Q: Do you need a iPhone to check the time on a apple watch

no

But you do need one to set it up and to do many things

LN

You can't do anything with a Watch until it is paired with an iPhone. After that, they don't need to be anywhere near each other for the Watch to display the time.

Hi Chris

To set up Apple Watch, you need an iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.2 or later. Only one Apple Watch can be paired to your iPhone at any given time.

Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support

After it has been set up, whenever the two devices are within range, Apple Watch connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth.

About Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on Apple Watch - Apple Support

If Apple Watch is outside the Bluetooth range of its paired iPhone, you can still:

• Use watch features (check the time, use alarms, use timers, use the stopwatch).
• Play music from a synced playlist.
• Track activity (using the Activity app stand, move & exercise icons).
• Track workouts.
• View photos from synced albums.
• Use Apple Pay to make purchases.

If Apple Watch and the paired iPhone are on the same Wi-Fi network (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz only) but are not connected by Bluetooth, you can also still:

• Use Siri.
• Send and receive Messages using iMessage.
• Send and receive Digital Touch messages (to other Apple Watch owners).

Use Apple Watch without its paired iPhone