Here Are All The Ways You Can Use Your Apple Watch Without Your iPhone

The Apple Watch is one of the best smartwatches you can buy, and its popularity is likely attributed to great hardware, design, and software that has matured over the years so much that there is very little to complain about. It also helps that, for iPhone users, the Apple Watch comes up as the default choice given its tight integration with Apple's services and seamless connectivity.

When used as a companion device to your phone, the Apple Watch can help avoid unnecessary screen time, which directly promotes the battery life on your iPhone. You can have handy utilities such as directions, music controls, and weather information without ever having to pull your phone out of your pocket. While some of the Apple Watch's functionality depends on an uninterrupted connection with your iPhone, you'd be surprised to find out just how independent the smartwatch actually is.

That being said, you still need an iPhone to pair your Apple Watch — and although you can then treat it as its own entity, the experience of using your Apple Watch without an iPhone altogether, or with an Android phone, will be comparatively stripped down. With that out of the way, let's dive deeper to explore the things your Apple Watch can do without an iPhone nearby.

If your Apple Watch is not close enough to its paired iPhone to establish a connection, it will connect to your Wi-Fi network. A better guarantee for internet access on your wrist is if you have the cellular version of the Apple Watch. With an active internet connection, your watch can do a surprising lot. Being able to place and answer phone calls or send and receive messages can be a huge lifesaver if you've left your iPhone behind. 

To enable phone calls on your Apple Watch, you will first have to navigate on your iPhone to Settings > Cellular > Wi-Fi Calling, enable the "Add Wi-Fi Calling For Other Devices" toggle, and ensure that your Apple Watch is on the list. It's also worth noting that while SMS and MMS will work on your Apple Watch even when your iPhone isn't nearby, your phone still needs to be turned on and connected to a network.

You can also use Siri to perform on-device tasks like checking the weather or viewing map directions. With an appropriate music app on your Apple Watch, like Apple Music or Spotify, you can stream songs without establishing a connection through your iPhone first. Other capabilities of the smartwatch include using Find My to ping your devices, sending and receiving mail, or using the News app to catch up on the latest stories.

When your Apple Watch is near your iPhone, it connects to it via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, which is how it is able to mirror notifications or access apps and services that require internet access. In the event that your Apple Watch is not in proximity to your iPhone and doesn't have access to a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, its use essentially boils down to its offline capabilities.

If you have songs locally downloaded, you can stream music on your Apple Watch without an iPhone. The Apple Watch Series 10 that we reviewed actually has a speaker capable of music playback, but you can also connect a pair of Bluetooth earphones directly to your watch and listen to your tracks that way. The same applies to any podcasts or audiobooks that you may have previously downloaded on your Apple Watch. You can view synced images via the Photos app, use the voice recorder to save your thoughts and ideas, and view calendar entries — all without a Wi-Fi or a cellular network.

The other features of the Apple Watch that generally don't require an active internet connection will also work when it is completely offline. This includes the ability to track your workouts, set alarms, check your heart rate, track your sleep, and even take an ECG on your Apple Watch. Data will be synced whenever your watch and iPhone establish a connection next.