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Apple watch experiences?

TPA

TPA

Trade: Tiger Paw
I'm thinking of getting one of the new watch 3's, ie, the one that has it's own sim card so it can be used as a stand alone phone. I don't want to wear it as a watch, but I was planning on de strapping it and just leaving it in a pocket or even on a piece of chord around my neck. ie, just using it as a tiny unobtrusive phone when I'm out and about. Smart phones are great but there's a lot of times I don't want to be carrying one about.

So my question is, has anyone used a watch (tethered to their phone) for making calls etc, and how well does this work? Has anyone used it in conjunction with the AirPods and how well does that work (presumably I'd just need one in, not both?)
 
TPA said:
I'm thinking of getting one of the new watch 3's, ie, the one that has it's own sim card so it can be used as a stand alone phone. I don't want to wear it as a watch, but I was planning on de strapping it and just leaving it in a pocket or even on a piece of chord around my neck. ie, just using it as a tiny unobtrusive phone when I'm out and about. Smart phones are great but there's a lot of times I don't want to be carrying one about.

So my question is, has anyone used a watch (tethered to their phone) for making calls etc, and how well does this work? Has anyone used it in conjunction with the AirPods and how well does that work (presumably I'd just need one in, not both?)
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A friend has one, but the WiFi only model. He likes it, but says the battery life is shocking once you start using it for calls (even the WiFi-only model can do this, but it has to be near the iPhone). What gets me is that it doesn't even show the time until you do something to it so it is not, in fact, a very good watch.

I don't know really why my friend didn't scrape together the extra to get the more independent model. I think the ability for the watch to make calls without having the phone nearby is one of the most important developments in mobile phone technology since the original iPhone. But like the original iPhone, it's version 1 technology, there are some massive compromises, and it is going to look quite primitive in a few years' time.

By the way, the watch doesn't have a SIM card. There isn't room. It has a software equivalent, somehow associated with/cloned from your iPhone SIM card.

Kind regards

- Garry
 
I have one, sim enabled. No complaints, the exercise and heart rate functions are really good. Haven’t tried the phone part yet, but seems destined to become a classic. Frankly, when you think what a Rolex or Omega costs, it’s a steal at the price.
 
I'm not interested in any of the heart rate or health stuff, or probably any of the apps to be honest, I'm just intrigued about the process of making and receiving calls etc, whether you need to use the AirPod etc and how clear the sound is etc. It's not the watch part that interests me, it's having an ultra small phone that appeals. So make a few calls and let me know what you think!
 
Well, the watch part should interest you, it’s that good. I was going to add that it was for the independent phone aspect that I bought the watch, but, seeing as I bought it df then left on holiday, haven’t been able to test it yet. Your supplier has to enable that part of the service, by the way, and, at the moment it’s only Orange in France that will do that for the first six months anyway, and there is a charge. I believe it is the same in the UK, but don’t know which provider.
 
avole said:
I have one, sim enabled. No complaints, the exercise and heart rate functions are really good. Haven’t tried the phone part yet, but seems destined to become a classic. Frankly, when you think what a Rolex or Omega costs, it’s a steal at the price.
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Until it is completely dated in 2 years and you wish to sell on.
 
avole said:
Well, the watch part should interest you, it’s that good. I was going to add that it was for the independent phone aspect that I bought the watch, but, seeing as I bought it df then left on holiday, haven’t been able to test it yet. Your supplier has to enable that part of the service, by the way, and, at the moment it’s only Orange in France that will do that for the first six months anyway, and there is a charge. I believe it is the same in the UK, but don’t know which provider.
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Yes, in the UK, I have to go over to EE, as it is not available from O2. There was a time that I'd have felt a degree of loyalty as an O2 customer for 10 + years but I learnt recently that it's not reciprocated. I already have a watch and don't intend to put it on my wrist but just cut the straps off or unclip them however it works, and leave it in a pocket. I'm sure it's one of those things that will just have a short lifespan like a phone anyway.
 
TPA said:
I'm not interested in any of the heart rate or health stuff, or probably any of the apps to be honest, I'm just intrigued about the process of making and receiving calls etc, whether you need to use the AirPod etc and how clear the sound is etc. It's not the watch part that interests me, it's having an ultra small phone that appeals. So make a few calls and let me know what you think!
Click to expand...

Is this a 007 thingy ?
 
I bought a series 2 a while ago and I wear it in preference to any of my other watches.
It does as much or as little as you want it to do, which in my case is seeing the time and messages without getting my phone out of my pocket and for Apple Pay which is excellent.
From what I can see the series 3 has the advantage of calls without the phone nearby, but few others.
In saying that I think the aluminium ones feel light, tinny & cheap compared with the stainless steel ones.
 
If you don’t have the watch on your wrist it becomes a serious bug bear, having to type your password in every time to use it. I have no doubt there are lots of tiny tiny android phones out there?
 
Keeping it in your pocket does not work very well - I sometimes have to do this when working with lasers (to avoid accidentally reflecting the beam into someones eye) - and when I take it out my pocket I find movement while in there has been pressing random buttons on the touch screen etc. (including once automatically calling 999!).

It works well as a watch on your wrist.
 
I think it depends on what you want. Nothing beats a simple analogue watch for just telling the time, but you might want a personal assistant and an 'extension' of your smartphone on your wrist, in which case it's the best out there IMHO.
 
Thanks for the feedback, I already have a watch which is more like an old friend so don't really want to wear it on my wrist. I thought that just leaving it in a pocket would be unobtrusive and useful but it looks like this may not be quite so appropriate.
 
I tried to get one but only on EE. Ive been on Vodafone for 25 years but EE wouldn't take my business as they won't let me have two more lines until I've been with them 6 months. (I already have a phone and mobile internet with them)
Odd c £100 a month of my money on offer and they don't want it!
 
A couple of my colleagues were looking at the iWatch 3 when we were in the US recently One of them bought one but decided to go without the phone capability as he wasn't convinced it'd actually prove all that useful (plus also he didn't want to have to wait until he was back in the uk to buy one). One of them already has an iWatch2 which seems to really burn through the battery quickly - no idea if the 3 is better.

I use a Vivoactive HR which is definitely not as pretty but is cheaper, has a much better battery life and seems to have at least as good a set of sports functionality if you're not interested in the phone capability (which I'm not).
 
SteveG said:
A couple of my colleagues were looking at the iWatch 3 when we were in the US recently One of them bought one but decided to go without the phone capability as he wasn't convinced it'd actually prove all that useful (plus also he didn't want to have to wait until he was back in the uk to buy one). One of them already has an iWatch2 which seems to really burn through the battery quickly - no idea if the 3 is better.

I use a Vivoactive HR which is definitely not as pretty but is cheaper, has a much better battery life and seems to have at least as good a set of sports functionality if you're not interested in the phone capability (which I'm not).
Click to expand...

But one of the best things about the Apple watch is that you can see all alerts on the watch without touching your phone and you can also use many of the apps just using the watch alone.
My 2 series battery lasts for 3 days if I use the battery saver function through the night.
 
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