I think for people that only use smartphones occasionally, it'd be ideal to have just a watch and a desktop/laptop.
It'd also be a great move by Apple towards reducing distractions of its users. Watches can be much less intrusive than phones.
Example: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07YTN8VY4/
Probably makes it even easier to find watch bands that work/fit kids/that they like.
Apple doesn't want to build a world in which people occasionally use smartphones.
They're an iPhone company.
They're building things to make iPhone's more valuable and to keep / strengthen their lead / profit engine.
iPhones required a computer with iTunes up until iOS 5.
Only being able to take calls on speakerphone, not having access to the long tail of apps you might need on occasion, and not being able to effectively input text into the apps you do have are the biggest problems for me.
Its alright for the kids and old people thing they have now where you really want a life alert/GPS tracker combo and calling/texting is a nice bonus but the form factor isn't viable for solo use.
I was under the impression that if you had AirPods, they would work for phone calls through the watch.
If you are only worried about placing calls and not receiving them, it works better but you still have to contend with bluetooth, which is less than 100% reliable, being an essential component of your setup.
How is the form factor of this any different than when you connect AirPods to take a call on your iPhone? This exact order of premeditation prior to the action of taking a call is already commonplace if for the iPhone - why not for the Apple Watches too?
Transparency mode is good enough on AirPods that I feel safe using them when I am cycling or running, and not having to carry a phone during those activities is a big win for me.
Of course this means getting even more locked into Apple ecosystem, but I even forget that AirPods are bluetooth devices given the way they seamless work with other apple stuff.
This was actually another problem I had with going Apple Watch only, it refused to connect to my cars Bluetooth.
Not sure if I should blame that failure on Apple or Ford, though.
Why not letting me do that, at least, from a Mac or an iPad?
So imagine my surprise when I switched my handset to Android and my watch reported "no service". Keep in mind that this is marketed as a stand-alone product, that had its own data plan. But once I didn't have an iPhone activated, a soft switch in my watch (read: medical device) was flipped in order to disable it.
It was at that time that I sold every apple product in my possession, and bought a pixel watch. My pixel watch does everything better than my apple watch did, without exception.
Am I being irrational here, or is it wrong for a company to disable device B because you don't have device A anymore, when they're marketed as independent devices with independent data plans and eSIM etc?
Yes but you have to use a third-party app for that, the official Tesla app does not have a Watch version.
> Also can you do navigation?
Yes.
A few times I've forgotten about this, went to get something from the car without my phone, and been puzzled why the car unlocked lol
Right now, most expensive fitness trackers rely on smartphones.
I think only Garmin and Polar can be set up without a smartphone, but Polar still relies on smartphones for GPS updates.
Ya, they have more buying power, but they are choosey about what they buy and aren't so interested in new gadgets. Younger people have less buying power but they are full of wants. They also get more money and will buy more over time, whereas baby boomers are going to retire quickly and their buying will fall off.
> They also get more money and will buy more over time, whereas baby boomers are going to retire quickly and their buying will fall off.
You're assuming this is a generational thing and not an age thing. If older people (and to be clear, I'm talking >40 vs <40) naturally gravitate away from smartphones for some more fundamental reason than generational differences, then that high-buying-power market will remain underserved even once today's young people age into that bracket.
You are just claiming that the market is being inefficient, but they have been burned so many times before assuming that somehow the 40+ crowd is going to drive the market for new things.
But seriously, probably millions of people would prefer to not carry a phone everywhere yet still have the essentials (texting and calling) handy if need be.