Three years later, the Apple Watch Series 3 is still one of the best smartwatches around. As long as you get the non-LTE model, that is.
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ByCaitlin McGarry28 January 2021
Comments (8)The future of smartwatches is being connected, but the Apple Watch Series 3 doesn"t quite deliver on that promise. Get the non-LTE mã sản phẩm instead.
ForExcellent fitness-tracking featuresFaster SiriLTE is convenient while you"re working outApple Music streaming
I"ve owned multiple iPhones, iPads, iPods và MacBooks over the past decade. I wore a first-generation Apple Watch and then a Series 2. The Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE is the first Apple device I"ve sầu used that didn"t just work out of the box. And while I did eventually get it running, other issues — as well as its high price — make this connected watch a tougher sell than the non-LTE version.While I didn"t love the cellular Series 3, the Bluetooth không dây Model is one of the best smartwatches& even our top pick aao ước the best cheap smartwatches. It"s also one best fitness trackers you can buy, if you"re on the hunt for a workout-oriented wearable. Our Apple Watch Series 3 vs. Fitbit Charge 4 face-off details the benefits you"ll get with the Apple smartwatch over a traditional fitness tracker.
With watchOS 7, you"ll still get the lakiểm tra software features without having to lớn splurge on a $399 Apple Watch Series 6, or $279 on the Apple Watch SE, too.
See our Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch 3 & Apple Watch 6 vs. Apple Watch 3 face-offs for advice on whether you should nâng cấp.
The good news? With the release of the Apple Watch Series 7 later this fall, Apple announced that the Apple Watch Series 3 will remain on sale, starting at$199.
The promise — & reality — of LTE
A smartwatch aims khổng lồ put easy access to lớn your smartphone on your wrist. But cellular connectivity has the potential to remove sầu your phone from the equation altogether. Early criticism of the Apple Watch included that it leaned too heavily on the phone for basic tasks. Software updates and faster processors have sầu made that less of an issue; now, the watch can run apps natively & access Wi-Fi networks that your iPhone has connected lớn in the past. But it still requires your phone to lớn be its relay device for phone calls và notifications, and it can"t do much when your iPhone is out of range và there are no known Wi-Fi networks around.
The LTE Apple Watch Series 3 is designed to bridge that gap, but that"s it. It"s not an iPhone replacement. If you"re expecting to lớn leave your phone for extended periods of time & use the watch to lớn handle all your tasks, you will be disappointed. That disappointment sinks in after you add up the costs — $399 for the 38-millimeter model or $429 for the 42-mm version, & then an extra $10 on your monthly cellphone bill so that the watch can draw from your data bucket. All that, và it can"t even last a full day on its own.
But even though I knew the watch couldn"t replace my iPhone, I still had high hopes. Those floated down to earth as soon as I unboxed the device.
Apple Watch Series 3 activation: A frustrating process
The Series 3 pairs to your iPhone the same way past generations did, with a dynamic image on the watch face that you scan with your iPhone camera. That part is just as seamless as usual. But then I got khổng lồ the part where I had lớn activate the watch"s cellular connectivity.
I eventually got my watch activated on AT&T"s network, but it took a trip khổng lồ my nearby AT&T store và the help of five sầu customer service reps — four in-store & one over the phone — more than an hour to navigate the complicated thiết đặt process.
I ran into a myriad of issues when trying lớn activate the watch on my AT&T plan. A customer service agent couldn"t help me figure out the problem over the phone, so I eventually paired the device to an Apple-provided iPhone 8 on T-sản phẩm điện thoại to lớn kiểm tra it out.
I experienced some launch-weekover jitters with phone Call reliability, where calls on the watch over LTE would fail, but those issues seem to have sầu been resolved. (If you run inlớn a similar problem, try deactivating the watch"s data plan, và then reactivating & rebooting. That did the trick for me.) A look at Twitter và Reddit shows that other Series 3 buyers experienced the same early problems I did.
I eventually got my watch activated on AT&T"s network, but it took a trip to my nearby AT&T store & the help of five sầu customer service reps — four in-store và one over the phone — more than an hour lớn navigate the complicated thiết đặt process.
A watchOS update that Apple pushed out a few weeks after the Series 3"s launch fixed a bug that affected the watch"s ability to switch from Wi-Fi lớn cellular. The software update also added a manual setting in the Control Center, accessible by swiping up on the watch face, that lets you toggle among mỏi the iPhone"s connection, a Wi-Fi network & the watch"s own cellular connection.
MORE: Smartwatch buying guide
Before the update, you could connect lớn cellular only by putting your iPhone in airplane mode or leaving it out of công nghệ Bluetooth không dây range altogether. Now, if your watch gets hung up trying lớn connect khổng lồ a Wi-Fi network, you can manually push it khổng lồ connect to lớn cellular.
Apple Watch Series 3 cellular connectivity: Battery killer
I quickly discovered the LTE Series 3"s limitations when I left my iPhone at trang chủ. I started the day with a 3.5-mile run, during which I streamed Apple Music"s Pop Workout radio station the entire 37 minutes. When I returned trang chính khổng lồ eat breakfast, I checked my watch battery. It had drained to lớn 60 percent after running every battery-sucking feature simultaneously. I managed to lớn squeeze another 12.5 hours out of the watch by not relying on it too heavily for the rest of the day.
These activities aren"t battery killers on the Series 2 or Series 3 without LTE, but with the Series 3"s constant cellular connection, you can forget about it lasting 18 hours on a charge. Simply being connected to a cell network will reduce the battery life with mixed use from 18 hours to lớn about 8 hours.
That"s why the watch is designed lớn rely on your phone"s connectivity khổng lồ keep its own cellular connection from draining the device — & why it"s so important to have manual control over that connection.
Apple Watch Series 3 design: Unchanged, in a good way
Apple"s ability to lớn put a cellular modem & bigger battery into lớn the Series 3 without dramatically adding to its kích cỡ is impressive sầu. The watch is slightly thicker than the Series 2 — about two sheets of paper thicker, Apple says — but not noticeably so. The 38mm Apple Watch Series 3 is the only LTE smartwatch that looks good on my wrist. The Series 3 also comes in a larger, 42mm kích cỡ for people with larger wrists.
The ultrabright, 1,000-nit OLED display has the same kích cỡ & resolution as the previous models: 272 x 340 pixels on the 38milimet Mã Sản Phẩm & 312 x 390 on the 42milimet version. The screen is Ion-X glass on the aluminum models & sapphire crystal on the stainless-steel và ceramic versions. The aluminum variety comes in gold, silver and space gray, while the ceramic version is available in white và gray.
Basically, it"s still one of the better-looking smartwatches on the market (yes, even though it"s square).
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Apple Watch Series 3 fitness-tracking: Better than ever
Working out is the one use for which an LTE Apple Watch is perfect. There is nothing quite like lacing up my sneakers, pairing my AirPods to lớn my watch and hitting the pavement with no phone weighing me down. (I love sầu my iPhone 7 Plus, but it feels like a giant barnacle attached lớn my toàn thân when I"m running.) Knowing that I can still get text messages and important notifications on my watch is reassuring.
Both Series 3 models, the one with cellular & the one without, sport a new barometric altimeter, which is a handy new data point for measuring elevation. That"s useful for hiking & skiing as well as actual stair climbing. I knew I climbed a lot of stairs, considering almost all subway stations are located underground, but I never really tallied them up before. After I saw that I powered through 21 flights of stairs after a Mets game at Citi Field, I realized why I was so tired (and promptly took a nap).
Otherwise, the Series 3 with LTE has the same great fitness-tracking features that the Series 2 and Series 3 without cellular connectivity have, including accurate built-in GPS và an equally accurate heart rate sensor. Apple"s watchOS 4 nâng cấp put more fitness-tracking features on all of its smartwatches, such as alerts when your heart rate is elevated và tư vấn for high-intensity, interval-training workouts. A feature that connects your watch lớn your gym"s equipment for more accurate exercise tracking is slowly rolling out.
Apple has added a feature khổng lồ the LTE watch that allows you khổng lồ turn off cellular connectivity & the heart rate sensor to save battery life, which is great if you"re going on a long run. I toggled on this feature for one run, but if you vì this frequently, it makes it kind of pointless to lớn own an LTE watch. But with or without LTE, the Apple Watch 3 is one of the best fitness trackers.
Series 3 music: The missing piece falls inkhổng lồ place
Apple touted the Series 3"s music-streaming capabilities in a series of TV commercials ahead of the device"s launch. Yet Apple Music streaming took weeks to arrive on the watch.
The good news: Now that it"s here, Apple Music streaming over cellular is an incredibly chất lượng feature that actually makes me feel like I could ditch my phone someday. Apple packaged the streaming service in two apps: Apple Music, which requires a $10-per-month subscription, and Radio, a không tính phí watch app that anyone can use to lớn stream songs. Streaming music makes the smartwatch experience almost — dare I say it — magical.
There was no lag as I launched a radio station in my house, where my watch was connected lớn my iPhone, or when I moved out of Bluetooth không dây và Wi-Fi range as I phối off on my run. Apple Music never stuttered or dropped, even as I ran through Brooklyn"s massive, tree-filled Prospect Park.
I was hoping that the Series 3 would also support on-device podcast playbachồng, but that hasn"t happened due to lớn limitations in watchOS 4, as Overcast developer Marteo Arment details here.
I still have to lớn carry my phone with me when I want khổng lồ listen khổng lồ podcasts on my commute, which I bởi every day. The watch does allow you to control audio playback and save sầu music offline from Apple Music to listen khổng lồ via Công nghệ Bluetooth headphones, but those features are neither new nor exclusive sầu lớn the LTE Mã Sản Phẩm.
(Editor"s note: With watchOS 6, you can stream podcasts & audiobooks over cellular. You can also store them directly on the watch for offline listening.)
Now that it"s here, Apple Music streaming over cellular is an incredibly unique feature that actually makes me feel lượt thích I could ditch my phone someday.
Series 3 phone calls: Better with Bluetooth earbuds
Sure, you can phone home from your watch. But vày you really want to? Making or taking phone calls from your wrist is something of a novelty, và you"ll definitely tire of it. A pair of Bluetooth không dây earphones, such as Apple"s AirPods, elevates the experience — it"s about as pleasurable as a phone điện thoại tư vấn can possibly be.
When I first reviewed the watch, the device started lớn heat up after a few minutes of talk time. I actually had to kết thúc a 13-minute phone Gọi because the watch became uncomfortably warm on my wrist. After the software update, I didn"t experience those overheating issues.
The watch"s call chất lượng is comparable khổng lồ that of my iPhone, & when it"s paired with Apple"s AirPods, talking on the watch is effortless. You will definitely look like you"re talking lớn yourself without a phone in hand, but if you don"t care about looking slightly awkward in public, then proceed.
For quiông xã check-ins with friends or significant others, the watch will bởi just fine.
Why you don"t need LTE
When the watch is connected to lớn a cellular network, it can quickly make calls, respond lớn messages using voice dictation or the Scribble handwriting-to-text feature, & activate Siri khổng lồ answer questions or pull up directions. I experienced some issues downloading emails from my Gmail trương mục in Apple"s native sầu Mail ứng dụng on cellular, and there were periods of time when the cellular connection would unexpectedly drop (denoted with a red X at the top of the display), even when I hadn"t moved.
The things I love sầu most about the Apple Watch have nothing lớn bởi with its LTE capabilities. I appreciate being able to lớn save music offline khổng lồ listen lớn with AirPods, use Apple Pay to buy stuff without carrying my wallet around, glance at the Siri watch face to lớn get an overview of my day and track my daily activity in the Workout & Activity apps. But I can vì chưng all those things with a Series 3 that doesn"t have sầu LTE, & those models start at $329. In fact, you can get all of these features with every watch Apple sells.
Series 3 vs. Series 5
The Apple Watch Series 3 is more affordable now that the Series 5 is the newest watch in the lineup. But the Series 5 also has bells and whistles that the Series 3 can"t match, including a larger, more immersive sầu always-on display, built-in compass, faster processor, & advanced heart health features such as an FDA-cleared ECG tiện ích for taking on-the-go electrocardiograms and a passive sầu atrial fibrillation alert that monitors your heart"s rhythm in the background.
If display, speed và medical-grade health features are essential, the Series 5 is worth the splurge. But if what you"re after is a solid smartwatch that works well with your iPhone, then the Series 3 is just fine. Cheông xã out our in-depth Series 3 vs. Series 5 face-off here.
Bottom line
The Series 3 with LTE has had its problems, like the Wi-Fi software bug và launch-weekover carrier hiccups. But the watch has already improved by leaps và bounds, thanks to a software update that added streaming music and manual control over cellular & Wi-Fi connectivity so your watch doesn"t get stuchồng somewhere between the two. Longer battery life will continue khổng lồ be a struggle at this size, even though the Series 3 has a bigger battery than its predecessors.
There are moments when LTE makes the watch feel truly magical: receiving a text while I"m running with just the Apple Watch & AirPods, or downloading emails without a phone nearby after escaping the office to piông chồng up lunch. But those moments aren"t as frequent as I would like them to lớn be. If you want the Series 3, get the non-LTE version, which starts at an affordable $199.
I can imagine a future in which a smartwatch can replace a smartphone for most of the tasks we use it for, but the Series 3 with LTE is not that future. At least not yet.