UK Network EE Will Offer £5 a Month Cellular Tariff for LTE-Capable Apple Watch Series 3

[TrueBlou]

Wait so not only is it only EE, even then it's only 4G (no 3G at all?).

Man what an anti-climax. I was so geared up to replace my S0. I hope the market sorts it out.

It should do 3G as well. Here are the supported versions and frequencies the U.K. model will have according to the Apple support page for the S3.

• LTE
• 1 (2100 MHz)
• 3 (1800 MHz)
• 5 (850 MHz)
• 7 (2600 MHz)
• 8 (900 MHz)
• 18 (800 MHz)
• 19 (800 MHz)
• 20 (800 DD)
• 26 (800 MHz)

• UMTS
• 800 MHz
• 850 MHz
• 900 MHz
• 2100 MHz

 

[The Game 161]

How does this work though in terms of buying the Apple Watch? Do you just start a contract with them or do you need to buy the watch first?

As a future EE customer tempted by this and get the iphone x with EE

 

[Olganech]

Why would anyone want a data connection for a watch. Is the battery life not bad enough already?

 

[Cowmonk]

It should do 3G as well. Here are the supported versions and frequencies the U.K. model will have according to the Apple support page for the S3.

• LTE
• 1 (2100 MHz)
• 3 (1800 MHz)
• 5 (850 MHz)
• 7 (2600 MHz)
• 8 (900 MHz)
• 18 (800 MHz)
• 19 (800 MHz)
• 20 (800 DD)
• 26 (800 MHz)

• UMTS
• 800 MHz
• 850 MHz
• 900 MHz
• 2100 MHz

But it says

1. UMTS not supported. Contact your service provider for more details.

 

[craig1410]

Why would anyone want a data connection for a watch. Is the battery life not bad enough already?

Depends what you mean by 'bad enough'. My 42mm series 0 which is now 2.5 years old is on my wrist right now at 89% and has been on my wrist for 5 or 6 hours. It usually has 25-30% left when I charge it beside my bed at night.

I want a data connection so I can just use my watch and AirPods when I go out for a run or to walk my dogs. There are plenty of other scenarios where it would be anything from 'convenient' to a potential lifesaver.

 

[The Game 161]

Why would anyone want a data connection for a watch. Is the battery life not bad enough already?

For things like going swimming or going for a run it would be ideal to leave your phone at home. There will be times when it will be very useful i suppose.

 

[Robert.Walter]

I think Apple should have pushed carriers for 0$/0£ Tarif on the watch.

 

[Pagemakers]

Have they only gone with 1 UK carrier because the sales wouldn't be great enough to put it on all the networks?

 

[Robert.Walter]

Why would anyone want a data connection for a watch. Is the battery life not bad enough already?

Just talked to a family friend who’s husband has early dementia. Not bad enough to confine him but that he sometimes loses track of time or takes a while to orient himself.

If he had lte watch, she could find him or call him to remind him to head home.

Also with his Parkinson’s it is difficult for him to retrieve phone from pocket to answer before it times out. On his wrist, big green answer button and he can easily answer. Also useful for folks in garden or whose hands are otherwise occupied like Ted Cruz (LoL).

 

[craig1410]

Have they only gone with 1 UK carrier because the sales wouldn't be great enough to put it on all the networks?

Unlikely - I think they probably needed to restrict it to one carrier either for technical reasons (the shared phone number) or for confidentiality reasons (multi-carriers more chance of leaks) or perhaps EE are paying Apple for 12 months worth of exclusivity. I've been with Three for many years but am seriously considering switching just for the Apple Watch cellular feature. The £21.99 18GB deal isn't too bad and coverage should be a bit better with EE.

 

[Darrensk8]

Unlikely - I think they probably needed to restrict it to one carrier either for technical reasons (the shared phone number) or for confidentiality reasons (multi-carriers more chance of leaks) or perhaps EE are paying Apple for 12 months worth of exclusivity. I've been with Three for many years but am seriously considering switching just for the Apple Watch cellular feature. The £21.99 18GB deal isn't too bad and coverage should be a bit better with EE.

I used to be with Three.....switched over to ee...I really miss the feel at home from three, I'm thinking of making the switch back.

 

[craig1410]

Interesting - doesn't EE have free roaming in the EU as well? What is missing to make it equivalent to Feel At Home?

 

[dallardice]

Interesting - doesn't EE have free roaming in the EU as well? What is missing to make it equivalent to Feel At Home?

Free roaming in the EU (as all providers have to by now). EE has free roaming in some other countries too including USA, Canada, Australia, NZ but only on certain plans. Three has a wider selection of non-EU countries which provide free roaming.

 

[Darrensk8]

Interesting - doesn't EE have free roaming in the EU as well? What is missing to make it equivalent to Feel At Home?

So they do now but it's more for when I travel to the US etc....the data is slow but my last trip I actually missed not having it much more than I thought I would.

I'd say for me personally I didn't notice a difference between the 2 networks. I hoped there would be a big speed improvement with EE but I didn't notice one.

I think all in all Three have better deals at the moment. I pay £21.00 per month for 16Gb and unlimited calls texts. Which isn't bad at all but I think the Feel At Home is enough to sway me back.

I'm really not interested in a cellular watch. I will buy the series 3 I just don't feel the need to pay extra per month to have it's own connection.
[doublepost=1505323037][/doublepost]

Free roaming in the EU (as all providers have to by now). EE has free roaming in some other countries too including USA, Canada, Australia, NZ but only on certain plans. Three has a wider selection of non-EU countries which provide free roaming.

Exactly. The plans are around £6-7pm on top of what I already pay.....Three offer more data and Feel At Home for much less

 

[The Game 161]

Have they only gone with 1 UK carrier because the sales wouldn't be great enough to put it on all the networks?

Could be due to the signal maybe. EE generally have great signal and with 4G where all other carriers can't make such a claim.

 

[Darrensk8]

Could be due to the signal maybe. EE generally have great signal and with 4G where all other carriers can't make such a claim.

Yeah my guess is that's exactly what it is

 

[daveak]

And again, how does $399 convert to £399?

It should £300 or £360 with VAT (if sales tax isn't included in US price).

The same is true across the board of Apple products.

Based on the exchange rate when Apple last changed their prices to take changes in exchange rate into account, i.e. roughly $1.22 (compared to $1.32 now) to the £, which comes out at around £396.

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

TBH I don't want cellular, I have a phone for that..... As they don't do anything other than the Aluminium in non-cellular, and the fact I'm with O2 gives me more than enough reasons to miss this gen out.

I think many people were hoping to REPLACE their iPhone with the LTE watch. Many people have no need for cameras or screens. They just want a communication device that isn't bulky and doesn't require a pocket. If a screen is necessary, they'd rather have one bigger than an iPhone anyway.

 

[craig1410]

I think many people were hoping to REPLACE their iPhone with the LTE watch. Many people have no need for cameras or screens. They just want a communication device that isn't bulky and doesn't require a pocket. If a screen is necessary, they'd rather have one bigger than an iPhone anyway.

I think there might have been 'some' people like you describe but I doubt it would be 'many', especially if they already have had experience of using an Apple Watch. It's very much an accessory device and you even need an iPhone to set it up before you can use it. Of course, that might change in future as the watch gains enough features to become independent but I think that is some way down the road.

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

I think there might have been 'some' people like you describe but I doubt it would be 'many', especially if they already have had experience of using an Apple Watch. It's very much an accessory device and you even need an iPhone to set it up before you can use it. Of course, that might change in future as the watch gains enough features to become independent but I think that is some way down the road.

Well that stinks.

 

[craig1410]

Well that stinks.

Which part?

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

Which part?

The accessory bit. Really wanted to get rid of that iPhone.

 

[craig1410]

The accessory bit. Really wanted to get rid of that iPhone.

Well, in many ways you can get rid of the iPhone in that you don't need to carry your phone around all the time. You just need to have a phone (potentially an older one) that you can use to manage the watch functions and do updates etc. This is of course assuming that Apple haven't changed the way the new watch is set up but I'm pretty sure they would have mentioned that.

 

[ksnell]

And again, how does $399 convert to £399?

It should £300 or £360 with VAT (if sales tax isn't included in US price).

The same is true across the board of Apple products.

I am not going to sit here and try to defend Apple's prices but the one thing I could think of is the regulatory compliance and overhead they have to pay for just to open up shop and maintain being open for business in another country. No use to passing that on to customers in other locales.

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

Well, in many ways you can get rid of the iPhone in that you don't need to carry your phone around all the time. You just need to have a phone (potentially an older one) that you can use to manage the watch functions and do updates etc. This is of course assuming that Apple haven't changed the way the new watch is set up but I'm pretty sure they would have mentioned that.

It's not that. I'm certainly aware that most of Apple's target market is "all-in-one, social media, pay-in-app" folks. That generates the most revenue. But I'm a pro (at least pro-ish) user. I prefer purpose-built equipment. I use a good camera for pics. I use a desktop for development. I use an iPad Pro for web browsing, some apps and productivity. I was hoping to use the watch for everything else. iPhone is an all-in-one that does no one thing as well as its purpose-built counterpart can.

Heck, I really just want to run my 25 miles/week without lugging around an iPhone and still be able to buy a bottle of water and stay connected to the internet for messaging or the occasional phone call.