Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Series 3 LTE Owners - Are you leaving your phone at home?

Leica Dad said:
Yes, and most carriers offers first 3 months free for the watch plan, so no risk here!
Click to expand...

Not sure how that would work if you signed up for LTE service, but canceled to return your watch. May depend on your carrier.

I didn’t sign up with ATT until I had my LTE watch for a few days. During signup, it said I would get credited for the one-time activation and 3 months free sometime within the first 3 bill cycles. Not sure what happens if you cancel.

Indeed my first bill shows no credits and has the $25 and $10/mo charge.

So I guess worst case is you might have to pay $35 to try it out on ATT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rmpaul211
Farrellcollie said:
I really want a way to get podcasts or audible on the watch - I don't want to stream -I just want to down load a book to listen to when I walk the dogs.
Click to expand...

The watchcast App allows you to do this. It's slow to load them on the watch and it's a manual process, but it does work until Apple finally provides us with a native app.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Farrellcollie
It's only a few times I've used my cellular watch without a phone. When waiting in line I use my phone for looking at social media & can't do that with my watch. But when I run, do yard work, or short errand it's nice to be able to receive messages without a phone. I'm glad I have cellular & would recommend others getting cellular for future proofing. The main cost is the $10/mo which can always be dropped or restarted. I'm happy with cellular even without a lot of use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MisterMillz and HDJulie
I am leaving the phone home for lunches/dinner or a work out. I paired the AW with AirPods - that combination is truly magic: answer calls, dictate texts, listening to music on the watch (soon Apple Music streaming). When not working out, I keep just one AirPod in my pocket and take it out, if I need to answer a call or want to send a text.

While battery life is a limitation, the LTE version can do many things as good as a phone, if paired with AirPods, i.e. not relying on the built in microphone. Great purchase - love it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: dhill7
oghowie said:
Still on the fence about the Series 3 and whether to get LTE or not. For people that have gotten it with LTE, are you really able to leave your phone at home or are you still taking it with you? I run 3x a week and would like to run without my phone, but I always listen to podcasts while I run. How reliable has messages and other apps been when away from your phone?

Any experiences would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

All the “Apple stuff” has been very reliable when away from the phone - calls, iMessage, weather, News. 3rd party stuff seems to be hit or miss. I’ll sometimes get email notifications for Outlook and Dark Sky sometimes struggles to update.

But it’s gone with me on all my runs without my phone since I got it and it’s really great since it’s almost unnoticeable on the wrist. I’m keeping my Garmin on the other wrist because I’m still not crazy about the AW GPS accuracy or the pace it shows and it does not track cadence at all.

I’m taking as many opportunities to ditch my phone as much as I can. When I head out to run errands I don’t bring the phone. I bring my phone to work, but for the past two weeks I’ve pretty much been dropping it on the shelf with my car keys and not coming back to it for the rest of the day. Anything personal I do through the watch. I still have a work phone with me because I keep that stuff separate. It has cut back on the amount of time I waste on my phones for sure.

Whether this is feasible for you really depends on your life. I don’t take a lot of personal calls. Those I do are usually a few minutes long at most - most personal communication is done via text message with friends and family. Few things that come into my personal email require any kind of prompt attention so it can almost always wait until I’m back at my desk to check via computer or iPad. Work stuff is different - those calls can be much longer and would be too much of a drain on the watch battery to make it very long into the day. On weekends I’m forwarding the work cell to my personal and making a point of keeping those calls short. If I can’t resolve the issue in 5 minutes I explain that I’ll need to get back to them when I’m not out.

TL;DR: You will definitely be able to go away from your phone while running, though you’re not going to have a pleasant podcast experience at the moment. Whether you can leave your phone behind for your day-to-day really depends on how you’re currently using it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dhill7
For $5 a month I'm very happy with the cellular model. It's a nice change after always carrying an iPhone/phone around with me.
 
`
DesertSilver said:
$5/month? All the US carriers are charging $10/mon for the AW with the first 3 months being free.
Click to expand...
$10 is too much. $5 in Australia is more reasonable, but I think US carriers are expensive compared to the rest of the world.
 
We walk the dogs without my phone & it is so awesome! I have also gone to the grocery store a few times without my phone & everything works great! Love it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Orangeman13 and gemnilocs
Today I went to get breakfast at Panera, answered a few text messages via dictation while in line, paid with Apple Pay. After breakfast worked out for 75 minutes with the activity app running, while listening to (loaded) music on the watch via AirPods and answered one call. All without carrying the phone. Battery drained 30% during the above.

So while not a full phone replacement due to battery constraints, the LTE is fantastic to be used stand alone. Pairing it with AirPods is the best setup for myself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DotCom2
Zxxv said:
A whistle would have been cheaper. Fox 40 micro whistle.
Click to expand...

Perhaps. I don’t trust that someone would come. Possible nobody would hear me. Unless that whistle dials 911.

When I was younger my grandmother slipped on a curb in an apartment complex near the main entrance. She waited for an hour with a broken wrist and couldn’t get up herself. **** happens man.

Of course, there are other benefits of an Apple Watch. And having sold my Series 2 aluminum for $320 last month, the upgrade didn’t exactly break the bank. Truth be told this Watch is what series two should’ve been imo.
 
Last edited:
I went on a run Friday. I had a ball I was listening to NPR via Apple Radio on the watch while using my AirPods no iPhone. I had to cut my run short at 5.5 miles as the watch had hit 10% battery. I'm telling myself DUH! I was using GPS, LTE (streaming NPR) and Heartrate...I believe I started at around 55-60% Battery.
 
The watch is almost lasting longer than my phone. I don't know if having wifi calling on is causing the phone to drain so fast or if it is still ios 11.0.X(whatever the latest one was) - but my phone has never been this bad - and the phone is almost never directly used except for the hour or so of walking the dogs where I listen to my downloaded audible books on tape. I agree the watch is not completely stable for calls, but I have my work cell and work landline if I need to talk for very long or to call someone back on.
 
Last edited:
I’ve left the phone home a few times as well and it’s great. However, the LTE isn’t as stable as with my phone and I get disconnected a fair amount. Hopefully Apple is able to improve this with a sw update, but I’m not sure if that’s possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Leica Dad
musicpenguy said:
That’s kind of the whole point, you have just the basic connections to friends, family, and the Internet. But don’t want all of those capabilities that could pull you away from living in the moment. You are able to stay connected without being glued to a big giant rectangle of glass (or small rectangle of glass if you have the SE). You stay informed about what’s going on, you are able to communicate, and listen to some music or podcasts. (You can also catch an Uber on just the watch over LTE, and all of the other things it does do).
Click to expand...

and this is exactly why i decided to upgrade from the Series 2 to the Series 3 LTE...i saw a video recently and the man only had his wallet, keys, airpods and watch...i love the idea of being connected but disconnected...so i can leave my phone in my locker at work and just wear my watch...not be tied to the phone/facebook/instagram....but having the phone with me on my commute ( i’m also loving the update to do not disturb while driving) when i’m walking my dog, when i’m going on walks or to the gym, i don’t need the phone
 
Last edited:
For those struggling with syncing podcasts make sure you aren’t for whatever reason using AirPods or Bluetooth on your phone or watch. I forgot about that once and realized that nothing was syncing.
 
I’ve taken my AW instead of my phone on two 10 mile runs this week, but with LTE, GPS and bluetooth (for the AirPods) battery life takes a real hit. My watch died at about 8pm on Friday and I was left with about 10% battery life last night.

I have my weekly long run (16 miles) today and will be curious how long my battery makes it today. I’m deliberately not topping it off during the day so I can determine how much I can rely on it as a proper running watch when I’m traveling and don’t have ready access to the charger.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lordofthereef
Hmmmm I’ve had SIGNIFICANTLY better battery life while my watch was on LTE for the day. I return home after 8 hours of being at work and my watch is around 78%
 
  • Like
Reactions: dhill7
Leica Dad said:
Yes, and most carriers offers first 3 months free for the watch plan, so no risk here!
Click to expand...
Hey, I was told by att that for the 3 month free service you would have to buy the watch from said provider. Is there any truth to that ?
[doublepost=1507471284][/doublepost]
co1f said:
Not sure how that would work if you signed up for LTE service, but canceled to return your watch. May depend on your carrier.

I didn’t sign up with ATT until I had my LTE watch for a few days. During signup, it said I would get credited for the one-time activation and 3 months free sometime within the first 3 bill cycles. Not sure what happens if you cancel.

Indeed my first bill shows no credits and has the $25 and $10/mo charge.

So I guess worst case is you might have to pay $35 to try it out on ATT.
Click to expand...
Did you buy it through att?
 
PatrickNSF said:
I’ve taken my AW instead of my phone on two 10 mile runs this week, but with LTE, GPS and bluetooth (for the AirPods) battery life takes a real hit. My watch died at about 8pm on Friday and I was left with about 10% battery life last night.

I have my weekly long run (16 miles) today and will be curious how long my battery makes it today. I’m deliberately not topping it off during the day so I can determine how much I can rely on it as a proper running watch when I’m traveling and don’t have ready access to the charger.
Click to expand...

It seems like popping it on the charger as I take a shower after a run is not a unheard of thing, phones are lucky to make it through a day - the watch making it to 8 or 9PM on heavy usage days is pretty amazing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lordofthereef
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back