Just wanted to know if I had to upgrade my phone to use Apple Watch?
iPhone 4S, iOS 7.1.2
Apple Watch will require iPhone 5 or above:
Apple wrote:
Features are subject to change and may not be available in all regions or all languages. Requires iPhone 5 or later.
I'm thoroughly perplexed by the decision to offer iOS 8 to the 4s, which also has BTLE, and yet castrate it from watch support. I'm grasping for a technical reasoning that satisfies my curiosity on this one. I like upgrades, too. But I just got this phone from my carrier in Feb. Then I purchased $100 in accessories that only fit this phone. Now what I seem to be facing is spending $200 for another upgrade; To use a $349 watch. Can anyone elaborate on why this may have been done from a hardware requirement perspective? I didn't see this one coming.
Go to https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/ - bottom of the page and you'll see that the Apple Watch will pair to iPhone 5 and above
I don't care what one tech at Apple support says, I'm more inclined to believe their web page
Cheers
If nobody here can offer definitive (or 'official' ?) answers, then technically all answers are speculation. If people are not allowed to answer, and Apple will not answer, why are we here? Community typically involves interaction and your statement voids that notion. I'll email Apple and ask directly. I wasn't aware that questions about device support, in a support community, were prohibited. Apologies. Good night.
That is a pain.
I hoped too that as it has iOS8 on the cards that it would be able to talk Apple Watch.
I've read somewhere that iOS8 will not have all the features that the 5 onwards will get, but I suppose that's not surprising. To get iOS8 though is good.
That doesn't answer the question of what the tech reason is, if there is one. Could even be something as silly as it impacting battery life or something, who knows.
I think the OP's question is valid. If there's a technical reason then fine. If they're just trying to incite a rash of upgrades, then shame on Apple.
I too would like to know why the 4S doesn't work with Apple Watch.
I've read that one of the battery-saving approaches for aWatch is to offload much of its processing to its tethered iPhone. If this is true, then I can understand why the 4S might not be supported - older processor / less processing power than iPhone 5, etc
I can't obviously say anything here but there are multiple ways to use AppleWatch with iPhone 4s. Just wait for it to be officially released and do your Google search a month later "How to pair AppleWatch with iPhone 4s". I never used 3rd party apps etc, but apple is pushing me to that direction, to use them, because they disrespect their customers. iPhone 4s technically can pair with apple watch, but apple wont let this happen... I wonder why...
(Iphone + AppleWatch = Double Profit)
The iPhone 4S can not use LTE, just 3G. I am such a power user that when my area upgraded to LTE, my phone was upgraded to a 5S for free. The 4 also sports an A5 chip that uses the older Cortex A9 core. For the 4s, the A5 chip is clocked at 800 mhz. In comparison, the 5S is 1.3 to 1.4 ghz and uses a newer Cyclone chipset. There is also the 32-bit iPhone 4 architecture vs. the 64-bit architecture of the iPhone 5. I suspect these are the reasons the iWatch requires the iPhone 5 or greater.
KiltedTim wrote:
Your suspicions would be incorrect. It has to do with the fact that the Watch requires bluetooth 4.0, which the iPhone 4S does not support.
iPhone 4S & Apple Watch both have Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.0
Hey, Brandon. I am quite annoyed with Apple, and I believe I have a right to post this on Apple's forum - I have an iPhone 4S, which I have worked out will not pair to the Apple Watch. My dad just got back from Honolulu, and he bought me the Watch at the Ala Moana Apple Store. It was USD 430, and the sales clerk did not even ask him if he or the recipient had an iPhone 5 or higher to pair it with. It is taking advantage of people, esp. of a 73-year-old, and I now have to wait until I can afford to upgrade the phone, and keep it in my wardrobe, unused, for the foreseeable future. He bought it for me as a customer in good faith, and we all have iPhones, iPods, iPads, iPad Minis. Very slack of Apple! ðŸ˜
5, 5C, 5S, 6, 6+
Speculation isn't permitted here plus no one would have a definitive answer anyway.
just verified with apple this afternoon, the Apple watch will only work with iPhone 6 for now
With Tim Cook? Did you miss the big slide at the event where it said it will work with iPhone 5 and newer?
Will Apple Watch work with iPhone 4S?
