but they announced it for iPhones that haven't been released yet ... but whatever, keep your hopes up. Me on the other hand, I don't want Apple Intelligence on my AW, I prefer new health sensors
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Very Glad I Have Cellular On My Series 9
- Thread starter JBinPDX
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have AT&T. It's $10.99/month for the watch. With taxes and fees it comes to $16.81. I have a $10 discount left over from a long-ago employer, so that makes it pretty reasonable.
The likelihood of me not having my phone is also pretty slim. But at 2:00 am when I need to walk my dog a block or two... it just wasn't a priority. I grabbed my phone the second time I had to take him out and put on a robe that has pockets.
This is one of those rare situation like buying a flight insurance or playing the lottery. Unless you often go without the phone, for those people who almost alway has the phone with them, you are paying for a service you will likely never use.
I never buy an AW with cellular as my phone is near where I am or have AW connected to a wifi.
I never buy an AW with cellular as my phone is near where I am or have AW connected to a wifi.
iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max support Apple Intelligence. So, no, they didn’t announce it when no already-released iPhone would support it. Currently, there is no already-released Apple Watch which supports it, which is what the previous poster said.
Now if what you’re saying is that they announced Apple Intelligence and it will be compatible with future iPhones which haven’t been released yet…well…yeah? I can’t imagine that was the point you were trying to make though.
Apple Intrlligence was announced that it will only run on iPhone 15Pro/Max or later, so, they have announced it for future iPhones already…
AI was also announce to run on any Mac with M aka Apple Silicon, and on iPads with M chips.
Apple Watch was never mentioned, and, we do know that the S chips in an AW are not close to being as powerful as iPhone/Mac chips and AI HW is rumored to require 8GB RAM, also something that won’t happen in an AW for the foreseeable future.
AW9/U3 do support on device Siri, that’s how much “AI” you’re gonna get on the new AW…
What’s the point in speculating? It’s being announced in a week, just wait and see. But presumably Apple has plans to add AI to all their devices including the watch, and if they can squeeze it in this year they will
At the very least, I expect Watch 10 to be able to relay the AI version of Siri to your Watch.
Or maybe that’s what all Series 9 and older get. And then Watch 10 gets a smaller version of Apple Intelligence that runs mostly on-device.
It is odd that there’s no mention of AI in WatchOS 11, and no beta testers talking about it.
It’s certainly going to be a big addition to WatchOS 11 if Apple adds some version of AI to it for Watch 10 only after Watch 10 launches.
Something tells me Apple is not doing too much on-device AI for Watch this year and is focusing mostly on iPhones, iPads and Macs first.
Not hinting at anything during WWDC definitely seems odd of a ton is dropping at the Watch 10 announcement.
Well I would guess, because Apple intelligence isn’t coming till iOS/watch 18.1, it’s probably not been added to the software yet, I don’t think they have a release date for it yet
Honestly, those extra mobile data charges were never worth it. I always have my iPhone with me anyway!
I've had cellular on every Apple Watch I've had since Series 4. It's a must have for me, given my disability. Even though I don't always activate it, it's nice to know it's there.
This is a strong case for my next purchase.
I've had cellular on my (now busted) Series 3 but never used it, on account that I used to live on the German border and the Apple Watch didn't support roaming (so dumb within the EU where people do cross borders all the time!) so I never bothered with a plan.
Now that hurdle has been lifted...
I've had cellular on my (now busted) Series 3 but never used it, on account that I used to live on the German border and the Apple Watch didn't support roaming (so dumb within the EU where people do cross borders all the time!) so I never bothered with a plan.
Now that hurdle has been lifted...
Oh but it's great for the little things.
- It's a flashlight
- You can use it for visibility on your bike or walking outside
- You can look for stuff with the red light without blinding other people at the theater
- Film behind furniture with the remote screen feature
- Use as a self-timer for picture and for checking if the pic looks right
- find your phone or another device
- Get notified if you forget your device
- Be notified of calls even if your phone is on mute.
- Silent alarms : you don't have to be an ******* and wake the whole house, roommate!
- Silent notifications.
- Take calls easily if you can't reach your phone
- Pay with Apple Pay (you've cited that)
- Voice memos
- Unlock your phone and Mac and also activate Face/Touch ID when you get away from them. This was very useful on iPhone when we still wore masks in 2021.
- Wallet with boarding tickets and QR codes with no need to fumble for your phone
- It tells you when you are having a heart attack or a panic attack.
- Again, it reminds you to take your meds INTRUSIVELY by tapping you (silent notifs). The combo of "mute" on iPhone but "tap" on the Watch can literally mean I won't miss my intake. Ever since my watch got shattered I have missed my medication several times.
- It can tell you right on the face what's the current UV index. That's primordial for this blondie (even if you usually know by the time -- but it changes slightly over the year and for me a 10 minute difference can mean 3 days spent indoors with a 3rd degree burn smelling of Silvadene)
- Sleep monitoring and waking you when you're out of REM sleep is a blessing.
That's only on Series 3
And of course all the safety features that have been added since, like fall detection, accident detection, loud noise detection, satellite calls on Ultra, etc.
The sports features are amazing, it can detect what kind of stroke you're doing : freestyle, backstroke, freestyle...
And being able to leave your phone behind and go canoeing or swimming with your watch is also great.
- Fall / accident detection is pointless if either you don't have your phone with you or you don't have LTE/5G on the Watch.
- All features are more or less "missing" or defective if you don't have your phone with you. Like the GPS is not really good without the phone's LTE/5G connectivity. When I go run without my phone the Watch can't pick up my route.
- You don't need LTE/5G to be notified if you forgot your mac or iPhone somewhere, but it'll be impossible to track the device if it's moved to another location, if you don't have LTE on your watch, until you can connect to WiFi.
- You definitely need LTE to confidently leave your phone at home or in your car with minimum inconvenience.
After thinking it over more…aside from POS and being alerted to iMessages or an upcoming turn via iMaps I have no need for the Apple Watch. While those are handy I would adjust to not having an Apple Watch. And I definitely don’t see the need for cellular service with one.
FYI included in Visible+
Sold me on adding a Cellular Watch.
I also appreciate a standalone Cellular model. That functionality is what makes my Pocket Watch tick!
Not all (and some need the phone, like the remote camera screen trick), but many of the functions are only possible with a cellular plan, standalone.
If you want to do the above, without your phone around, you want the data plan. It really is freeing to not always have your phone with you, but still stay connected and have almost all functionality the phone provides.
Thank you. I’ve had this Apple Watch since 2017 and confidently familiar with the functions I use. The cellular functionality was completely useless from the beginning.
That's why we're all stuck here for. 🧃
You mentioned one killer feature I didn't remember btw, the turn-by-turn directions on your wrist.
When you're riding your bike in a new part of town or in a woodland along the Rhine like I used to, it is essential.
Also the small pinching and twisting gestures they added must be a game changer.
I'm excited for bilingual integration too -- finally !
Like the nodding on the airpod pros.