I want the Apple Watch Series 8 for its health tracking features, mainly heart rate monitoring. I do not own an iPhone. Can I buy the watch for the health tracking features without owning an iPhone? If not, can I buy a refurbished iPhone 8 to use with my watch, but not activate the phone with my cellular provider? I do own other Apple products (MacBook, iPod, and iPad so I have an Apple ID).
No it is not possible to fully use an apple watch without an iPhone. And I would not go for the iPhone 8. The series 8 watch will receive software updates for the coming years, where the iPhone 8 cannot update further than iOS 16. This will cause that you could never update the software of the watch beyond watchOS 9 and that is not much of an option if you want to keep the apple watch safe
You can set up an Apple Watch with an family members iPhone if you really want that, but I would not reccomend that
Set up Apple Watch for a family member - Apple Support
No it is not possible to fully use an apple watch without an iPhone. And I would not go for the iPhone 8. The series 8 watch will receive software updates for the coming years, where the iPhone 8 cannot update further than iOS 16. This will cause that you could never update the software of the watch beyond watchOS 9 and that is not much of an option if you want to keep the apple watch safe
You can set up an Apple Watch with an family members iPhone if you really want that, but I would not reccomend that
Set up Apple Watch for a family member - Apple Support
Apple Watch 8 Series (for health tracking) how much iPhone do I need?
