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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.
I am also thinking of going watch only i would be curious to know how much data you have on your watch plan. Here in Canada I only see 1gb data plans and I suspect that isn’t enough.
 
I am also thinking of going watch only i would be curious to know how much data you have on your watch plan. Here in Canada I only see 1gb data plans and I suspect that isn’t enough.
Interesting question. Is there a way to check this? I can try to see what I use monthly but I would think you may need a bit more. It doesn’t use nearly as much as a phone, but I’m willing to bet I use about 2gb. I’ll see if I can check
 
Interesting question. Is there a way to check this? I can try to see what I use monthly but I would think you may need a bit more. It doesn’t use nearly as much as a phone, but I’m willing to bet I use about 2gb. I’ll see if I can check
thanks ! yeah I can't see getting by on 1gb though I am retired and really only put on my watch when I head to do things so maybe it would work
 
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.

Thanks for the detailed reply.

One last question. you mention taking calls with an AirPods. Do you just use one AirPods & if so, I assume you don't bring the case with you. In that scenario (AirPod out of case all day), does the AirPods battery life hold up so that it's still useable at 5pm (or whatever)? I have an AirPods holder for my Apple Watch band, that I use sometimes when out, but I've never tried to see if the AirPods could last all day away from the case.
 
That’s what I do

For call, text, nav, basic email, it works fine by itself

Add Apple Pay and photos of some IDs and such and I can conduct most of my days with just the watch on and nothing in my pockets
 
thanks ! yeah I can't see getting by on 1gb though I am retired and really only put on my watch when I head to do things so maybe it would work
I don't use the watch full time independently, but I do use it quite a bit out & about. Sprint (or T Mo after they bought Sprint, I can't remember) came out with a cheaper $5/month limited plan. I think it was 500 MB & I wanted to see if it made sense to switch. I tracked my usage & noticed that I never used anywhere near 500 MB. (I just looked up the spreadsheet & my average cellular usage over a 35 month period was 164MB/month) There were only three months that I exceeded 500 MB & those were months when I reset the watch & had to stream music for some of my running workouts. If you don't stream music or podcasts, I think you'd be fine on 1 GB. Also, if you happen to be near wifi & can connect to that, you'll also stretch your data allocation, and your battery life.
 
Thanks for the detailed reply.

One last question. you mention taking calls with an AirPods. Do you just use one AirPods & if so, I assume you don't bring the case with you. In that scenario (AirPod out of case all day), does the AirPods battery life hold up so that it's still useable at 5pm (or whatever)? I have an AirPods holder for my Apple Watch band, that I use sometimes when out, but I've never tried to see if the AirPods could last all day away from the case.

I’m use AirPods for the phone. My gut feel is 60-90 minutes of talk time per AirPods. When they’re in the ear and idle they still use battery but much less.

I would carry the case in your pocket so you can switch between ears and charge one while the other is in use.


EDIT: paying closer attention, 1 hour 55 minutes of talking before my right AirPod went flat today.
 
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I used to use the AW6 on cellular mode on the beach, it was fine until last year but now it doesn’t last a full beach day any more. One problem in continental Europe is the widespread use of Whatsapp that has no watch app, notifications are on but no vocals or images there is no replacement app that works on cellular mode. All apps like Watchchat work fine just when paired with the phone, at least for now.

Highest battery drain I ever noticed is by using Spotify on cellular streaming, 90 minutes to go from a full battery to a black screen when the watch was new. Better prepare a playlist before and download it if possible.
 
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I don't use the watch full time independently, but I do use it quite a bit out & about. Sprint (or T Mo after they bought Sprint, I can't remember) came out with a cheaper $5/month limited plan. I think it was 500 MB & I wanted to see if it made sense to switch. I tracked my usage & noticed that I never used anywhere near 500 MB. (I just looked up the spreadsheet & my average cellular usage over a 35 month period was 164MB/month) There were only three months that I exceeded 500 MB & those were months when I reset the watch & had to stream music for some of my running workouts. If you don't stream music or podcasts, I think you'd be fine on 1 GB. Also, if you happen to be near wifi & can connect to that, you'll also stretch your data allocation, and your battery life.
thanks a lot for that, it looks like a go for me as I only put on my watch when I leave the house and mainly want to be able to make a 911 call if need to so yeah this sounds like a go, I might well pick up the new ultra in September
 
Thanks for the detailed reply.

One last question. you mention taking calls with an AirPods. Do you just use one AirPods & if so, I assume you don't bring the case with you. In that scenario (AirPod out of case all day), does the AirPods battery life hold up so that it's still useable at 5pm (or whatever)? I have an AirPods holder for my Apple Watch band, that I use sometimes when out, but I've never tried to see if the AirPods could last all day away from the case.
I don’t leave the AirPod (in my case, Beats Fit Pro) in my ear all day, but I do have it in most of the day and charge it up during lunch or whatever. I do take calls on speaker if needed. Perhaps the newest AirPods can last all day but mine do not.
 
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I don’t leave the AirPod (in my case, Beats Fit Pro) in my ear all day, but I do have it in most of the day and charge it up during lunch or whatever. I do take calls on speaker if needed. Perhaps the newest AirPods can last all day but mine do not.

Thanks! Good to know.
 
I’m use AirPods for the phone. My gut feel is 60-90 minutes of talk time per AirPods. When they’re in the ear and idle they still use battery but much less.

I would carry the case in your pocket so you can switch between ears and charge one while the other is in use.


EDIT: paying closer attention, 1 hour 55 minutes of talking before my right AirPod went flat today.
Thanks. That's what I do now (although I use both at the same time since I have the case with me anyways), but the watch strap case for the AirPods is super convenient for when I am wearing shorts with no pockets or running shorts with a pocket that always seems to get sweaty. Just curious as to the limits of the watch/AirPods only use case from someone who's already done it.
 
Just wanted to do a little write up and update for anyone interested. I just got an AWU2. Left the house the other day for about 9 hours. Phone left home. I only have text/call notifications sent to my watch. No other apps are on my watch aside from what comes on in. I took a few calls, did a bunch of texts, and I only lost 12%. For me, this thing could last 4-5 days with this usage. This is the new way of life. Love it.
 
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I never try and go out for a day without my phone. But always for runs or walks, trips to the local shop, etc I’m cellular watch only. I almost never take my phone to the pub any more either as I like not having the temptation to turn to my phone. Works really well for me and has definitely been a quality of life improvement. I first got a mobile in my mid-20s so I guess my generation and above may find it easier.

My problem now is that the battery on my S7 is heading quickly towards 80% and so I do have to manage it a bit more.
 
I never try and go out for a day without my phone. But always for runs or walks, trips to the local shop, etc I’m cellular watch only. I almost never take my phone to the pub any more either as I like not having the temptation to turn to my phone. Works really well for me and has definitely been a quality of life improvement. I first got a mobile in my mid-20s so I guess my generation and above may find it easier.

My problem now is that the battery on my S7 is heading quickly towards 80% and so I do have to manage it a bit more.
Grab an ultra 2 and you won’t have to manage battery 👌🏼
 
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