Apple revealed further details about its Apple Watch at the Spring Forward event earlier this month. The wearable device depends on the iPhone for most of the things. Many of the key features such as GPS aren’t available if you are away from your iOS device. That doesn’t mean Apple Watch is a mere timepiece without an iPhone. If you leave the iPhone at home, your Watch still has some powerful features.
Here is what Apple Watch can do even without an iPhone:
Play music, podcasts, audiobooks
Apple Watch comes with its own storage space, of which about 2GB is available for music. You can use your wearable device’s built-in Bluetooth to pair with wireless headphones and listen to the music even when you are away from your iPhone. But you won’t be able to stream music from services like Spotify without an Internet connection. You can also view any local photos from the iCloud Photo Library.
Apple Watch can track your fitness (except distance)
It can monitor your heart rate, stairs climbed, steps count, and stand-sit ratio even when not paired with an iPhone. It stores all that information locally, and will sync with the Health app when you get back in the pairing range. But the Watch can’t track your distance or specific routes because it has no GPS receiver.
Pay for purchases
Apple Watch stores your Apple Pay cards as a unique token. If you activate Apple Pay on your Watch near an NFC reader, it transmits card info and confirms the payment. All you have to do is wave your Watch at a compatible terminal.
Use the Passbook
The Passbook app is on your Apple Watch. So, you can use anything you’ve already stored in it, such as gift cards, boarding passes, loyalty cards, and electronic tickets.
Control your Apple TV
Apple’s Remote app is ported to the Apple Watch. It enables users to control an Apple TV via wireless radio. It can also be used to control the iTunes and iTunes Radio on your Mac.
Finally, the Watch will still tell you time. You can see calendar details, set alarms and timers even when away from your iPhone.
