Why can't Apple produce a watch that you don't have to use with an iPhone?

There's not a shot in hell I'm ever switching from Android to iOS. People rarely do this.

Theoretically, I might buy an Apple Watch or Air Pods or Apple TV if they didn't go out of their way to make them either impossible to use without an iPhone or a living nightmare.

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johnbellone 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Why would you want an Apple Watch without an iPhone?

Most of the benefits are because the ecosystem is tightly integrated. I expect that there isn't a large enough market and it so happens to lock people into their other products. I haven't tried using my Air Pods on an Android phone, but they work perfectly fine on my Steam Deck (Linux).

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onlyrealcuzzo 2 days ago | parent [-]

> Why would you want an Apple Watch without an iPhone?

Same reason I have a MacBook without an iPhone.

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lostlogin 2 days ago | parent [-]

Here is how I’d convert you: Open your phone copy some text, open your MacBook, paste that text.

I don’t don’t do it a lot, but it’s the best.

	▲	buu700 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I discovered that feature by accident while doing some testing with an iOS device, and found it concerning. IIRC it wasn't too difficult to disable, but it really should be opt-in.
	▲	hu3 2 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		That works between Android and Windows too. You just need to be signed using the same Microsoft account in both devices, and enable clipboard sync. And yeah, it's kinda useful sometimes.

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loloquwowndueo 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> There's not a shot in hell I'm ever switching from Android to iOS.

You’ve chosen your ecosystem. Plenty of watches that work with Android. (Is Android watch even a thing? I think it is).

Given your staunch preference for Android, it’s fair to say the Apple Watch is not a product made for you.

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jasode 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

>Why can't Apple produce a watch that you don't have to use with an iPhone?

>There's not a shot in hell I'm ever switching from Android to iOS. People rarely do this.

Because the reverse situation helps Apple. A lot of iOS users can't switch to Android because the Apple Watch keeps them tied to the iPhone. It's one of their most effective lock-ins in addition to things like iMessage.

Keeping existing Apple customers may be more lucrative than trying to attract potential Android customers like you.

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onlyrealcuzzo 2 days ago | parent [-]

See point one.

People very rarely switch phone operating systems.

There is virtually nobody with an iPhone AND an Apple Watch that's switching from iOS and Android any time soon.

The idea that Apple needs to defend that population is absurd.

That's their BIGGEST evangelists.

Why doesn't Apple not let you have a MacBook unless you have an iPhone?

Tons of people have MacBooks that have Android phones.

	▲	jasode 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		>People very rarely switch phone operating systems. This is true and I'm not claiming that switching is a common occurrence. That said, the more likely os migration is from iOS-to-Android rather than Android-to-iOS. I know more than a dozen people that have switched from iPhone to Android. I know nobody that switched from Android to iPhone. Of the people that want to leave iOS for Android but haven't pulled the trigger... what's holding them back is the Apple Watch and the iPad. The Android ecosystem (Samsung) doesn't have competitive hardware in those areas. My friend really wants to switch to Android for the superior Google AI Assistant but can't because her Apple Watch tracks her medical stats better than Samsung/Garmin watches. She already uses Google-everything-else with Google Sheets/Docs/Calendar/Keep/Gmail/Voice. If Tim Cook made Apple Watch work perfectly with Android phones, he'd lose her as a customer. >Why doesn't Apple not let you have a MacBook unless you have an iPhone? PowerBook and MacBook were around as standalone before iPhone existed. The Apple Watch was always created & marketed as an accessory for the iPhone. The AirPods is a hybrid situation where they partially work with Android but it is crippled with missing features. You have to use AirPods with Apple's ecosystem for full functionality.