LTE Apple Watch Series 3 now available in India without monthly wireless fee [u]

Seven months after GPS-only versions of Apple Watch Series 3 went up for sale in India, customers in the country can now buy LTE-capable models of the wearable through two major wireless carriers.

Airtel and Reliance Jio began Apple Watch Series 3 + Cellular sales on Friday local time, but unlike previous launches in the U.S. and beyond, the Indian telcos are offering customers free integration with existing postpaid plans. That means users can share their handset's wireless number, voice and data plan with Apple's smartwatch for no extra fee.

Apple updated its regional Apple Watch webpage to reflect the change in availability, highlighting marquee cellular capabilities including voice calling and texts, music streaming, Siri connectivity, standalone notifications and more.

As the company does not yet operate its own retail channel in India, sales of Apple Watch and other products are handled by local partners. Along with the usual assortment of authorized Apple retailers, both Airtel and Jio are selling Watch online and at their respective brick-and-mortar stores.

While customers in India save on wireless fees, which run about $10 per month in most countries, Apple Watch Series 3 + Cellular base prices start at an exorbitant 39,080 rupees ($580) for 38mm aluminum variants including Apple Watch Nike+. Identical models sell for $329 in the U.S. Larger 42mm aluminum models come in at 41,120 rupees, while the ceramic Edition sells for 1,22,090 rupees.

Whether stainless steel models will be widely available is unclear, as Airtel, Jio and reseller Aptronix currently lack listings for the specification. Another large chain, Imagine, provides an option to preorder stainless steel variants on its website, but fails to disclose pricing.

Though not a launch country, India was among a second batch of regions to gain access to GPS enabled Watch versions last October. Apple typically staggers device rollouts, with major markets like the U.S. and China getting first crack at new products. Regulatory approval, carrier support and other behind-the-scenes factors also play roles in product launch timing.

LTE Apple Watch Series 3 sales also kicked off in Denmark, Sweden and Taiwan on Friday.

Apple Watch continues to gain marketshare as competing devices fall off the map. During Apple's most recent earnings conference call, CEO Tim Cook said the firm's wearables business, which includes Apple Watch, Beats headphones, and AirPods, grew nearly 50 percent year-over-year, with revenues equivalent to a Fortune 300 company.

Update: Additional country availability added.

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24 Comments

robin huber 4025 comments · 22 Years

About 6 years ago

Waiting for American telcos to follow suit before upgrading. I refuse to pay $15 a month for what is basically an extension. Free money for AT&T. Only BMW’s monthly fee for CarPlay is more outrageous.

gregg thurman 456 comments · 16 Years

Indian prices for any Apple product are only “exorbitant” if they did not already include VAT and protectionist customs duties.

Taxation is the only reason for US price to foreign price differentiation’s.

hentaiboy 1252 comments · 14 Years

gregg thurman said:

Taxation is the only reason for US price to foreign price differentiation’s.

You can add currency hedging.

tzeshan 2350 comments · 14 Years

gregg thurman said:

Indian prices for any Apple product are only “exorbitant” if they did not already include VAT and protectionist customs duties.

Taxation is the only reason for US price to foreign price differentiation’s.

True. There is no way Apple will price iPhone higher in any country than US.

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

robin huber said:

Waiting for American telcos to follow suit before upgrading. I refuse to pay $15 a month for what is basically an extension. Free money for AT&T. Only BMW’s monthly fee for CarPlay is more outrageous.

1) What carrier charges you $15 per month? Even Verizon only charges you $10 per month, and that's with a the first 3 months free and no activation fee.

2) I'm curious why you believe it should be free simply because 1) you personally won't use it much, and/or 2) you think it's the same effort by the carrier because the phone number is the same. If you're on this website you understand that they're adding additional service to the device so that that it can dynamically switch between how calls are routed to independent nodes on a network that makes it convenient for the customer than having to give it two separate phone numbers. You should also be well aware that the phone number isn't the number that these devices use to connect with and stay connected to the towers right. I'm not 100% versed in how cellular networks are designed as my background as an CCIE for Routing & Switching didn't cover it, but I believe they use an MEID that identifies each node as a unique on the network, which isn't unlike a MAC address for Ethernet, WiFi and BT network node connections.

3 Why are dumb phone used for emergency purposes that have no grace period, an activation setup, and a monthly charge not a big deal for people like you despite never rarely being used, but a device that is continually being used for cellular access is an issue. The size of the device shouldn't make a difference. Now there are more people using a better device for safety and a lower price than before. This is a good thing.