Watch question

[AndroidBot]

I am an Android phone user, never had an iPhone however...
My fitness watch died and need a new one. I play tennis a lot and it seems the best apps for tennis are for the Apple Watch which obviously needs an iPhone. I don't need a new phone but I thought maybe I could get like a cheap iPhone 8 then get an Watch 5 or 6. So will this all work with no sim in the iPhone as I would only use it to run the Watch and not really do anything else with it?

 

[russell_314]

I am an Android phone user, never had an iPhone however...
My fitness watch died and need a new one. I play tennis a lot and it seems the best apps for tennis are for the Apple Watch which obviously needs an iPhone. I don't need a new phone but I thought maybe I could get like a cheap iPhone 8 then get an Watch 5 or 6. So will this all work with no sim in the iPhone as I would only use it to run the Watch and not really do anything else with it?

I don't see why not but if you don't have a SIM that means no data connection except WiFi. That means any app on the watch that needs a data connection won't work. It's meant to have this connection so I suspect you're going to run into problems.

This seems like a recipe for disappointment because so many things need a data connection. Perhaps someone else can give specifics. Also without a data connection would there be a battery drain issue? I'm just wondering and IDK.

 

[NoBoMac]

Could be setting up for disappointment, but really, hard to tell without specifics re: apps involved.

The Watch will work "ok" without a phone nearby. Fitness functions work, guessing that related apps will store data on Watch until it can sync with the phone (and in turn sync with a server if setup for that).

Use Apple Watch without its paired iPhone

Apple Watch is able to assist you even when your iPhone isn’t nearby.

support.apple.com

And if phone is near by, Watch will communicate just fine. But again, until on wifi, won't sync to servers if that is a function of said app.

About Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Learn about Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for your Apple Watch and how your watch uses both. And learn how cellular on GPS + Cellular models fits in.

support.apple.com

 

[James_C]

The Apple Watch is really designed to work with an iPhone. For example to get most benefit out of the fitness tracking features you need to Sync data with the watch. Yes you could get a cheaper older iPhone, but this means you will have a primary Android device and a secondary iPhone to sync and analyse data from the watch. You may be happy with this approach, but I see it as less than ideal. You don’t need a SIM as as long as the two devices are connected to the same WiFi access point it will sync data.

 

[Howard2k]

Yes, it will work perfectly when the phone is connected to wifi. When the phone has no wifi you will be limited but data will be cached.

Why not the Galaxy watch?

 

[AndroidBot]

Thanks for info all, Howard; mainly because there are very few tennis apps (that actually measure swing/motion etc) and the ones that are available seem very poor.

 

[jav6454]

If you are buying an iPhone 8, why not make it your main phone?