“In a note to investors on Wednesday, GBH Insights analyst Daniel Ives called the Apple Watch Series 3 a ‘game changer release for Cupertino to open up this wearables category for the coming years,'” Don Reisinger writes for Fortune. “He added that the device’s ability to connect to wireless carrier networks ‘is clearly a catalyst for Watch sales heading into (the) holiday season.'”
“Ives estimated the company has sold 30 million units since the smartwatch’s release in 2015,” Reisinger writes. “He predicted that the Apple Watch Series 3 will boost sales from 14 million units during Apple’s prior fiscal year to 19 million this year. Ives added that Apple could sell 23 million units in its next fiscal year.”
“Ives said that the Apple Watch’s cellular connectivity is boosting customer demand,” Reisinger writes. “The analyst polled an unidentified number of prospective Apple Watch customers, and 80% of them said they’d prefer the LTE version over models without the connection. Better yet for Apple, 70% of Apple Watch Series 3 buyers are new smartwatch owners, indicating the company is expanding its customer base.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The freedom to go with just your Apple Watch is compelling.
The first U.S. carrier that wakes up and makes adding Apple Watch to a customer’s’ existing data plan for a nominal activation charge – and no additional monthly charges – will win big!
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Can’t comment on the LTE version but the AW3 is fantastic. Very responsive and the battery life is amazing. About 33% of the charge is used in 24 hours (on the wrist all the time). The original watch would have used 80% by then. Potentially you could wear the watch for 3 days without charge. I usually just charge whilst I’m in the shower and getting ready for work.
Very nice upgrade from the original.
Agreed. I got the non-LTE version. I put it in theater mode when I wear it to bed at night. In the morning it still shows 100% charge.
Glad to hear that you are so happy with your AW3!
Apple Watch is not a game changer. I am a Series 3 owner. The device is nice to have but not essential. It is hamstrung by a tiny screen and for this reason, doesn’t do hardly anything better than a smartphone.
Nobody is going to rely on a geeky watch like this for communications, not the least of which because you woould drain the battery in 1 hour talking. Or because a person has to pay $10 a month to have the data work.
The design is also boring as hell. Get rid of the buttons, thin it out and make the screen bigger. That would be a start. But it will never rival a smartphone because of how diminutive it is.
Aah out of the mouths of babes. You maybe right on this iteration though. Apple really does not want this to replace its phones. In a couple of years though I suspect things may well be much diferent, after all not everyone needs a big screen to make calls, dome of us remember when you never had one. Not everyone needs a smartphone to replace their brain or offer constant entertainment on hand.
Making the screen bigger might not thin it out. Bigger screens need bigger batteries, so it might end up being just as fat.
I was thinking of the battery in the strap.
The main drawback to the iWatch, as with any watch, is that it has to be tethered to the wrist and I fulminate against its cludgy solution to remove it. I prefer the iPhone solution. Also, no long-term studies have been done on the effects of continuous absorbtion of RF signals into the skin.
I take it you’ve never seen a map of the spectrum of RF signals that are constantly bombarding you on a moment by moment basis? You might want to take a look at an app called the Architecture of Radio. The AW3 is still in a relationship with the iPhone, but the marriage is breaking up.
You guys finally broke me. That and prompted by complaints from different people that I’m missing important text messages and emails, I bought an AW3. LTE helped to push me over the edge as well.
I now own a Stainless Steel Space Black AW3 with LTE. Initially it took quite a bit of tinkering to get things working, so I can kinda see how many people would be confused and assume that things don’t work. When things work and when they don’t is somewhat subtle when working with AW3 paired with iPhone.
AW3 will use cellular, if it cannot find your iPhone on Bluetooth or WiFi. Even if it cannot find your iPhone on WiFi, it will still use WiFi to make calls. So when I turn off my iPhone and my WiFi router, after a few moments it switches to cellular. Seems straight forward but it took me a few tries, even reading the instructions to put it all together.
Notifications just wouldn’t work, no matter how many times I set them to work the same way they were set up on my iPhone using the Watch app, as described by the instructions. When I was sitting around experimenting with how to quit apps on the watch and I quit all my apps, notifications then started coming in like crazy. I maintain, in spite of what Apple says, that quitting all Apps when they are not needed is a good idea, at least once in a while.
After I finally got it all working though, and I was sitting there admiring it, a call came in. It was a friend/client in Morocco. She’d misplaced her iPhone. She was calling me using SKYPE on her iPad. It was not lost on me that we were talking to each other on separate sides of the planet and neither of us was using an actual phone at the time. Sometimes I feel like I really do live in a science fiction world.
All in all I’m very happy with it. Mickey Mouse is my favorite face. My first watch as a child was a Mickey Mouse watch. There’s a feeling I get looking at Mickey.
I still haven gotten it to unlock my MacBook Pro 2017. I feared what it might tell me about my heart rate. I’m happy to find it’s in the mid 70s when resting. I suddenly have a desire to get it lower. Instantaneous Biofeedback is a great motivator. Learning to manipulate my heartbeat, even while at rest is interesting.
I love the device, but I still say, it is not a fine watch. Overall excellent construction on par with a fine watch, especially the ceramic versions, but it is not a watch. A fine watch must be a mechanically artistic marvel of horology. Its construction should be of a type that makes it of heirloom quality. You can leave your OMEGA or Rolex to someone after you’re dead. It could gain in value. The Apple Watch is a IT gadget. It will always lose value. It will be obsolete in a year or less.
I can reluctantly see the writing on the wall. At some point for some people, it will replace the iPhone. At the rate things are going, iPhones will be the trucks and watches will be the computer for the rest of us.
Maybe I’m a dumbass for being surprised by this… and smarter readers would probably know this from the get-go… but for like-minded AT&T customers such as myself: Be aware!!! The added cost for adding your Apple Watch with LTE to your AT&T plan is NOT $10. Becuase this new device will incur all the same taxes and fees as adding another smartphone to your plan. In my case, that’s another $9.53. So for me… adding my Apple Watch with LTE is costing me an extra $19.53 a month.
Since I don’t own the AW3, i can only speak based on what i was told. Per ATT rep, if you have an existing line, you will not be charged any additional taxes and fees. Right now the cost to add AW3 to an existing plan is $10 a month, they are waiving the activation fee with online activation AND they are giving you 3 months free.
$19.53 a month is insane! Thanks for the warning. MDNs take is dead-on here, the first carrier to offer $0 monthly to tack it onto an existing line will draw in a very large subscriber base from other carriers (as long as the other carriers don’t immediately follow suit). I’m waiting for much lower monthly rate before I upgrade my 0G Apple Watch.
For anyone still following this thread… I did a little more research (I contacted AT&T for clarification). Here’s my conversation. Hopefully, this will save someone else the hassle of contacting AT&T.
This is pretty long. If it’s too long to ready, note my Apple Watch will only cost 12.01 next month.
AT&T: Welcome to AT&T Chat. How may we help you today?
Me: Hi. I recently added my Apple Watch to my plan. I was lead to believe by Apple, and AT&T that the cost would be $10.00 per month. But I can see I’m being charged over $9.00 in fees in taxes just for my Apple Watch… such that I’m now paying almost $20.00 a month! That’s DOUBLE! I’m not happy about this, and I’m hoping there has been a mistake.
Uriel P: Thank you Matt, I will now have a look into your account.
Uriel P: ON your latest bill, I am seeing that the taxes were pretty high due to the one time activation fee, you will only pay taxes based from your location, on the $10 monthly watch line fee, you shouldn’t experience that amount again.
Me: I thought the activation fee was waived.
Uriel P: YOu will receive a bill credit of $55 after 3 billing cycles, which is the promotion for the waived activation and free first 3 months.
Me: But I’m still required to pay taxes in the meantime? Is that right?
Uriel P: Right, taxes are government regulated otherwise we would waive the fees as well..
Me: Okay… that addresses the taxes (which came to 3.96 on my last bill). Now what about the fees (which came to 5.57) in my last bill.
Uriel P: Let me have a look.
Uriel P: Sorry about the wait, my internet is a little slow at the moment .
Uriel P: I do apologize about that wait, But I am seeing those charges are from overnment taxes & fees
$3.96
9-1-1 Service Fee
$0.50
911 Equalization Surcharge
$0.06
City Sales Tax – Telecom
$0.57
TX State Sales Tax – Telecom
$2.83
Me: That appears to be the breakdown of the Taxes. Not the fees. I’m asking about the Fees. Which amounted to 5.57
Uriel P: I do apologize. This is the charges which amounted to $5.57. Surcharges & fees
$5.57
Administrative Fee
$0.76
Federal Universal Service Charge
$2.50
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
$1.25
State Cost-Recovery Fee
$0.15
Texas Universal Service
$0.91
Me: You’re just copying what is on my bill. I can read that. What I’m complaining about is the addition of these fees on my Apple Watch… which I was lead to believe would ONLY be $10 a month.
Uriel P: I Understand. The Access charge for the watch is $10. I would be more than glad to get a Billing Specialist involved in this chat. I can make the transfer
Me: Yes. Please.
Uriel P: No problem. Give me just a moment.
Uriel P: I am transferring you now!
Uriel P has left the chat
You are being transferred, please hold…
Agent Izamae enters chat
Izamae: Good day, :)! My name is Izamae. I hope you are having a great day! I can definitely help you today!
Izamae: I’m sorry for any delay reaching me. I see that you have been speaking to another representative. Please allow me to review the previous conversation and I will be happy to assist you further.
Me: thank you
Izamae: No problem.
Izamae: I read that you are wanting to check on what is the fees in Surcharges and fees section on the bill correct?
Me: I wanting to understand why I’m being charged more “fees” for my apple watch than I am any of my other devices (phones). I am wanting to understand why I was lead to believe my adding my Apple Watch to my account would cost $10… and now I’m paying almost DOUBLE that. I gotta say… I’m not happy about this.
Izamae: I do understand how surprising it is to see an unexpected charges on the bill, no worries, I can definitely check that out for you
Me: Fees for iPhone 7 = 3.89. Fees for iPhone 6 = 3.54. Fees for iPhone 5 = 3.54. Fees for APPLE WATCH = 5.57.
Izamae: Thank you for that information.
Izamae: Please allow me to check into the bill first to see the charges on the apple watch then I will share with you the explanation of the charges, is that okay?
Me: Yes.
Izamae: Thank you.
Izamae: Please do not disconnect in the chat so we can finish all the items, okay?
Me: okay
Izamae: Perfect.
Izamae: I am now reviewing the account.
Izamae: Please hold for me while I look into this further.
Izamae: One moment please
Izamae: I am sorry for any delay, I am checking on the charges one at a time
Izamae: Thank you for waiting.
Izamae: Upon checking here, the charge that you are seeing “Changes to service” is partial charges from the time the line was activated to the end of the cycle. As you can see the Access for Apple Watch is dated from 09/22-10/05 only.
Me: That doesn’t exactly gel with this:
Surcharges & fees
$5.57
Administrative Fee
$0.76
Federal Universal Service Charge
$2.50
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
$1.25
State Cost-Recovery Fee
$0.15
Texas Universal Service
$0.91
Izamae: That would be part of taxes which the state mandates. AT&T does not actually have any access with those charges.
Me: I’m sorry… but you’re not really answering my questions. Why would the fees for my watch be greater than my other phone devices?
Me: And frankly (allow me to rant here) if the “fees” are going to amount more than 50% of my monthly $10.00 rate… then is it extremely misleading and deceptive of AT&T to advertise that adding an apple watch is going to cost $10.00 a month. Mind you… I wouldn’t be complaining if my taxes and fees amounted to a couple bucks for my apple watch. But it is disingenuous, and shady to advertise $10, when your customers will end up paying somewhere around $17
Izamae: I do apologize for that, let me explain further
Izamae: As you know, taxes are government-mandated and we cannot get away with it. It is tantamount to the services customers are taking advantage of. The only reason that I can see is that the watch line has an activation fee currently, that is why its taxes is higher than the other device
Me: Can you tell me EXACTLY what I will be paying for my Apple Watch per month (since my taxes were higher than normal due to my “WAIVED” activation fee last month)?
Izamae: I do understand your concern about the taxes on the watch but I can assure you that those taxes will inflate once the activation fee is no longer on the line next bill.
Izamae: Sure, I can check on how much should be the watch every month moving forward.
Izamae: One moment please
Izamae: Upon checking here, the watch should be only $12.01 only per monht
Me: So then the fees will reduce as well???
Me: I’m not thrilled about the taxes and fees, but like I said… I can live with a couple bucks. I can accept $12.01
Izamae: yes, the fees, will reduce. I do understand how you feel about the taxes and fees, I do want to reduce the taxes for you but I will not be able to since it is state mandated. Rest assured that the taxes and fees are only high due to activation fee that is on the line. You next bill for watch will surely only be at $12.01
Me: okay. thank you
Izamae: You are so welcome.
Izamae: You deserve all the best! So glad that we’re able to sort out your concern by explaining on why the taxes for watch are that high. Rest assured that you will see the taxes deflate on your next bill. Is there anything else I can cover for you?
Me: No. Bye.
Izamae: We really value your business so Thank You for allowing me to resolve this for you Matt!