Buying an Apple watch in another country

The ECG app will NOT work because your government hasn't approved it yet and also if you buy the cellular version of the watch then that WON'T work either,the best thing would be to buy the watch in Israel and wait for them to approve the ECG app and then you could buy the cellular version that would work in your country.

To summarize.

A U.S. Apple Watch has a North American cellular radio that only works with Carriers in Canada, U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico. Since your iPhone shares its phone number with the Apple Watch, the carrier needs to provide this support, and no carrier is going to do that for a radio not specific to their region.

It is illegal for Apple to sell an ECG device in a country that has not provided government approval, And it is illegal for Apple to allow an ECG device to operate in a country that has not provided government approval. So when an Apple Watch is manufactured, Apple already knows what country it is being shipped to, so its software has information about whether ECG can be used in the country of sale. The Apple Watch has GPS, so it can know when it travels to a country that has not approved ECG. Israel has not approved ECG. When a country approves GPS, the next Apple Watch software update allows ECG use in the new approving country(s).

Apple Watch ECG countries

https://www.apple.com/watchos/feature-availability/#branded-ecg

As for Australia, yes you can get an Cellular Apple Watch that works in Israel, except Australia has also not approved ECG, so you would then be waiting Israel AND Australia governments to approve ECG.

And yes the Apple Watch Series 5 comes in 2 cellular radio models. North American, and the rest of the world. But if you want ECG when Israel approves the app, make sure you do not buy it from a country that has not given government approval, such as Australia. Dubai seems to get a lot users from India, as it seems to be a popular stop on the way home to India and the duty free shop apparently has very good deals, but no ECG government approval.

As to audiobooks, I do not know. Traditional media restrictions are often implemented based on IP addresses, but I'm mostly thinking about streaming services. Not sure what audiobooks use. Also do the restrictions apply to https://www.audible.com/ or just to audiobooks via Apple?

RubioJen wrote:

Thanks for the detailed answer. So I have to find a country which approved most of the features and have the right cellular model. It seems that Italy and Hong-Kong are good options according to this list.

https://www.apple.com/il/watchos/feature-availability/

I have a trip to Italy soon so I will consider to buy it there.

Just remember that ECG will not work in Israel until the government approves it. Otherwise cellular and other features should work with an Apple Watch from Italy.

And of course you need to be using one of the Israel carriers that supports the iPhone.

And you need to own an iPhone 6s, SE, 7 or newer.

The cellular version won't work because it is region specific and won't work outside of north america,mexico and canada.I don't know about Audibooks maybe you should ask Apple support,they can answer all your questions;

https://getsupport.apple.com

He certainly is right regarding compatibility. As the Apple Watch uses a built in SIM, there is no opportunity to change it. The models for the North American market are specific for the Cellular providers in the North American market )Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and US).

In that post JonathanUK, is saying exactly what we are saying. The watches are specific to a region or country. However, as it is your money, and your time, you are free to purchase as you see fit.

Good luck.

Yes but the watch has to be bought in Israel for the cellular to work,ask apple support and they will tell you.

Ok.