Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV Apple Watch 9

A little heads up … if you aren’t already in the know.

I recently ordered and received the APPLE WATCH 9. As beautiful as it looks, one cannot access it without an app which is available on the iPhone only (i.e. not available for iPad).

The watch fires up, and then asks the owner to enter their language and country. To proceed any further, one MUST use their own iPhone or a registered family member’s iPhone. (Unfortunately, potentially, once paired, the other person could continue to have access to the contents of the watch.)

I do not have a cell phone of any kind. I contacted Apple in case there were a workaround. The tech and the sales rep both were as surprised as I was because other versions - SE 8 and earlier - could be set up and used without an iPhone, although some of the apps still would require a connection through the iPhone to function. I spent $1100 (CAD) on a watch that, without an iPhone, can’t even tell me the time of day. Bummers. I found nothing on the Apple.ca website stating that an iPhone is REQUIRED to set up the watch.

The Apple reps, to their credit, were very sympathetic, and authorised a return with full refund.

Bizarre!

Aren't all Apple products returnable for a full refund within 14 days by default?

That has been true from the beginning. In fact, most of the Watch apps are not stand-alone, they are essentially widgets from the iPhone apps. The Watch has to be registered with the iPhone's cellular provider and gets its identity from the SIM in the iPhone. The Apple Watch is effectively an extension of the iPhone, but interestingly enough, it does not have to be in range of the associated iPhone and you can make are received calls even when the iPhone is off. Personally, I am grateful for my Apple Watch for helping identify a hidden heart condition the doctors had missed.

Having a patient's iWatch diagnose a heart condition se's missed has got to be pretty humbling for a doctor!

Re : The Apple Watch is effectively an extension of the iPhone …

Evidently, but Apple does not advertise it that way on its website.

Re : That has been true from the beginning.

Not entirely accurate. Previous versions could be set up through a Wi-Fi signal to at least use it as a timepiece and some of its stand-alone apps.

For me, I would have to fork over another $1200 or more for an iPhone (plus add a monthly cell phone plan) just because I wanted to buy a watch with some extra goodies.

You don't need an iPhone if a family member has got one. Link

It's not a panacea, though.

And … once paired with someone else's phone, they (potentially) could access the contents of the watch thereafter.

The watch did not diagnose the condition per. se. It provided the data the Health app in iOS 17 in my iPhone was able to analyze and estimate the percent of the time my heart is in aFib that day. Those estimates, together with the Doctor's analysis of my symptoms, resulted in the diagnosis. Prior to iOS 17 I would have received notifications of specific events when they occurred. These estimates were also very helpful in determining my response to medication, or lack thereof, leading to a scheduled Cardiac Ablation very early next year.

IMPORTANT POINTS

• Apple is emphatic THEIR DEVICES DO NOT PROVIDE A MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS
• The Apple Watch collects data but does not analyze the data
• The iPhone provides the data analysis
• The Apple Watch can best be thought of as a useful symbiote of the iPhone