Watch Ultra Cell only without iPhone as a daily driver?

[kaardowiq]

My Watch 4 Cell is going to die because of the battery. Currently, I’m struggling to replace the battery or to get a new Ultra. Why the ultra? My idea is to leave the iPhone more and more at home and only to go out with my watch. This was already my try with the Watch 4 which unfortunately failed because of the overall battery life. Therefore, this could lead to a goal. Blogs are writing it leasts for 18h in cell only mode. Is this realistic?

I just want to be reachable via phone, iMessage and sms and unlock my Tesla (app is already present and often use it when going to the gym without phone).

Maybe some already had the same idea and can provide some hints?

Thanks!

 

[richard371]

There are just too many apps and things I need to do on the iPhone that I can't on the watch. I tried this for an hour once and missed the phone. screen is just too small and I like having a camera always with me.

 

[Howard2k]

I don’t use cellular but I have noticed that when wifi calling I miss the ability to mute myself while on a call when using the Watch. When out and about in a noisy environment that’s pretty important IMO.

 

[kaardowiq]

There are just too many apps and things I need to do on the iPhone that I can't on the watch. I tried this for an hour once and missed the phone. screen is just too small and I like having a camera always with me.

Apps are absolutely no issue, just need call and texting and only in some tiny cases. For my daily doing I don’t need any cam ;-)

 

[richard371]

Then that could work. Just make sure your phone is on wherever it is as iMessage etc needs it on. I leave mine at home when i go to some clubs with clothes check etc so I don’t have to worry about it getting stolen or lost. Apple Watch does the job just sucks no Uber app anymore. That was handy in this case.

 

[BillGates1969]

Then that could work. Just make sure your phone is on wherever it is as iMessage etc needs it on. I leave mine at home when i go to some clubs with clothes check etc so I don’t have to worry about it getting stolen or lost. Apple Watch does the job just sucks no Uber app anymore. That was handy in this case.

This is not true. iMessage and calling will work on a cellular plan without the paired phone being turned on. SMS though doesn’t.

 

[sunapple]

My Watch 4 Cell is going to die because of the battery. Currently, I’m struggling to replace the battery or to get a new Ultra. Why the ultra? My idea is to leave the iPhone more and more at home and only to go out with my watch. This was already my try with the Watch 4 which unfortunately failed because of the overall battery life. Therefore, this could lead to a goal. Blogs are writing it leasts for 18h in cell only mode. Is this realistic?

I just want to be reachable via phone, iMessage and sms and unlock my Tesla (app is already present and often use it when going to the gym without phone).

Maybe some already had the same idea and can provide some hints?

Thanks!

Out of curiosity, what kind of battery life were you getting with your Watch 4 cellular?

 

[kaardowiq]

Out of curiosity, what kind of battery life were you getting with your Watch 4 cellular?

Around half a day (currently 87% capacity) in stand alone cell usage (without any iPhone nearby).

 

[sunapple]

Around half a day (currently 87% capacity) in stand alone cell usage (without any iPhone nearby).

Let's say on paper it's 291.8 mAh vs 542 mAh and you are aiming for roughly twice the battery life. Specified 18h LTE doesn't sound unrealistic to me based on that. Curious about real life experiences.

 

[kaardowiq]

More or less I mostly need 9to5. However, there’s morning routine with sports where it tracks my activity and also needs to stream Spotify via cell. therefore, it might be a little bit less than 18h cell standby, but 10hours including sport tracking should be realistic. Has no one experiences with this?

 

[BenGoren]

You’ll be just fine.

Several months ago, I idiotically put my beloved XS through the wash. I was phone-less for about a week until I could make it to an Apple Store for them to first confirm that it was completely dead (not just mostly dead) and to buy a 13 mini.

During that time I only had the Ultra, and it worked fantastically. With, of course, the usual caveats. Biggest in my case was that SMS was gone (you need your phone on and online, but it can be anywhere on the planet). Also annoying was that the University’s 2FA app requires the phone to be with you for the watch to work — but the fallback to have the system call you worked fine: my watch would ring and I’d press the buttons on the keypad and I’d be logged in. The app to control my hearing aids also needs the phone here, but being without that was only a minor annoyance.

The mini is unobtrusive enough that I carry it with me in circumstances when I’d have left the XS behind. But my next phone will likely be a 15 Max Pro, and that will almost certainly not live in my pocket.

Oh — as far as battery life goes … it’ll have a 50/50 chance of making it through two whole days as a standalone daily driver. Which means a 99.99%+ chance of making it through a single day — and, should you forget to charge one day, you just need a few minutes with a charger to make it the rest of the way without anxiety. You’d probably have to do something like have an hours-long phone call while using GPS to navigate Manhattan in a biking workout to be in danger of not making it to the end of the day. In which case … take a ten-minute break to charge, and you’re fine.

b&

 

[kaardowiq]

Sounds great, thanks

 

[richard371]

This is not true. iMessage and calling will work on a cellular plan without the paired phone being turned on. SMS though doesn’t.

I don't think email works without the phone on?

 

[kaardowiq]

I don't think email works without the phone on?

It works. Already using it ;-) the mail app can work standalone on cell watches.

 

[marmiteturkey]

It’s a really freeing thing to go for a run with just my ultra, and then sit in a coffee shop without the temptation of a phone to distract me.

I can still get maps, email, calls, iMessages, and workouts without the phone. Long term I’d miss necessary evils like whatsapp, Teams and so on; but for a couple of hours at a time, it’s great.

 

[kaardowiq]

Oh man was almost buying it today. My Watch 4 died at 7PM… was unable to open my car. Luckily, it was just 2km from home so I could walk home to grab the phone 😅

i do not use WhatsApp oder teams (why the hell should I use work things in my free time) 🤗.

im more and more detoxing from tech. Avoiding almost any push notification from apps and forums by email. Only pulling infos when I have time or want to spend time. Not the app has to tell me when I have to spend time for it. Except of imessage and phone call. This ensures only important things will bother me. Therefore, watch seems to be a pretty good way for me

 

[okieoutwest]

It sounds like you learned a lot when trying this with the 4 (which i tried too!) but i ultimately found that i felt limited by how slow it was to produce responses to any messages. I also uses apps other than imesssage and, for me, the support just wasn't there. I'll be interested to hear if you feel like the experience with the Ultra works for you!

I think Apple has the potential to enable a much lighter tech experience, but it was (is?) not there yet- for me anyway. I wanted, like you, to have the watch be my daily driver, then have an ipad mini and a mac mini to fill other use cases.

 

[yui4]

 

[kaardowiq]

I’m holding short to get one, now. Unfortunately, I don’t know if it’s the right time - probably Ultra 2 is coming soon. On the other hand, I don’t really care. I used Watch 0 over years and now the Watch 4. It fulfills its needs like my old iPhone 11 Pro which just got its battery replaced. Now, there’s a new usecase for a new watch (justification 😅). So maybe I should just grab a second hand one for 700 bucks.

 

[the future]

probably Ultra 2 is coming soon.

No guesswork necessary, we get new Watches, alongside new iPhones, in September, like clockwork.

Some folks said maybe the Ultra won‘t get annual refreshes, but to me this makes no sense. Apple won‘t release new Series Watches with new tech and have them be superior to a not-refreshed Ultra.

 

[kaardowiq]

Exactly, so it’s maybe better to wait to get a more discounted first gen or newer second gen.

 

[mk313]

Depending on how bothersome the 4 becomes, I'd probably try to hold off. It seems like the current watches use a modified version of the same chip as the 6's (IIRC). It's not a guarantee, but it does seem like they are due for a chip upgrade.

Also, not sure if you're doing it or not, but if you connect your watch to wifi if it's available at work/school, It should help you squeeze out more battery life.

And the question about battery life on LTE is highly dependent upon the strength of the cell signal. I live in an acre with marginal cell coverage, and th battery (Series 6) can drain like crazy on cell, but when I head 'into town' with more reliable service, it lasts considerably longer.

 

[d3vp0ll]

I did this for 4 years with my Series 4, and now again with my Series 8. It works better than you think. I get all the bare necessities in messaging and calls, I listen to music and podcasts, and even use Maps in a pinch when needed. I always have a charger in my car or bag on long days. I love not having my phone, glad to see there are others like me. Noting beats being outdoors and not having or needing my phone.

 

[mk313]

I did this for 4 years with my Series 4, and now again with my Series 8. It works better than you think. I get all the bare necessities in messaging and calls, I listen to music and podcasts, and even use Maps in a pinch when needed. I always have a charger in my car or bag on long days. I love not having my phone, glad to see there are others like me. Noting beats being outdoors and not having or needing my phone.

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on using the watch as a daily driver. I use it as much as I can, but there are some definite downsides to going watch only & I'd love to hear how you mitigated those.

For me, the biggest one is battery life while on cellular. It just doesn't last very long. It's much better on wifi, but I still find it coming up short if it's not linked to my phone for a good part of the day. If I have to charge it during the day & it's my only device, I lose the ability to see incoming texts, etc while it's on the charger (at least we still get calls)

Also, texting is a bit frustrating, although passable, with Siri. I feel like on the phone, if there is an error in transcription, you can just highlight the word & type over it, but on the watch, you have to cancel the reply and re-do it from scratch.

Also seeing attachments on emails is tough.

And, though not a dealbreaker, I miss having traffic data rolled into maps.

Did you run into any of those issues & if so, did you find any workarounds. Any other issues that you struggle with (or have come to terms with)?

 

[d3vp0ll]

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on using the watch as a daily driver. I use it as much as I can, but there are some definite downsides to going watch only & I'd love to hear how you mitigated those.

For me, the biggest one is battery life while on cellular. It just doesn't last very long. It's much better on wifi, but I still find it coming up short if it's not linked to my phone for a good part of the day. If I have to charge it during the day & it's my only device, I lose the ability to see incoming texts, etc while it's on the charger (at least we still get calls)

Also, texting is a bit frustrating, although passable, with Siri. I feel like on the phone, if there is an error in transcription, you can just highlight the word & type over it, but on the watch, you have to cancel the reply and re-do it from scratch.

Also seeing attachments on emails is tough.

And, though not a dealbreaker, I miss having traffic data rolled into maps.

Did you run into any of those issues & if so, did you find any workarounds. Any other issues that you struggle with (or have come to terms with)?

I always have a charger with me, yes on LTE only I can only go about 12 solid hours, sometimes as many as 16 with light usage. Quick charging makes this tolerable, my Series 4 used to take FOREVER to charge.

I voice dictate messages so this doesn’t bother me. I also take and receive calls with an AirPod and doesn’t bother me much.

I don’t care about personal emails on my watch but I occasionally check it. No traffic data could be a dealbreaker but I work close to home so it doesn’t bother me.

My biggest issue is occasionally needing to use an app that either doesn’t have a native watch app or needing to send something to someone. If I continue to run into these issues I will just go back to a Garmin and give up the AW. Over time there have been some good quality Watch apps get deprecated altogether, not sure why.