Apple Watch cellular

9owners with an opinion

88%of verdicts positive

6/1positive/negative since 2024

6 yrslongest happy owner

1happy after 3+ years

Praised for ease of use and reliability; criticized for software and value.

What owners wrote

Recommends itOwned 6 yearsStill going

I started just having my cellular Apple Watch on me 6 years ago while leaving my phone at home. When everyone around me thought I was crazy I knew I was on to something. I’m doubling down on this philosophy and keeping my phone in my drawer and couldn’t be happier.

Doesn’t like it

Article feels a bit shallow. Obviously carriers will do their usual fuckery, anyone who ever dealt with one knows this. What many people probably wouldn’t expect is when you’re in a country where physical sim are dominant, you the dumb tourist will pay 10x for the privilege of esim since you’re prime target to rip off and what are you going to do about it, buy a new phone? Pay 1000x the price for roaming? Feels like notable omission and is fairly common. I’m also surprised about there being not a word about smartwatches. I got a cellular apple watch with the idea I could leave my phone at home when doing sportsy stuff like swimming, assuming that a watch with esim support will indeed work with esim. In reality most don’t, Apple is particularly restrictive about it. You’ll probably need some shitty "companion / wearable plan" that most networks don’t even offer. There’s also extra regional compatibility on top of it to deal woth. In the end I never found a deal worth using. That being said, I settled on esim for my main number and second esim or physical sim as needed when traveling. Having the sim slot free is neat. The biggest downside is "phone gets wrecked and you’re on another continent -> need to authenticate to switch esim to different device -> you need previous number to authenticate -> good luck", but I’m not sure wrecking a phone is more common than having it stolen so it’s probably a wash.

Neutral

This. I seldom leave the house with an iPhone, and my Apple Watch with cellular is my primary "mobile" device. I want to leave the Apple ecosystem as my devices age out, and the one thing I would love to have is an NFC ring or bracelet to replace my Apple Watch.

Likes it

I often leave the house without my iPhone. Here is my full stack: - Ask wife to set up screen time passcode and not tell me - Block social media and other distracting websites in Screen Time - Set a 1 minute time limit on distracting apps - Keep the phone in the garage as much as possible - Get an Apple Watch cellular so that I can still communicate with people, make payments, get directions etc when I am out and about Not a perfect dumb phone but this has helped me reduce usage tremendously.

Likes it

I switched to an iPad plus cellular Apple Watch, and I’m finding it more convenient than a straight up dumb phone. Biggest downside is no ride share apps work on it, but otherwise it has everything I need.

Likes it

Apple Watches have been great for us. Both of my kids (ages 10 & 13) use a cellular Apple Watch which gives them a way to call/text with us and their friends but it doesn't give them access to social media. I know they'll want a phone soon (my youngest is already asking) but it's an easy "no" for us. I think waiting until around age 14 (or later) sounds about right. I'd like to delay even longer if possible. We'll see how hard they push.

Likes it

This is a really naive take. I tried literally what you’re advocating. And what happened was some busybody lady in my neighborhood kept calling CPS when my daughter would walk to play at a friend’s houses down the block. When I was her age (6) I ranged an entire town on my bike. But this lady just kept calling on us. She’d bring my daughter home whenever she saw her out. It was infuriating. Once we got the Apple Watch the calls and helicopter stuff stopped. Also, the GPS tracking on the cellular Apple Watch isn’t even super accurate, but I can call her to let her know it’s time to come home. The other kids seemed to have followed suit, their parents relented (mostly, the Muslim families on our block seem to keep a very tight leash on their kids) and run around the neighborhood freely. But before our kid started going out nobody was going out.

Likes it

I also have a cellular Watch. Combined with some AirPods it works great if all you need is phonecalls which is a good use case if you want to be available without a time sucking little monster in your pocket.

Likes it

For almost a decade I worked with mobile devices; their certification, R&D, testing. At any given time I would have a dozen devices on me to test out in the field or demo units prior to sale. Now that I no longer do this for a living, I seldom if ever carry a phone with me. I don't do social media, I don't watch movies on a phone, navigation I just look up where I want to go on a map and just drive there. The only connectivity I have outside the home is my Apple Watch Cellular for those random "pick up bread" messages, weather, and to tell the time. It is so liberating.

Recommends it

I got a cellular Apple Watch and leave my iPhone at home. Productivity at work went through the roof, and meetings aren’t as painful anymore because I have no choice but to pay attention and participate. It does all the smart phone essentials, including maps and Uber and two-factor auth, but the tiny screen staves off the addiction.

Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it

If you went back in time to 2006 and showed a cellular Apple Watch and an iPhone (with no apps for either) side by side I think a lot of people would assume the former would be the ubiquitous consumer product and the latter would be a niche product for wealthy executives. The cellular Apple Watch would be a great cell phone if all you want is to use your phone as a phone + iPod. But it’s hamstrung by its software and being forced to be anchored to an iPhone to be activated just makes it unsuitable as a primary device. We’d probably all be healthier as a society if we didn’t have the black rectangle of doom in our pockets all the time. I’d love a cellular Apple Watch that’s elongated enough to have a headphone jack (lol) and all day battery life. It’d be fine even if it was meant to stay in my pocket instead of on the wrist.

Recommends itHasn’t owned it

A BRAND NEW Apple Watch SE with cellular is $330 (and it goes on sale sometimes). You’ll have to add it to your cell plan which is usually $10 a month. Siri works great for a lot of the basic use cases that didn’t work in the video. Reminders, notes, alarms, messaging. Honestly I’m guessing it would work just as well for some of the knowledge questions that they asked. Except if you do that you get an Apple Watch. It tells the time too. It also counts your steps, tracks your heart rate, functions as an exercise/fitness tracker, does a better job of showing your notifications, can stream music from services other than Tidal, can actually show Photos and Web results and emails (although the screen is obviously tiny). It doesn’t have a camera though. So that’s $370 less for the device and $15 less per month? For something that already works way better? And doesn’t seem to run the risk of burning you and constantly turning itself off due to overheating? Hey look! That’s saving enough money that you could actually buy a second Apple Watch and still come out ahead. Wow this is a dud. I wasn’t expecting it to set the world on fire. I wasn’t even expecting it to be good. I did not imagine it would be THIS bad. The two things I use Siri for more than anything else or reminders and texting. And this thing can’t do either one.