Apple
Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular, used standalone)
Leave the iPhone in a drawer and wear the phone instead. Setup needs the iPhone once.
$299 to $949 plus roughly $6.50-$20/mo standalone watch line
Apple Watch SE 3 with GPS and Cellular is $299 at 40mm and $329 at 44mm, the cheapest way in. Series 12 with cellular is $499 for the 42mm aluminum case and $549 for the 46mm, $699 and $749 in titanium, and $899 and $949 in ceramic. Every titanium and ceramic Series 12 is cellular only, as is every Ultra 4, which starts at $799. The carrier line for the watch is on top of that.
- TypeWatch
- SoftwarewatchOS
- ScreenOLED
- Network4G / 5G
- Introduced 2017
Software and apps
- Operating system
- watchOS
- App store
- Full app store
- Web browser
- No
- Yes
- Sideloading
- No
- Partly
- Spotify
- Yes
- Podcasts
- Yes
- Apple Music
- Yes
- Your own MP3s
- Unknown
- RCS messaging
- No
- Group texts
- Yes
- Android Auto
- NowatchOS does neither.
- Maps
- Apple Maps
Hardware
- Form factor
- Watch
- Screen
- Always-On Retina OLED with LTPO3, 2000 nits peak and 1 nit minimum on Series 12: 416 by 496 pixels over 1196 sq mm at 46mm, 374 by 446 over 970 sq mm at 42mm, both 326 ppi. SE 3 is 368 by 448 (977 sq mm) and 324 by 394 (759 sq mm) at 1000 nits.
- Camera
- No
- Battery
- Unknown not user-replaceable
- USB-C
- No
- Headphone jack
- No
- Water and dust
- IP6X dust resistance on Series 12 and Ultra 4, none published for SE 3; 50m water resistance (ISO 22810:2010) on Series 12 and SE 3, 100m on Ultra 4
- Weight
- 32 g
Connectivity
- Network
- 4G / 5GLTE on every cellular model since Series 3. Apple says the models introduced in 2024 and earlier reach 4G LTE and 3G UMTS, while Series 11 and later, SE 3, and Ultra 3 and later reach 4G LTE and 5G. The 5G is the low-power RedCap form, and on those newer watches the published radios are 5G NR and LTE only, with no GSM or UMTS to fall back on.
- VoLTE
- Yes
- SIM
- eSIMeSIM only, activated over the air from the Watch app. Apple has built one in since Series 3.
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- No
- Bands
- Series 12 (A3582/A3587), SE 3 (A3326/A3328) and Ultra 4 (A3579), the models Apple lists for the US and most of the world: FDD-5G NR n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n66, n71; TDD-5G NR n38, n40, n41 (Ultra 4 adds n53); FDD-LTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 66, 71; TDD-LTE 38, 39, 40, 41 (Ultra 4 adds 53). China mainland gets different models: Series 12 A3586/A3588, SE 3 A3327/A3329, Ultra 4 A3580.
- Works on
- AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon
- Carriers
- Apple's US list includes AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, UScellular, Boost Mobile, Cricket, Metro by T-Mobile, Visible, Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Consumer Cellular, Cox Mobile, C Spire, GCI and several regional carriers; the watch must be on the same carrier as the iPhone it is paired to. For a watch with its own number instead of the iPhone's, the carrier has to support Apple Watch For Your Kids: in the US that is AT&T, BetterRoaming, Boost Mobile, Cellcom, C Spire, Cricket Wireless, T-Mobile, UScellular, Verizon and Xfinity Mobile. Prepaid and some older accounts are not supported.
Where to get one
- Regions
- Ships worldwide
- Countries
- Cellular service is carrier-dependent. Apple lists carriers across more than sixty countries and regions, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, most of Europe, India, Japan, Australia and the Gulf states. There are two regional cellular models and neither works everywhere.
- Maker
- apple.com/watch/cellular
Notes
Not a phone, but a real strategy, so it earns a row. On an ordinary plan the watch shares the iPhone's number, and an iPhone is needed once to set it up. Apple Watch For Your Kids is the way around that, giving the watch a number and an account of its own. After setup it runs without a phone nearby, and there is no browser on it.
Last updated September 16, 2026.
