How can I decide between Apple Watch GPS and GPS+ cellular models?

Goku3508_iOS wrote:

Well, this is great, but does it have the ability to call without my phone being near?

Yes. The activated cellular Apple Watch can make and receive phone calls without the iPhone being nearby.

The one limitation is if you want SMS TEXT messages, the iPhone needs to be powered on, able to access the Internet, and be logged into iMessage, but the iPhone itself can be on the other side of the planet.

SMS TEXT messages depend on a more complex cellular radio, that also uses more power, that the tiny Apple Watch battery cannot handle, so the iPhone provides SMS TEXTing and relays the messages via iMessage to/from the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch must be paired to an iPhone, and the iPhone using a carrier and carrier plan that supports the Apple Watch

Apple Watch - Carriers - Apple

The GPS only Apple Watch can do everything the cellular model can do AS LONG AS the iPhone is nearby. Where nearby is generally in the same moderate sized wood frame constructed home.

Things I do with my GPS Only Series 4 Apple Watch (with my iPhone nearby most of the time):

• It tells time, date, day of the week

• Every iPhone alarm, appears on my wrist, where you can acknowledge it, dismiss it, etc…

• I like the iPhone 3rd party “Alarmed” app (http://yoctoville.com), for my alarms

• Ring.com door bell can display a static image on the Apple Watch

• Weather (this gets used a lot)

• MyRadar 3rd party app will display radar image

• MyRadar and WeatherBug 3rd party apps will send you weather alerts

• Make/Receive phone calls

• Make/Receive FaceTime audio calls

• Use Walkie-Talkie to other Apple Watches anywhere on the planet

• Silence phone ringing by pressing the digital crown (great for SPAM calls)

• Send & receive iMessages

• Send & receive SMS TEXT

• Say “Hey Siri, 14 and a half minute timer”

• Say “Hey Siri, remind me when I get home to do xyz”

• Say “Hey Siri, message my wife/husband/Susan/George/etc…”

• Say “Hey Siri, start Outdoor Walk”

• Say “Hey Siri, end workout”

• Say “Hey Siri, find my iPhone”

• Say “Hey Siri, flashlight”

• Use a 3rd party garage door opener app and device (such as MyQ)

• You can check your calendar

• Read your email

• If you need to take an iPhone picture where you cannot see the screen, use Apple Watch Camera app as a view finder/shutter release

• 3rd party Ocean’s Tide app for beach visits

• Hand washing reminder and timer

• Unlock your Mac (I do this several times a day)

• Unlock your iPhone when you are wearing a mask

• Track your exercise and physical activities

Since my Wife got her Apple Watch, we have been able to reliably iMessage each other, as she never keeps here iPhone on her person.

If my Apple Watch was lost, stolen, or broken, I would order a replacement as fast as possible, as I would miss it so much.

If none of these carriers

Apple Watch - Carriers - Apple

support the Apple Watch in your area, then you effectively have a GPS only Apple Watch.

A GPS only Apple Watch, or a cellular model that does not have a cellular contract, can do EVERYTHING an activated cellular model can do AS LONG AS the iPhone is nearby.

So yes you can make phone calls, and talk to your wrist, but the Apple Watch is using the nearby iPhone’s radios.

This is what I have been doing for the past 5 3/4 years with my Series 4 GPS only model. With my iPhone in my pocket, I’ve answered calls while riding my bike, sent iMessages to my wife from my bike, etc…. Basically, everything in the list of things I do with my Apple Watch, is generally done with my iPhone nearby.

Note: if your iPhone’s carrier supports WiFi calling AND you enable WiFi calling on your iPhone AND you enable WiFi calling on your Apple Watch, then a GPS only Apple Watch can make calls if it is connected to WiFi. But this is mostly only useful when you are at home connected to your home WiFi network.

The Apple Watch and iPhone will use low power Bluetooth when in range of each other (30-50 feet; 20-15 meters). No pre-existing network needed.

The iPhone will then use its cellular radio to provide both telephone and Internet access for the Apple Watch.

So as long as your iPhone can connect with its cellular provider (or use Roaming to use another carrier), and your iPhone is nearby, then the Apple Watch can make and receive calls, use the Internet, and do everything I’ve listed in my previous post, plus other things it can do that I was not interested in.

With a GPS only Apple Watch, it does not matter which iPhone cellular provider is used. It can be a low cost MVNO pay-as-you-go service, or a full featured carrier. It does not matter, because the Carrier does not know that you are using an Apple Watch.

NOTE: I would assume you would use a carrier that covers both your home, as well as your school 😁.

If you are traveling outside your carrier’s service area, then if your carrier supports roaming you are good, but be aware some carriers tack on an extra fee when you use roaming.

If you get a local SIM or eSIM for your iPhone, when traveling, then you do not have roaming charges. And the GPS only Apple Watch does not care how the iPhone connects, it just cares that it can talk to the iPhone, and lets the iPhone be its router.

When you iPhone is nearby, the Apple Watch will always use low power Bluetooth to access the iPhone’s radios, whether that is just to talk to the iPhone, make phone calls, access the Internet. The iPhone can then choose to use WiFi or cellular to provide whatever network access the Apple Watch needs.

Goku3508_iOS wrote:

Can I use my GPS only watch to call my contacts WITH my iPhone nearby but with NO internet access? Let's say I just finished my school day and was exhausted and I needed to call a family member in order to pick me up and I have my watch, and my iPhone with an SIM card inserted in an unsupported territory/area/country with no internet connection, Could I still make that call?

Nope.

You’ve added enough impediments into your hypothetical to block comms, except (maybe) emergency comms.

Your hypothetical could be addressed with a satellite phone, Garmin inReach, or equivalent.

The difference is that the cellular model can operate without your iPhone nearby as it has cellular connectivity ; The cellular model is capable of calling without your iPhone nearby and without wifi

And you can also receive email and texts without your iPhone being near.