Gadgetory

I stare at my phones too much the Apple watch has promised an escape from the iPhone for years but I still stare at my phone and my watch not as cellular is it possible that I could take these phones and leave them behind the new Apple watch Series 3s cellular it's basically a self-contained wrist communicator it means you can leave your phone at home which I did to wander free unencumbered by notifications and people bothering me just me in a wash in the trees in the park why not escape hey John yeah I'm sitting right by my desk right now other Watchers have tried to be things to Apple watch Series 3 does it the best easily making phone calls and receiving emails using Siri searching for directions listening to music paying for things with Apple pay it's a fascinatingly self-contained info bubble the on-board microphone is good but you really need wireless headphones to make it work air pods are ideal but this tidy escape package costs at least $400 for the watch $160 for the air pods and $10 a month to tie the watch into your existing phone plan phone calls don't last long on a full charge the cellular Apple watch can only make about an hour-long call I talked to my mom for half an hour and recorded two workouts and listened to music and I was already at 50% battery new watch OS 4 features available on other Apple watches add better workouts some attempts at daily fitness coaching and more active heart rate monitoring including heart rate recovery it will ping you if your heart rate spikes as a flag to maybe get medical attention a new barometer adds elevation and stair climbing like Fitbit has with more casual use the watch lasts a day and maybe a bit more on a charge but the limited battery life and up to five hours of workout battery life with continuous heartrate means I wouldn't wander too far it's also swim proof so this is a wrist worn swimming phone outdoor explorers might love it does feel oddly liberating just me and the Apple watch Series three and a pair of air pods no phone in the park and the trees but Who am I kidding you still need an iPhone to connect in the first place and with the battery life this short for making phone calls you're gonna have to eventually go back and recharge without onboard app downloading and with its required iPhone syncing this is an accessory not really the world's tiniest iPhone not yet now with this battery but it could be a helpful light boat maybe even a lifesaver a backup phone an emergency tool it's $70 more to add cellular to the series three but it'll cost you monthly you'll always feel connected at least until it's time to go home