New apple watch but old iphone...

[troncomac]

Hi everybody and merry Christmas in advance to all the community
i would like buying a new apple watch ultra 2 for my father, who however has fully functional iphone X he does not need to replace. I understand that they are not compatible but what about me, using an iphone 11 and setting up the watch for him as a family member? As far as i understand it should work but i don't understand what limitations in daily use he will experience on using the watch and his iphone X. Can he receive notifications from his iphone simply via bluetooth? And more importantly if he has some health issues can i receive an alert from his watch?

 

[CharlesShaw]

The following quote from the linked article below lists the features your father would not be able to use, so I think that's enough not to. And since he has his own iPhone, I don't think Family Setup (now called something else, of course it is: Apple Watch For Your Kids) would work as intended [desired] since it's for members who don't have iPhones of their own.


"The following features and apps are not available: Medications, respiratory rate, irregular heart rhythm notifications, ECG, AFib History, Cycle Tracking, Sleep, Wrist Temperature, Blood Oxygen, Walking Steadiness, Audiobooks, Remote, News, Shortcuts, and the double tap gesture."

Set up Apple Watch for a family member - Apple Support

Family Setup lets family members who don't have their own iPhone enjoy the features and benefits of an Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

 

[BugeyeSTI]

When you pair the Ultra 2 you'll have to install Watch OS11 if it isn't already installed. The requirements for OS11 are:

• An iPhone XS or later with iOS 18
• One of the following Apple Watch models:
  • Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
  • Apple Watch Series 6 or later
  • Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra

 

[Night Spring]

I was in this exact situation. Had an iPhone X that was working well for what I used it for, but was interested in getting a newer Apple watch, in my case the S10.

Unfortunately, I needed a newer iPhone to work with the S10. So I ended up getting a new iPhone this year, and I'm going to be keeping my current watch for another year or two before upgrading.

Like the other poster said, family setup is for people who don't have an iPhone and want to use the watch as a stand alone device. If you do that for your dad, the watch and his iPhone wouldn't communicate at all. No notifications, no activity and health data being shown on the iPhone, etc.

Unfortunately, only way to get him a new watch is to also get him a newer iPhone.

 

[waw74]

you may be able to find a used phone for a decent deal next week, after people have unwrapped new ones.

also for family setup, you have to have a cellular watch. but as others have said, this would not be the best way.

or an older watch, but you'd have to make sure they haven't updated the watch OS, but then you'll be chasing versions again next year. This may also get you pulse Ox, since any watch sold in the US after January of 2024 will have it disabled.