Roger Fingas
People who own or plan to buy an LTE-equipped Apple Watch Series 3 now have the option of two of the bigger regional U.S. carriers, and aren't just stuck with the so-called big four anymore.
C-Spire announced sales of the LTE Apple Wach Series 3 on Tuesday. The device is available not just online and at the carrier's retail stores, but even via phone orders. New customers can get three months of Apple Watch data free, after which the cost becomes $10 per month.
For a short time, the carrier is also selling the Series 3 for half off in conjunction with the purchase of an iPhone.
U.S. Cellular has been quietly added to Apple's official roster of Watch carriers. To date the carrier has been selling GPS-only Series 3 models, and the company still doesn't list any LTE models on its website.
C-Spire is based in Mississippi, and operates there as well as Memphis, parts of Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. U.S. Cellular is headquartered in Chicago but has a presence in 23 states, with about 5.1 million customers.
Apple just recently previewed watchOS 5, and is expected to ship a "Series 4" this fall. The wearable could switch to solid-state buttons, and even support EKG monitoring. Evolutionary improvements may include a slightly larger display and better battery life.
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7 Comments
Interesting type of promotion. Never occurred to me, this could be great differentiator in the future as gateway into iOS, especially to spur sale of soon to be older models. Win/Win for carriers too.
I want a similar plan to the iPads ones. Detached from your phone and able to buy month to month.
Yes, more options from carriers would be nice, might come with market maturation. Right now I use the cellular Watch, but have no extra plan for it. In US at least, you don't need a plan for emergency calls. So if I ever have an accident alone when bicycling or surfing etc. and not near my phone, hopefully my Watch will come through.
Hopefully get this in the UK as well soon which would drive the Series 3 sales, personally know a lot of people who want one but their carrier doesn’t support it.