Can you get by with just an Apple Watch these days?
November 4, 2018 2:42 PM   Subscribe

Could you use an Apple Watch as your only device (phone calls, text messages, directions, email) now that they have GPS and cellular? Articles seem to say you can and you can’t. Anyone have one and do this?
posted by 10ch to Computers & Internet (5 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: A lot of the functionality links back to a paired iPhone. You don’t need to necessarily carry the iPhone with you, since the LTE provides access to place calls and such, but if you don’t have the iPhone you can’t do maintenance tasks like updates and app installation.
posted by doomsey at 2:54 PM on November 4, 2018 [6 favorites]


I mean, I don't think you can even set up an Apple Watch without an iPhone.

In use, WatchOS 5 has got a lot more general purpose but, good as voice recognition is now, you don't really *want* to be writing replies beyond "Sounds good!" or "Running late, be home soon" without at least some kind of keyboard.

I treat my watch very much as a remote control for my iPhone - it does all the notification/short interaction stuff I'd normally reach in my pocket for, but it's a (very deliberately, IMO) a long way from being a primary computing device.
posted by parm at 3:17 PM on November 4, 2018 [2 favorites]


When people say, "you can use it without an iPhone" I believe they mean things like, "you can go to the grocery store and the gym without bringing your iPhone along" or "you can go to your kids little league game without bringing your iPhone and still get your text messages, get that phone call from your spouse, and get driving directions home."
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2018


Absolutely not. You need an iPhone too. This is like asking “Can I ride around in a sidecar with no motorcycle?” (Answer: Only if you are Harpo).
posted by w0mbat at 8:58 PM on November 4, 2018 [4 favorites]


Best answer: I have long and involved conversations via text pretty much every day. Doing it via swipe-typing (much of this happens in an otherwise silent/noise sensitive environment) is 100% a non-starter. I can't even imagine trying to actually send lengthy emails with it.

A lot of the aps I use every day have an apple watch version. Many more do not.

My watch allows my phone to stay in my pocket a lot more--but I still definitely need my phone.
posted by mollymayhem at 10:01 PM on November 4, 2018


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