T-Mobile's John Legere boosts Apple Watch LTE speed limit in response to customer feedback...

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Apple Watch edited September 2017
T-Mobile's CEO, John Legere, took to Twitter to announce a change to their Apple Watch plans, boosting the speed limit that the company had applied to the Series 3 LTE-equipped model.


At time of writing, Apple Watch on T-Mobile are still said to be limited to 512kb/sec data


Formerly, Apple Watch LTE users on that carrier's network would be limited to 512kb/sec data speeds -- essentially 3G speeds. T-Mobile's One Plan page still shows that 512 Kbps detail at the time of writing.




The previous limit induced customer complaints which ultimately prompted the response from Legere.

I heard your frustration about the Apple Watch plan. I sincerely believe in listening to our customers & have dug into this...

-- John Legere (@JohnLegere)


The Apple Watch Series 3 plan on @TMobile will be $10/m for unlimited 4G LTE. Thanks for your feedback. We always listen & act! #uncarrier pic.twitter.com/LqsGJ6X6xq

-- John Legere (@JohnLegere)


T-Mobile, like other carriers, is charging $10 USD a month to include data for Apple Watch on a user's cellular service plan. The LTE Apple Watch Series 3 models became available for pre-order early Friday morning, with new devices slated to arrive on September 22, the official launch date for the device.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 63
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    While thats nice....I still think its pure BS for carriers to charge for a watch to be added to the plan. Its the same line, not a different phone number. For this reason alone I will not get an LTE Apple Watch. I already pay out the wazooo for my cell phone...I don't appreciate being nickel and dime'd by these greedy carriers. 
    zomptallest skilregurgitatedcoproliteScot1doozydozennetroxcaliStrangeDaysanantksundarammontrosemacs
  • Reply 2 of 63
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Okay, let's see now, how much bandwidth do you need to 1) make phone calls, 2) stream music, 3) get texts, 4) check the weather... I'm trying to think of an app for the Series 3 LTE that would require big time bandwidth. Camera? Nope, doesn't have one. Watch videos? WTF, on that tiny screen. Games? Really?
    SoundJudgmentdws-2toysandmetdknoxchiablurpbleepbloop
  • Reply 3 of 63
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    lkrupp said:
    Okay, let's see now, how much bandwidth do you need to 1) make phone calls, 2) stream music, 3) get texts, 4) check the weather... I'm trying to think of an app for the Series 3 LTE that would require big time bandwidth. Camera? Nope, doesn't have one. Watch videos? WTF, on that tiny screen. Games? Really?
    A lack of imagination doesn't equal lack of potential. 

    I'm happy to hear bandwidth will not be throttled. If someone comes up with a novel application that requires bandwidth, the service is ready to deliver that bandwidth. 
    doozydozencalidws-2
  • Reply 4 of 63
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    lkrupp said:
    Okay, let's see now, how much bandwidth do you need to 1) make phone calls, 2) stream music, 3) get texts, 4) check the weather... I'm trying to think of an app for the Series 3 LTE that would require big time bandwidth. Camera? Nope, doesn't have one. Watch videos? WTF, on that tiny screen. Games? Really?
    I'd rather they stuck with the 512Kbps and made it free...maybe charge $10 if you want LTE speeds for some reason. 
    zompsandorjaribbsSoundJudgmentregurgitatedcoproliteslprescottdoozydozensupadav03calidws-2
  • Reply 5 of 63
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,066member
    The fee in any form is a deal breaker. I was pondering an upgrade, as I really like my original AW. An upgrade for my wife's one too would have been a nifty holiday present. But not at $240/yr. Nope nope nope. 
    macxpressregurgitatedcoproliteScot1StrangeDaysdws-2toysandmejbdragon
  • Reply 6 of 63
    tshapitshapi Posts: 370member
    I find the spin interesting, apple installed a Lte modem in the watch. Would it even pick up non LTE signal? Ie 3G cellular?  

    Either its pr spin or its idiot customers who don't know what they are talking about, so they complained not understanding. 

    Scenario #1 is T-Mobile tried to Apply android wearable connectivity prices to the series 3.

    Scenario #2 is customer complained because they didn't think it was compatible with the series 3. 


  • Reply 7 of 63
    vmarksvmarks Posts: 762editor
    tshapi said:
    I find the spin interesting, apple installed a Lte modem in the watch. Would it even pick up non LTE signal? Ie 3G cellular?  

    Either its pr spin or its idiot customers who don't know what they are talking about, so they complained not understanding. 

    Scenario #1 is T-Mobile tried to Apply android wearable connectivity prices to the series 3.

    Scenario #2 is customer complained because they didn't think it was compatible with the series 3. 


    I believe it to be customers complaining about being throttled to low speeds. No part of TMO's copy says they're going to deliver incompatible 3G service to an LTE watch. It says they intended to deliver 512kbps throttled data to the watch, for the privilege of paying $10 USD a month.

    Customers said 'no' loudly enough that they've reconsidered this.

    edited September 2017 doozydozensupadav03lolliver
  • Reply 8 of 63
    gregg thurmangregg thurman Posts: 456member
    There are 3 of us on an ATT family plan for ouriPhones. Adding an AW costs more than it cost to add the third member on our plan. I'm going to get the new AW. After reviewing plans, but don't expect to get LTE. Its the principle of not wanting to pay for the same thing twice. Just how often are you going to use data on your iPhone AND Apple Watch AT THE SAME TIME? Data usage may go up, but if it does, I'll bet the amount remains within your iPhone plan limits.
    doozydozenflyingdptoysandme
  • Reply 9 of 63
    EphEph Posts: 8member
    The "uncarrier" should not charge a penny for the watch LTE. If you are using it without the iPhone, that means that the iPhone is not being used.
    StrangeDaysbonobobtoysandmejbdragonrandominternetpersonlolliver
  • Reply 10 of 63
    slprescottslprescott Posts: 765member
    What have AT&T and Verizon said about their bandwidth for the new Watch?
  • Reply 11 of 63
    doozydozendoozydozen Posts: 539member
    Eph said:
    The "uncarrier" should not charge a penny for the watch LTE. If you are using it without the iPhone, that means that the iPhone is not being used.
    While I agree with the notion that users should be charged for data consumption not devices, is reasonable to expect a user with an LTE AW and iPhone will use more data than w/out an LTE AW. Additionally, there's going to be some complexity added to the network when a user adds an LTE AW to their phone number. The expense ought to be passed on users. Now, the question is if this expense represents a $10 price hike for the user? 
    dws-2georgie01
  • Reply 12 of 63
    regurgitatedcoproliteregurgitatedcoprolite Posts: 280member
    $10 for adding an LTE AW to one’s plan is a ripoff! I think it was Rene Ritchie who tweeted carriers charging for LTE is like one’s pizza costing more if your son takes a bite of it. I’d love to have the capability to speak on my AW while away from my iPhone, but I have my phone with me almost all the time. Still, it would be nice to have the option, The cost to carriers of adding an LTE AW has to be barely > $0, so they are making a healthy profit for doing almost nothing. Assuming most AW customers buy a new watch every two years or so, that means having LTE for that time costs at least half the cost of the watch itself. Like Macxpress above, I refuse to be nickeled and dime’d to death by these dumb pipes carriers. If their fee was $5 a month, I might consider, but otherwise, they can go suck on a beet!
    stanhopeflyingdpjbdragon
  • Reply 13 of 63
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    macxpress said:
    While thats nice....I still think its pure BS for carriers to charge for a watch to be added to the plan. Its the same line, not a different phone number. For this reason alone I will not get an LTE Apple Watch. I already pay out the wazooo for my cell phone...I don't appreciate being nickel and dime'd by these greedy carriers. 
    It's a new line. You're just a greedy customer that thinks you deserve an entirely new node connected to a cellular network 24 hours a day with unlimited access free of charge. You haven't considered that having your iPhone's phone number (a logic number, not the physical access to the cellular network which is what makes it a line) jump between devices instead intelligently instead having you use two phone numbers which people need to guess which one to call you on. If that were the case I'm sure you'd be complaining about that inconvenience, but instead you complain that extra effort is made to make the experience seamless and you bizarrely want that for free because you feel taken advantage of for not getting a 2nd logic number. Fucking brilliant¡
    edited September 2017 appleismymiddlenamegeorgie01clexmantdknoxGeorgeBMacbeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 14 of 63
    LordeHawkLordeHawk Posts: 168member
    Perhaps only phone and music streaming should be extra.  If the goal is to get people paying extra, offer basic connectivity for free across LTE and pay extra for higher bandwidth applications.

    AT&T allows me free extra bandwidth on my unlimited plan for my iPad, but paying $10 extra for a limited device is a bit too far. I would consider switching carriers if for the same $95, I could use my three devices unlimited across all North America.
  • Reply 15 of 63
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,421member
    Two things: 1) it makes no sense to have high speed connectivity with LTE watch. Why do they need such high speed connectivity? It's just a few bits of data that can be transmitted like voice or JSON or images. You don't need high speed for that. 2) why does it have to cost extra to add a device to the existing plan? How does it make a difference if it's just data? Why can't any additional devices be counted against the data plan?
  • Reply 16 of 63
    croffordcrofford Posts: 96member
    The carriers need to get their act together on whether they want to sell unlimited or data size plans.  I pay for a 60GB plan because I want to make sure that the performance I receive at the 50th GB is the same as the 1st.  I don't want to buy an "unlimited" plan and have things throttled after 20GB.  If I'm paying for 60GB then I should only have to pay a minimal fee for administration of any additional device, not for anticipated data usage.
    bonobob
  • Reply 17 of 63
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    netrox said:
    Two things: 1) it makes no sense to have high speed connectivity with LTE watch. Why do they need such high speed connectivity? It's just a few bits of data that can be transmitted like voice or JSON or images. You don't need high speed for that. 2) why does it have to cost extra to add a device to the existing plan? How does it make a difference if it's just data? Why can't any additional devices be counted against the data plan?
    1) It makes perfect sense to include LTE.

    2) Before Tuesday it cost money to even add a data-less flip phone to your account as of Tuesday it now doesn't make any sense for unlimited additional nodes to be supported on their network? That's what doesn't make sense.

    3) "JSON" isn't going to cut it for Apple Music and referring to the data used by Apple Music as simply "voice" as if phone calls are the same quality and transmission type as streaming music is woefully disingenuous.

    4) Apple was smart to remove 2G and some 3G cellular technologies from the device. This cuts down on size and cost which is probably why it's only $70. Hopefully we see that happen with the iPad+Cellular and hopefully notice a drop in future iPhones as Apple designs cellular chips and removes deprecated cellular technologies.
    edited September 2017 appleismymiddlename
  • Reply 18 of 63
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    Soli said:
    macxpress said:
    While thats nice....I still think its pure BS for carriers to charge for a watch to be added to the plan. Its the same line, not a different phone number. For this reason alone I will not get an LTE Apple Watch. I already pay out the wazooo for my cell phone...I don't appreciate being nickel and dime'd by these greedy carriers. 
    It's a new line. You're just a greedy customer that thinks you deserve an entirely new node connected to a cellular network 24 hours a day with unlimited access free of charge. You haven't considered that having your iPhone's phone number (a logic number, not the physical access to the cellular network which is what makes it a line) jump between devices instead intelligently instead having you use two phone numbers which people need to guess which one to call you on. If that were the case I'm sure you'd be complaining about that inconvenience, but instead you complain that extra effort is made to make the experience seamless and you bizarrely want that for free because you feel taken advantage of for not getting a 2nd logic number. Fucking brilliant¡
    For the record...I don't have unlimited data and no, I'm not a greedy customer. Carriers treat their customers like shit and this just another example. They're no better than the cable company. What's next, unlimited data plans with only 15GB of data? Yes, that sounds stupid doesn't it...about as stupid as charging for something else to connect to your phone's plan that you already pay for. Sorry, but I totally and completely disagree with your comment and I think a lot of others here will as well judging by the amount of likes I got on both of my posts. 
    anantksundarammontrosemacsstanhopebonobobflyingdpjbdragon
  • Reply 19 of 63
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    macxpress said:
    Soli said:
    macxpress said:
    While thats nice....I still think its pure BS for carriers to charge for a watch to be added to the plan. Its the same line, not a different phone number. For this reason alone I will not get an LTE Apple Watch. I already pay out the wazooo for my cell phone...I don't appreciate being nickel and dime'd by these greedy carriers. 
    It's a new line. You're just a greedy customer that thinks you deserve an entirely new node connected to a cellular network 24 hours a day with unlimited access free of charge. You haven't considered that having your iPhone's phone number (a logic number, not the physical access to the cellular network which is what makes it a line) jump between devices instead intelligently instead having you use two phone numbers which people need to guess which one to call you on. If that were the case I'm sure you'd be complaining about that inconvenience, but instead you complain that extra effort is made to make the experience seamless and you bizarrely want that for free because you feel taken advantage of for not getting a 2nd logic number. Fucking brilliant¡
    For the record...I don't have unlimited data and no, I'm not a greedy customer. Carriers treat their customers like shit and this just another example. They're no better than the cable company. What's next, unlimited data plans with only 15GB of data? Yes, that sounds stupid doesn't it...about as stupid as charging for something else to connect to your phone's plan that you already pay for. Sorry, but I totally and completely disagree with your comment and I think a lot of others here will as well judging by the amount of likes I got on both of my posts. 
    You are being greedy and irrational for not expecting a node fee to have any cost.

    If I have unlimited data on a plan and I add a dozen iPhones to that account, by your own logic of "as stupid as charging for something else to connect to your phone's plan that you already pay for" I should be able to let unlimited iPhone connect to my plan, each creating a 24/7 link to their network without then expecting anything for that service. And yet, you've already known that adding devices to a network has a per device charge. You do understand that this isn't the same as turning your iPhone into a WiFi hotspot, right?

    No one is saying that cheaper wouldn't be better. They certainly charge less for LTE-M devices that do actually trickle data and can't make calls, but this isn't that. If this is a problem then save $70 and just get an Apple Watch with GPS. I wonder how many of the whiners were ever Series 3 customers. 
    edited September 2017 doozydozenappleismymiddlenamechialolliver
  • Reply 20 of 63
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member
    Soli said:
    macxpress said:
    Soli said:
    macxpress said:
    While thats nice....I still think its pure BS for carriers to charge for a watch to be added to the plan. Its the same line, not a different phone number. For this reason alone I will not get an LTE Apple Watch. I already pay out the wazooo for my cell phone...I don't appreciate being nickel and dime'd by these greedy carriers. 
    It's a new line. You're just a greedy customer that thinks you deserve an entirely new node connected to a cellular network 24 hours a day with unlimited access free of charge. You haven't considered that having your iPhone's phone number (a logic number, not the physical access to the cellular network which is what makes it a line) jump between devices instead intelligently instead having you use two phone numbers which people need to guess which one to call you on. If that were the case I'm sure you'd be complaining about that inconvenience, but instead you complain that extra effort is made to make the experience seamless and you bizarrely want that for free because you feel taken advantage of for not getting a 2nd logic number. Fucking brilliant¡
    For the record...I don't have unlimited data and no, I'm not a greedy customer. Carriers treat their customers like shit and this just another example. They're no better than the cable company. What's next, unlimited data plans with only 15GB of data? Yes, that sounds stupid doesn't it...about as stupid as charging for something else to connect to your phone's plan that you already pay for. Sorry, but I totally and completely disagree with your comment and I think a lot of others here will as well judging by the amount of likes I got on both of my posts. 
    You are being greedy and irrational for not expecting a node fee to have any cost.

    If I have unlimited data on a plan and I add a dozen iPhones to that account, by your own logic of "as stupid as charging for something else to connect to your phone's plan that you already pay for" I should be able to let unlimited iPhone connect to my plan, each creating a 24/7 link to their network without then expecting anything for that service. And yet, you've already known that adding devices to a network has a per device charge. You do understand that this isn't the same as turning your iPhone into a WiFi hotspot, right?

    No one is saying that cheaper wouldn't be better. They certainly charge less for LTE-M devices that do actually trickle data and can't make calls, but this isn't that. If this is a problem then save $70 and just get an Apple Watch with GPS. I wonder how many of the whiners were ever Series 3 customers. 
    He's not talking about a dozen devices. You're exaggerating, and in the process, your argument loses credibility. 
    montrosemacsstanhopebonobobStrangeDays
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