Warden
Cellular or not: what decides it
A watch with a cellular plan uses the best connection it has: your iPhone when it's nearby, a Wi-Fi network your iPhone has joined before, or the cellular network. The plan is with the same carrier as your iPhone, and Apple notes it isn't available in every area or with every carrier.
A watch without cellular has the first two and nothing else. Check which one you have in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone: My Watch, then Cellular.
Reference: Apple: Set up and use cellular service on Apple Watch
What works with Wi-Fi or cellular
- Making and answering phone calls. Over Wi-Fi this needs Wi-Fi calling; otherwise use FaceTime audio.
- Sending and receiving messages.
- Siri, Maps, weather and email.
- Streaming music and podcasts.
Reference: Apple: Use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby
What works with no connection
Apple notes that not every feature is on every model or in every country.
- Workouts, using the watch's own GPS on outdoor runs and walks.
- Alarms, timers and the stopwatch.
- Apple Pay and the cards and passes in Wallet.
- Music, podcasts and audiobooks downloaded to the watch.
- Heart rate and sleep tracking.
What changes without the iPhone
- Notifications from apps like WhatsApp reach a cellular watch only while your iPhone is switched on and connected to Wi-Fi or cellular. It doesn't need to be with you.
- In Low Power Mode, incoming calls go to voicemail when the iPhone isn't nearby.
- Some apps don't update without a connection to the iPhone.
Using the watch as a dumbphone
Some people use a cellular watch as their only phone for evenings or weekends: calls, messages and directions, with very little to scroll. It costs a watch plan rather than a second phone, and the iPhone is still there when you need it. A separate basic phone is a different trade-off.
Lock the phone you leave behind
The phone you leave at home is waiting when you get back, with every app on it. To keep the break going after you return, start a Warden digital detox from the watch or the iPhone before you leave. It keeps running while you're away, and apps outside Always Allowed stay blocked until the timer ends, for up to 4 hours.
A Saturday morning with only the watch
Say you walk to a Saturday market with a cellular watch and leave the iPhone at home. The night before, download a playlist to the watch and check your card is in Wallet on the watch. You can pay, take calls and follow Maps. WhatsApp messages still arrive because the iPhone at home is on and connected to Wi-Fi.
