Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE review: faster processor but has connectivity problems, no Apple Music streaming yet, battery drain with LTE, and unreliable Siri
You should still call me on my cellphone — How much are you willing to pay for a gadget that offers intermittent convenience?
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple Watch entered this cycle with a record of polished hardware alongside app and location-service performance complaints, documented in early Apple Watch reviews. Series 3’s LTE push makes dependable connectivity more central to the product’s value proposition rather than a secondary feature.
The reported failures align with Apple’s acknowledgement that the watch was attempting to join unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks and that it was pursuing a software fix, as covered in Apple’s explanation of the cellular issue. A separate review also found the untethered experience appealing despite short battery life and carrier-specific connectivity trouble.
First-order effects
- Apple must address the Wi-Fi-related cellular behavior in software while Series 3 buyers face an LTE experience that is less dependable than the standalone positioning implies.
- Apple Music’s absence from LTE streaming narrows the immediate use cases for owners hoping to leave their phones behind, while unreliable Siri further weakens hands-free use.
Second-order effects
- LTE service becomes harder for Apple to position as a convenience upgrade when connectivity and battery drain make the phone-independent experience intermittent.
- Apple Music loses a prominent wearable use case until streaming arrives, leaving the Watch’s cellular value more dependent on calls, messaging, and other available services.
Third-order effects
- The Series 3 shows that smartwatch LTE is a systems product: radio behavior, carrier connectivity, battery capacity, voice assistance, and media services must work together before a watch can reliably replace phone access for short periods.
- If Apple resolves the connectivity issue but recurring Siri concerns persist into Series 4 reviews, hardware and health features may advance faster than the watch’s voice-driven interface.
The trend: Smartwatch makers are moving from phone-companion devices toward standalone connectivity, but software reliability and service integration set the practical boundary of that shift.