and the call and message notifications on my wrist are really convenient. Since my AW2 broke about 6 weeks ago, I have missed a number of calls and messages. Add in the direction reminders from the haptic sensors when I am driving, as well as news tidbits and such and I find the watch useful all day long.

Like you, I quit wearing a watch when I started carrying a cellular phone with a clock on the face, but I really miss having my watch after a couple of years with the AW1 & AW2.
 
Keeps getting better all this news...
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I spend the summers overseas and this would have been amazing at the beach, oh well maybe they give us international LTE watch next year.
Next year they'll make it thinner :) then maybe just maybe in two years it'll be international
 
isn't this like so 2011?
i thought we got past these boundaries.
Likely it's the result of the e-SIM. There isn't room for a "regular" SIM. Hopefully this gets resolved in future versions. The Apple Watch is smaller than other LTE-enabled watches.
 
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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.
The reasons for not getting this are stacking up, unless, of course, I plan on going to Lake Tahoe with a camera crew and need to receive a phone call from an Executive VP of Apple in a contrived setting.

Yes, that's harsh, but please convince me that her phone call wasn't tested beforehand, a boat near her, and she was aware that it was coming in at that exact time. (Not a bad thing, nor unexpected, but contrived nonetheless.)
 
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.

A bit ... over the top here. Agreed that talking on my watch sounds like fun but is not really a necessity. OTOH, having data connectivity without my phone is a stronger use case. The issue here is that it seems like an intentional and artificial limitation. If the device is really LTE - and in particular if I am paying the same monthly fee as my iPad that will roam - then it truly shouldn't matter.

Also, I can see Apple manufacturing a couple of minor variants... but having to create versions for each region as well as each model? Really? Doesn't sound reasonable to me. I'm betting this is a software-derived limitation.
 
Yes, that's harsh, but please convince me that her phone call wasn't tested beforehand, a boat near her, and she was aware that it was coming in at that exact time. (Not a bad thing, nor unexpected, but contrived nonetheless.)
No way dude she just totally happened to be out on a paddle board in the middle of a lake and had no idea there were cameras around her - what on earth are you talking about?
 
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.
If you're main use case for the LTE apple Watch is daily hour long telephone calls, then yes, it's probably not for you.
 
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isn't this like so 2011?
i thought we got past these boundaries.
No. They corporate with government to build up and tighten the boundaries of such. This limitation is just one of them.

Then, geoblock, copyright... ugh. I do not want to remember these.

No Apple Watch series 3 LTE at all for me.
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Don't forget it also has UMTS (3G) support, so that might help. Although the China model is special in that respect.

For a list of Watch models, LTE and UMTS bands, see:

https://www.apple.com/watch/cellular/
I bet people will have trouble to even use Facebook twitter google on Chinese model of Apple Watch outside China.
 
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.
But is that 3.5% percentage really relevant at all when most of the US population don't buy Apple products and even less Apple Watches? Statistically, there's considerably more Apple Watch owners travelling abroad.
And let's not forget that Apple sells significantly more products abroad than in the US market alone, so while no LTE abroad might not be a complete deal-breaker, it's certainly an unfortunate shortcoming for a device that you have on you at all times.
 
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
Yes, I’m in Spain and only aluminum models are available. I’m buying a steel one in France and hoping it will work here...
 
Yes, I’m in Spain and only aluminum models are available. I’m buying a steel one in France and hoping it will work here...

My intention was to buy the LTE watch in USA, take it to my country and wait to the Spanish carrier to support this service. Now I have a reasonable doubt... maybe this won't be possible.
 
It would be but I suspect MacRumors is blowing the issue out of proportion a bit.

Have a look at the different models of Series 3 here and the bands they support: https://www.apple.com/watch/cellular/

There is pretty much no band overlap between the North American one and the European/Asian one. So I think what the Apple rep meant is just that a watch bought in the US will work in very few other countries because it only support US bands. But a watch bough in Japan will probably work in Germany or Australia because these countries use similar bands.
I like the product red band!
 
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