Here's what you can do on the Apple Watch without your iPhone

CNet News ^ | Thursday April 9, 2015 | by Mitchel Broussard

[Swordmaker]

he Apple Watch is, first and foremost, an iPhone accessory. It might be even more than that eventually, a truly independent gadget, but a vast majority of its current core functions -- making calls, sending messages, getting information, even playing any third-party games -- require your iPhone to be on, have Internet service, and be paired with the Watch via Bluetooth or a shared Wi-Fi network. If you're thinking about getting one, make sure you know that. It requires an iPhone 5 or later, and it can't even be set up without one.

Still, the Apple Watch can do a few things without your iPhone around -- more than I even realized. I left my iPhone behind and went for a stroll with just the Apple Watch to try it out.

Here's everything the Apple Watch can do when away from your iPhone:

Music

The Apple Watch has 6.2GB of available storage, of which 2GB can be used to store music. You sync music with Apple Watch via your iPhone and the Apple Watch app, no Mac or iTunes required (but, the music must be on your phone in the Music app, or in iTunes in the Cloud). Once your music is synced, you're free to listen as long you have a pair of Bluetooth headphones. I paired a few sets easily via the Apple Watch's Bluetooth settings: the ones I tested in the video above were the Plantronics BackBeat Fit, a highly-rated comfy pair of fitness-targeted wraparound wireless sport earbuds. In the Apple Watch Music app, you need to Force Press and select "Source" as Apple Watch. Once that awkward step is done, music plays just like on an iPod.

Fitness

Apple has two built-in fitness apps called Activity and Workout, and both work away from the iPhone. You can measure heart rate, too. Activity tracks steps, time spent standing, and active exercise. Workout allows timed exercise sessions that measure pace, distance, heart rate, and calorie burn estimates for various activities. The only thing you can't do away from your iPhone is track your walk or run with GPS: that requires your iPhone. Third-party fitness apps can't be used away from your iPhone, either. In fact, all third-party apps -- those not created by Apple -- need an iPhone connection to work.

Apple Pay

Once you set up a credit card for Apple Pay to work on Apple Watch, it keeps working even when your iPhone is not attached. Double-click the flat side button, and you can tap to pay at any Apple Pay-ready store. It's easy to use and addictive. If the watch is taken off your wrist, you'll need to enter a passcode to use it again. Because Apple Pay doesn't use your actual credit card number, you can cancel it from your iPhone and deactivate your Apple Watch's Apple Pay function, even if the watch isn't online at all.

Passbook

You can store boarding passes, tickets and gift cards in Passbook in the form of QR codes, and it's a great alternative to Apple Pay for a lot of stores and services. It's easy to open your cards and tickets, and QR codes even get brighter when you display them, for easy scanning.

Photos

There's a small photo album app on the Apple Watch that stores up to 500 photos from your phone library or iCloud. It's hard to see pics on the small screen, but it's a cute replacement for the itty-bitty wallet photo.

Alarms, timers, world clock, stopwatch...and watch faces

Apple has several timer and clock apps apart from the stylized watch faces, which also work when your iPhone is disconnected and offline. You can use Apple Watch like a full-featured chronograph and watch, or as an alarm clock. And of course, you can use Apple's own beautiful watch faces, too, which will still tell time.

Reading messages, recent calls and even offline voice mails

You can't make phone calls away from your phone, but you can see who's called recently, and read already-sent texts. Shockingly, you can even listen to voice mails! The Apple Watch syncs visual voice mail, and most of them will play back on my watch even with Airplane mode turned on. You won't be able to receive new messages without connecting your phone again, but at least you can browse missed connections.

That's it for now

Hopefully, someday, the Apple Watch will use its Wi-Fi antenna to get data on its own, or to pair with other devices like the Apple TV and Macs (it already has an Apple TV remote mode, but it's somewhat simple in its range of function).

In the meantime, you can experiment with the key features outlined above.

[Star Traveler]

That’s the definition for the APPLE-HATER TROLLS ... jumping in on threads they don’t like, dealing with companies they want nothing to do with, and about products they don’t want ... and filling up the thread doing so ... LOL ...

[Secret Agent Man]

Donut-puncher.

Butt pirafe.

I can offer alternatives that haven’t lost their meaning.

[Star Traveler]

Hey ... feel free to discuss your favorite topic all you want ... just click the “Post” link and put the article up. AND ... get a ping list going, just like is going on here, with 700 FReepers.

No one is getting in your way ... :-) ...

[amigatec]

Isn't it amazing that over 60% of these posts, have something to do with Homo's?

It's like these Apple Haters have an obsession with gays. Maybe we can book them on Dr. Phil, I'm sure he can straighten them out. LOL

[House Atreides]

bright pastel/powder blue.

holy fag factor five, captain!
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Sten, your mind seems to be continually focused on male same-sex sexuality. Were you bullied on this subject in high school? Just curious as to how this obsession developed...it’s very strange.

[Cementjungle]

Will they have a deal where you can retrofit the new electronics slab into your existing jewelry frame?

I dunno... the innards are just a few buck's worth of electronics and I can't figure out what the $17K is for... certainly not for that unremarkable case or plastic strap.

You can buy 14 ounces of gold for $17K.

[Star Traveler]

Could you start with Microsoft and Windows ads ... LOL ...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/search?s=Microsoft+Windows&ok=Search&q=quick&m=any&o=time

[House Atreides]

“I doubt you find a single homosexual in the 700 FReepers who are on the Apple ping list here ... :-) ...

ALSO ... In all my years of being involved with Apple users (user groups, which are less popular now, but were the thing years ago) ... I never once ran into an Apple User who was a homosexual....”
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My friends who have Apple iPhones are not homosexual as far as I know and they are certainly not working at trying to promote any type of “homosexual agenda”.

However, among the Apple-haters I’ve encountered online, MANY seem to be weirdly obsessed by homosexuality and see it everywhere. Very strange crew there.

[Star Traveler]

Yep, a very strange crew indeed!

[Swordmaker]

“More than 70 percent of users on both the iPhone and iPod touch are male.”

There are quite a few flaws in your article. First of all, it's quite old. . . the image on the page is of an original iPhone . . . and the page format is last copyrighted 2011. . .

The research was conducted by comScore on AdMob’s iPhone network of mobile web sites and applications, making it representative of AdMob but not necessarily of the mobile population overall.

In addition, it is a self-selected survey based on users of specific sites, mostly game sites. Women do not use the games sites. The figures they report from long ago do not comport with modern figures at all. Since you were citing 2011 statistics, distorted as they are, lets look at accurate data instead of self-selected, ad-generated data from game sites guesses:

Source — Statista — The Statistic Portal

As the numbers of iPhones increased, the gender division would get more and more closer to accurately reflecting the gender of the population in general. . . which is about 52% female and 48% males. Sorry, you lose. Since 2011, the iPhone has moved far more onto the world stage and the gender distribution is even more reflective of equality than you want to distort it to be male dominated.

A recent study show that it is ANDROID phones that are male dominated with a 14% bias toward male users.

[Star Traveler]

Yes, they are obsessed with it ... while we just want phones, computers, tablets and/or smartwatches.

It kinda makes you wonder about them ... :-) ...

[House Atreides]

“Yes, they are obsessed with it ... while we just want phones, computers, tablets and/or smartwatches.

It kinda makes you wonder about them ... :-) ...”
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Yep...I just wish they’d set up a Homosexual Interest ping list and post away. Those would be threads I’d never go to and certainly would not be trolling on their threads on that subject.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

I like the watch. It is stylish, and if it functioned in the real world I would buy one. Probably immediately.

I really do. But I do not have an iPhone and do not intend to get one.

I believe there are quite a lot of people out here, who are ready for a watch which is a cell phone, but don’t need a pc except for the watch. I really do.

There are a couple of Chinese manufacturers making such a watch right now, with a Linux operating system.

Once one of those takes off, Apple will have lost this market.

I give it one year, tops.

Apple you are (badly) blowing it. I won’t buy the watch because I would need an iPhone to make it work.

I am not alone here. There are a ton of people like me out here.

Correct this Apple. Soon.

[Dr. Sivana]

Somehow you focus on the extreme minority market.

I have used Macs since 1983 (U of Chicago laboratory). I bought an iMac for the family, and use an iPod Touch as a portable Wifi personal organizer/e-mail/web device. I have defended Apple may times against specious arguments, especially about the cost of the Macs.

But when the CEO of the company comes out and makes his personal position on an issue like that the company's position, revulsion is a natural reaction. No, I'm not going to throw out my computers and iPods. But just as I avoid Burger King because the "Pride" Whopper pushes perversion into the cultural sphere, I cannot really argue against someone who takes the identity that the high-flying CEO presents for the company at face value. Such statements are a way of saying they don't WANT my business.

[Star Traveler]

You bet ... I wouldn’t be anywhere near those threads ... :-) ...

[amigatec]

Since these Apple Haters spend so much time worrying about Homo's, it makes me think they are still in the closet, and afraid to come out.

You know the best way to ‘throw somebody off the track’ is to pretend to hate something you yourself are really into.

[Star Traveler]

Even though I hate to think that’s true, you’re probably right that there are a few of those types who may be struggling with this tendency inside themselves.

Let them deal with it ... and keep ‘em away from me!

[ctdonath2]

iPod started similar. Locked into a tight platform, expanded later. This is common Apple product development.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

All I can say is, I would order an Apple watch right now, if I could use it without buying an iPhone.

I know they would sell a whole huge bunch of these, if they worked independently.

This market is just starting to take off.

I still wear a watch. I would very much like to make the watch I still wear, a phone.

I will probably buy some watch, which functions independently as a phone, in maybe a year. Give things a bit of time to see what will emerge.

I am definitely looking.

Apple I’m here right now.

Don’t wait too long, or I’ll buy a competitor’s watch.

[Swordmaker]

I will repost this every time I see A post of yours .
Jim should be paid for ads.

Who appointed you the policy maker for FreeRepublic? Certainly not Jim Robinson. He has approved the presence of these threads, multiple times. . . you don't have Admin Moderator rights on FreeRepublic, nor are you the owner of this site, nor is this an ad.