[jimjambw]

It’s not even true that you can’t update an Apple Watch without an iPhone.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204641

[buro9]

I popped into an Apple Store (Covent Garden) recently and directly asked (as I want the heart rate monitor Apple has)... and the assistant's response was that you need an iPhone to set up the watch initially, and that same iPhone must be used periodically for updates (which ruled out using one in-store to set it up, apparently the watch is paired to an iPhone?). I trusted what the Apple person told me.

[crooked-v]

But you need an iPhone to set one up. It's a weird vestigial requirement at this point, and I suspect it's more about cell carrier limitations than Apple's preferences.

[ilarum]

why would a cell carrier be involved in setting up a wifi apple watch

[goosedragons]

Don't you need an iPhone to even set up the watch?