LTE only: The biggest flaw with cellular Apple Watches right now

[xxray]

The biggest flaw with cellular Apple Watches right now is that they only have LTE and no 5G. I had a $5/month Apple Watch cellular plan on Visible which is owned by and runs on Verizon's network. I had a priority data plan (not deprioritized), and I regularly was unable to listen to podcasts or load music on my Apple Watch when I tried to rely on it. My phone would have perfectly usable data since it had 5G, but my Apple Watch, being limited to an LTE network, would be unable to load anything. Or it loads 2 seconds of a podcast then freezes for 30 seconds and plays another second of podcast and freezes again. This was super frustrating on multiple occasions when I'd go to the gym or go on a walk/run outside with just my Apple Watch and wasn't able to load anything.

I would think this problem will only get worse as carriers allocate more and more of their spectrum to 5G and less spectrum to LTE. I'm guessing 5G modems are still either too physically large or drain too much battery to be used in Apple Watches yet. If the battery drain is the only issue, I wish Apple would implement 5G into the Apple Watch where it only turn on when LTE is too slow to be usable. That seems like an ideal solution.

Anyway, I cancelled my Apple Watch plan. I'm sure some people won't mind this issue and will find phone calls and texts valuable enough to pay the extra money for. But as someone who has been wanting to have the option to go fully Apple Watch only at times, this has been a disappointing experience.

 

[kitKAC]

That sounds more like a network issue and not a Watch issue.

 

[estabya]

That sounds more like a network issue and not a Watch issue.

I agree with kitKAC. There is no reason you can’t stream audio over LTE, so if the watch isn’t working correctly for those tasks I don’t see the cellular connection type being the issue. Heck, where I live (Denver metro area) ATT’s LTE network is often faster than 5G (I assume less congestion?), so I keep 5G turned off on my iPhone 95% of the time and can still tether my laptop and browse/stream everything I need on LTE.

Fwiw I have had a cellular Apple Watch since 2019 and while I have run into issues like you state when the signal is weak, it works fine the vast majority of the time for streaming music and podcasts.

 

[Clamjuice65]

The biggest flaw with cellular Apple Watches right now is that they only have LTE and no 5G. I had a $5/month Apple Watch cellular plan on Visible which is owned by and runs on Verizon's network. I had a priority data plan (not deprioritized), and I regularly was unable to listen to podcasts or load music on my Apple Watch when I tried to rely on it. My phone would have perfectly usable data since it had 5G, but my Apple Watch, being limited to an LTE network, would be unable to load anything. Or it loads 2 seconds of a podcast then freezes for 30 seconds and plays another second of podcast and freezes again. This was super frustrating on multiple occasions when I'd go to the gym or go on a walk/run outside with just my Apple Watch and wasn't able to load anything.

I would think this problem will only get worse as carriers allocate more and more of their spectrum to 5G and less spectrum to LTE. I'm guessing 5G modems are still either too physically large or drain too much battery to be used in Apple Watches yet. If the battery drain is the only issue, I wish Apple would implement 5G into the Apple Watch where it only turn on when LTE is too slow to be usable. That seems like an ideal solution.

Anyway, I cancelled my Apple Watch plan. I'm sure some people won't mind this issue and will find phone calls and texts valuable enough to pay the extra money for. But as someone who has been wanting to have the option to go fully Apple Watch only at times, this has been a disappointing experience.

You Might have to switch to a AT&T network to get the Apple Watch services needed

 

[xxray]

That sounds more like a network issue and not a Watch issue.

Very true. As a prepaid user though, the only network that offers cellular watch plans is Verizon. So that’s my only option unless I want to spend like $25/month more for phone service + $10-$15/month for a watch plan.


T-Mobile LTE is also super congested here on phones though while it’s 5G network is blazing fast. Which is why I think Apple should include 5G on their watches if they can. If two out of the three network available in the U.S. won’t work well on LTE, that seems like a good indicator that it’s time for the next technology.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

5G is relatively new and LTE was king for several years. Were iPhones in your area struggling with LTE data for those years?

Before I accept the redirect to blame the problem on the network (not Apple), I'd need to know that iPhones throughout the area were miserable to use on LTE due to heavily-pinched data. If not, I may re-shine some light on my Watch. Then, visit a:

• Verizon store and demonstrate the issue and see what they say.
• Apple store and demonstrate the issue and see what they say.

I would guess that both will blame the other but maybe you'll get lucky and one or the other may have some solution and/or do something for you.

 

[G35flyer]

I stream music/podcasts from my AWU on Visible LTE everyday for 90-120 minutes, seldom having any issues. It really depends on the network, signal strength, and outdoor vs indoors. On my outdoor run each day I have two/three bars generally and speed tests range from about 5Mbps down and 4Mbps up.

Though when visiting the gym several times per week I get one bar of LTE in front and none in back....so I just jump on WiFi most of the time. Though one bar is still pretty stable for streaming....but some hiccups here and there.

 

[xraydoc]

I'm not sure the Apple Watch requires 5G yet. They use so little data that even in LTE-congested areas, I can't imagine they're starved for bandwidth.
And I don't think 5G is anywhere near as power-efficient as LTE is. I could be wrong, but I remember when 3G versus LTE was the same way not too long ago.

And if people think that the watch is suffering on LTE because people are getting poor signal strength, I don't think that's an LTE vs. 5G issue. The watch's LTE antenna is only so good and the cellular chipset needs to be super efficient. I think it's strictly physics. Better cellular coverage would mean a larger watch or shorter battery life (likely both). AFAIK, Samsung Galaxy watches with LTE don't fair any better.