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soooooooo if i ALWAYS have my phone with me....
- Thread starter caligurl
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Talk/text/email/camera are just four of the many things the watch will not be able to do as fully as a phone. I just dont think alot of people will not give up that full functionality so they can just carry a watch.
then you get into all the productivity , social, and game apps so many people love as well as watching youtube clips.
People demand these things on the go, outside their home, and even while sitting on their sofa watching television.
It's seems a lot of people in here seem to assume that other people use and view their phones the same way they do and therefore would be likely to make the same trade off.
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who cares about phone calls? its about the internet connection
[doublepost=1505258083][/doublepost]i still use my iPhone 4, this is the first time i see a good reason to upgrade, switching to watch only.
but thats me, i tend to think different
I'm simply saying that we will someday soon be at a point where phones as we know them won't be necessary to many people, because we'll all have our preferred combination of devices (watch, phone, tablet, laptop, etc., plus whatever comes in the future.) I love the idea of the modularity that the AW3 provides. I always need a talk/text/mail connection, but I don't always need a screen.
Right but someone would have to propose what would actually replace it for us to even have a real discussion.
This thread is mainly people talking about the watch replacing it (for the larger majority) which because of the reasons I stated I highly doubt.
Yeah, the direction is moving towards a cloud that all of our devices can seamlessly access. We can simply pick and choose what type of devices that we need. I'm someone who moved from the iPhone 6 to the SE, because I wanted a smaller device, rather than a larger one. I'd love to see a thin, foldable screen that uses the Watch as its brain, so I can decided whether or not to bring it, and it won't take up much pocket room. As it stands now, the new AW3 + my tiny Macbook will make up the majority of my usage.
I personally look forward to having a basically always on lightweight data connectivity option without having to worry about where my phone is all the time.
People simply can't function without pathologically checking for new email, new posts, new likes, and they are totally suckered by the behavioral tricks big sites use to keep you hooked and eyeballs on site. Im just as guilty as everyone. The tricks are devious and well thought out.
For me, Lte in the watch is about being freed from the constant requirement of having a phone on hand without all the distractions a phone offers. As for productivity, when I'm not working, I don't want to be and don't need a phone with me. That's not being productive. That's being stupid.
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Consider that cochlear implants have existed since, say, the 70s. Consider the introduction and expansion of the Internet in the 70s, broadband, broadband in homes, the introduction of the iPhone and related handsets in 2007 or so; the introduction and literal explosion of cloud computing beginning with AWS in 2007, and now AI/ML which can literally self improve itself. Consider the state of genomics, neuroscience, robotics, and miniaturization.
I personally have no doubt that the prevalence of the phone will decline, and soon.
So what's your 10 year vision? Heck, you don't even have to go out that far. Give me five years. We can bookmark this for posterity.
People simply can't function without pathologically checking for new email, new posts, new likes, and they are totally suckered by the behavioral tricks big sites use to keep you hooked and eyeballs on site. Im just as guilty as everyone. The tricks are devious and well thought out.
For me, Lte in the watch is about being freed from the constant requirement of having a phone on hand without all the distractions a phone offers. As for productivity, when I'm not working, I don't want to be and don't need a phone with me. That's not being productive. That's being stupid.
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I find your post to be short sighted considering the pace and trajectory of technology we have all witnessed in the last 40 years, the last 10 of which have been epically exceptional.
Consider that cochlear implants have existed since, say, the 70s. Consider the introduction and expansion of the Internet in the 70s, broadband, broadband in homes, the introduction of the iPhone and related handsets in 2007 or so; the introduction and literal explosion of cloud computing beginning with AWS in 2007, and now AI/ML which can literally self improve itself. Consider the state of genomics, neuroscience, robotics, and miniaturization.
I personally have no doubt that the prevalence of the phone will decline, and soon.
So what's your 10 year vision? Heck, you don't even have to go out that far. Give me five years. We can bookmark this for posterity.
I think the biggest thing for LTE owners and justifying the additional monthly data, is the depending how much they actually would use it. $10 might seem like a lot to someone, but maybe not a lot to someone else, ultimately depending if they feel they would really appreciate not being tethered to the iPhone having LTE.
Of course the way in which we use devices may/will be very different in 5 or 10 years.
As for now, having a Watch only (bar running and other specific activities) would be an exercise in frustration, even for the things it can do that replicate a phone.
Voice dictation barely works in a quiet room and you can’t edit the absolutely inevitable errors. Meaning Watch only is limited to short “Meet you in 10” messages. Good luck answering a detailed work email via Watch only. It doesn’t handle non standard words well at all. Equally, largely unusable in a noisy environment, and there’s lots of work/personal sensitive things you don’t/can’t say out loud. We are years and years away from the point where voice dictation is anywhere near competent, and some of the issues will never go away (user environment, sensitive communication etc).
I understand the attraction of the LTE watch, making/receiving calls, receiving messages and short outward ones, plus Apple Music. It’s clearly a real boon for running/specific jobs etc, and if it can replace your phone, great. It’s a natural upgrade to the device.
However, I probably use my phone for 5% phone calls, 25% messaging/email and 70% other. No way could I give up that 70% other, and saying you can give up that 70% other doesn’t make you a zen master or an enlightened, better human being....it simply means you can give up that 70% other lol. Some people have an unhealthy relationship with their phone granted, but that’s on them, it doesn’t apply to all of us.
As for now, having a Watch only (bar running and other specific activities) would be an exercise in frustration, even for the things it can do that replicate a phone.
Voice dictation barely works in a quiet room and you can’t edit the absolutely inevitable errors. Meaning Watch only is limited to short “Meet you in 10” messages. Good luck answering a detailed work email via Watch only. It doesn’t handle non standard words well at all. Equally, largely unusable in a noisy environment, and there’s lots of work/personal sensitive things you don’t/can’t say out loud. We are years and years away from the point where voice dictation is anywhere near competent, and some of the issues will never go away (user environment, sensitive communication etc).
I understand the attraction of the LTE watch, making/receiving calls, receiving messages and short outward ones, plus Apple Music. It’s clearly a real boon for running/specific jobs etc, and if it can replace your phone, great. It’s a natural upgrade to the device.
However, I probably use my phone for 5% phone calls, 25% messaging/email and 70% other. No way could I give up that 70% other, and saying you can give up that 70% other doesn’t make you a zen master or an enlightened, better human being....it simply means you can give up that 70% other lol. Some people have an unhealthy relationship with their phone granted, but that’s on them, it doesn’t apply to all of us.
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and that sounds great if that's your personal individual preference but the perspectives in here I'm referring to are the notions that people making it sounds like the phone is going to fade away from the majority without any solid evidence or good argument to back it. I mean that's pretty much the main point of this thread and why I responded to a comment in which you were responding to another comment that was pertaining to that same main point of the phone becoming obsolete.
You keep naming scenarios that YOU personally prefer and I'm not arguing against what YOU want for YOU. I'm saying for the reasons stated before and for many others unstated I just dont see a good argument presented for the main point being discussed in here which is the overall population moving away from a phone.
Botton line is yes there's a relatively few people out there like you for whom this will open new options but the point me and others are making is that there's no good solid evidence that this watch will cause the majority to give up their phone therefore it's really WAY too early to make the type of statements that are being made here.
I mean if we want to make baseless predictions for things somewhere or sometime in the future then we can just pretty much name everything we have in society now and say we wont need it. Transportation, Shelter, Food, Computers, Clothes, etc, like we can just name things on and on. Is it a possibility all these things will become obsolete some how some way through some type of technology some time in the future ? Sure , it's a possibility, but until we have something logical and solid in front of us it's not a real discussion.
For me, I have found versions 1 and 2 useless as you had to have your phone with you to access your library. As a huge Apple gadget freak, people ask me all the time, How come you don’t have the Apple Watch? I have told them I was waiting for WiFi or Cellular so I can access my full music library and leave my phone behind. Especially at the gym. I also looked forward to the opportunity to leave my phone behind so I’m not in restaurants always checking it. Being able to read a few quick texts would be welcome, but again, it was just an extension of the iPhone.
On top of it, I love my watch collection and find the Apple Watch boring/ugly. They should have made it round.
All this said, I am now thinking about taking the cellular plunge. So much more functional.
On top of it, I love my watch collection and find the Apple Watch boring/ugly. They should have made it round.
All this said, I am now thinking about taking the cellular plunge. So much more functional.
This has been my major stumbling block.
I am definitely sold on the practical use of the Apple Watch… but I love my watch collection too much.
I just prefer to wear a traditional watch.
The Apple Watch just doesn't "do it" for me looks wise.
I want ...
A watch with a mobile/cellular plan, and an iPad without one. No phone. I think the new eSIM standard that's being discussed by the GSMA will bring my desire closer to reality.
At the moment, the eSIM in the watch doesn't seem capable of being activated on its own. It needs an iPhone to "share" the number and any minutes/data with. So for me, an LTE watch offers no benefit as I always have my phone with me.
When I do any exercise (running, cycling etc) that I want to monitor I use a Garmin watch and heart rate chest strap. I'm curious as to whether this new apple watch has a better HRM than the current ones which aren't so accurate when you start actually doing any exercise.
A watch with a mobile/cellular plan, and an iPad without one. No phone. I think the new eSIM standard that's being discussed by the GSMA will bring my desire closer to reality.
At the moment, the eSIM in the watch doesn't seem capable of being activated on its own. It needs an iPhone to "share" the number and any minutes/data with. So for me, an LTE watch offers no benefit as I always have my phone with me.
When I do any exercise (running, cycling etc) that I want to monitor I use a Garmin watch and heart rate chest strap. I'm curious as to whether this new apple watch has a better HRM than the current ones which aren't so accurate when you start actually doing any exercise.
In its current incarnation, it's not a phone replacement, it's a temporary phone alternative. Have to run out to a meeting? Don't fumble around for your phone, just go. Need to answer a quick call? Pop in an AirPod and take it. Need to send a detailed email? Go to your office, or better yet delegate with a quick message.
The UI of watchOS coupled with ML could facilitate lots of these things, by say, parsing emails, entering events, providing options to prioritize messages for later, etc.
I do think giving up the other 70% of time wasting junk on mobile phones would serve most people very well, and yes, probably make you a better human being, even if it did reduce your exposure to things you didn't know you needed to buy.
That is true of many people definitely.
Restaurants with friends & loved ones, all with phone out looking down. Sight seers with selfie sticks permanently in front of them, viewing the world through a 5" piece of glass, utterly self absorbed believing everyone is fascinated in what they are doing. Concert going idiots permanently holding up their phones to shoot a video with terrible lighting and audio that they will never, ever watch. Detailed journalling of mundane activities via Twitter and Facebook, desperate for validation from peers.
None of these people are living in the moment and are seriously damaging their own mental health imo, and studies from far more educated people back this up.
However, not everyone is like this, and all of the above is on the user, not a fault of the device.
I don't use social media, no FB, Instagram or Twitter for me. The closest is two WhatsApp group chats, one essential for work, the other a group of 8 of my closest friends that I see and care about in real life.
That 70% other I mentioned can be healthy and highly useful for tasks going about your day. A Watch in it's current form is useless for those tasks, and as someone posted above, saying the phone is going away is both crazy and conspicuously lacking an explanation of what will replace it. What will replace it is likely something that replicates it in some form....a projected rectangle with information, data and media on it and/or hugely evolved AR.
It won't simply be a 42mm wrist ornament, unless it projects the rectangle etc, in which case it’s a watch and phone in radically modern form.
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Certainly. Everyone has different needs and uses, but for me personally I don't know what I'd actually use it for. I like having my iPhone with me at all times and there are plenty of things my iPhone can do that the watch cannot, like go onto forums like MacRumors.
I think the reviews will help clear things up for everyone and wearables are still a very new thing for cell carriers. Maybe the price will go down when they see how little data they actually use and how many people want it, but are turned off by the cost. At $5 a month I wouldn't really care, but at $10 I start to question its utility.
I'd also like to see how easy it is to turn data on and off because for the weeks I'm on vacation I can see it being much more useful, but for most months I don't think I'd get much use.
It should be interesting to see how people like it. It's nice that we have options.
I have my phone with me all the time, except when I dont. I have been across town before I noticed and really could not do anything about it at that point. One thing my series 0 does is join WiFi networks it knows. I have a hotspot in my car that it will connect to (most of the time) to allow me to send a message. Outside of the car obviously it does not help but its enough to tell me LTE will be nice for the few times I'm in that situation.
I appreciate your perspective and I'm sorry if I do not address it directly. I am on a bit of a tangent.
I doubt there is anyone who would think that the advent of mobile phones has made our actual in person interactions better. I don't blame the device. I blame the people who program the device. If you are a [facebook|twitter|ig|etc] user read up on social interactions and how the cutting edge in neuroscience and behavioral psych has merged to make you a complete stooge.
Then go to any city -- any city anywhere in the world, I challenge you -- and tell me people aren't addicted to their phones.
In ten short years, mobile phones have fundamentally disrupted how we interact with people in physical space. We have yet to develop suitable norms/ethics/customs, although it took only a few short years to override those that had come before.
The Apple Watch clearly and obviously isn't a phone replacement (yet).
But if you think we will all be blindly walking around staring into our mobile windows ten years from now then you are clearly ignoring the writing that is on wall.
Whether or not the watch is the vessel is, I think, immaterial. The simple fact is that we won't be walking around staring into devices of 4-5 inche screen size. It's ridiculous. It's disruptive. It's awkward. It's absurd.
How old are you?
Do you ever have to, say, balance inane responsibilities like cleaning your room and mowing the lawn, and waiting for a proposed budget revision?
If you're like me, you'd probably jump at the chance to duck out and mow the lawn knowing that your watch would ping you when the revised budget came in. My google wifi sucks FYI.
But all this use case stuff aside, all these lte in small device naysayers will obviously come out on the side of the "who needs 1000 songs in their pocket" crowd. Visionaries.
To think that the mobile phone is the future is seriously laughable.
So, just to be clear - if your phone is near your watch it will never use cellular? ie, The only time you can use LTE on the watch is when you’re away from your iPhone? The reason I ask is that I was wondering if it would be quicker to get a forecast on, say, Dark Sky via LTE on the watch, rather than waiting for the app to load and then for it to draw the data via Bluetooth from your phone.
now you are wondering into my pet peeve. most of the 3rd party WatchOS apps that I have are NOT native so even if I had an LTE watch I would still need to have my handset with me to use those. I understand that the vast majority of you all don't care about 3rd party watch apps and would be happy with using the core apps on LTE not me....