If you were hoping that you could finally abandon the bulky iPhone in your pocket in pursuit of the Apple Watch, think again. The wireless functionality of the watch is entirely dependent upon the iPhone’s proximity. Cook stated “We didn’t take the iPhone and shrink the UI and strap it on your wrist,” and that means its not a stand-on-its-own product. Your iPhone essentially works as a hotspot for your Apple watch.
One interesting thing about the watch is the fact that it only supports 802.11b/g alongside its bluetooth 4.0. Considering the nature of slow moving wireless infrastructure on the receiving end this is not particularly alarming. However, it is important to take note that there are now two IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) standards for Wi-Fi that extend beyond “802.11g”. Since then, “n” has been established with a connection that reaches 150Mps per antenna. The argument is made that, if you’re running a 2.4 GHz devices, the difference between “g” and “n” go unnoticed due to heavy wireless traffic on that band. However, on 5 Ghz, the benefits of “n” can be double the speed. Beyond “n” has come the standard “ac”. Under “ac” (which newer Macbook Air models come with) we have the potential to reach speeds up to three times that of “n” and six times that of “g” using a combination of MIMO, more directional antennas and the less packed 5 GHz band with a strong intention of reducing interference. Granted, we are not to the point were routers publicly are offering these speeds. We can speculate that the Apple watch does not need the speeds for transferring data back and forth with its paired iPhone, which helps give us a little insight to exactly what we can and cannot do on the watch.
