If you’ve decided to buy an Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular, it’s going to cost you. For one, it’s $70 more than the GPS-only Series 3 watch. But there’s also a somewhat hidden cost: You’re going to need a data plan.
Don’t worry, you’re not going to need a separate data plan just for your watch. But even though the wearable uses your existing wireless plan, LTE connectivity on Apple Watch Series 3 doesn’t come free. No matter your carrier, you’ll be paying a little extra in your monthly bill. So, before you commit to more charges, consider how much an Apple Watch data plan will cost.
Editor’s note: T-Mobile has changed their policy and will offer 4G speeds at $10 per month.
Verizon
Verizon customers will pay an extra $10 a month for the privilege of using an Apple Watch Series 3 on their plan using the NumberShare service. The carrier is offering the first three months free, for a limited time. Verizon also charges a one-time activation fee of $30.
AT&T
Apple Watch Series 3 data will cost $10 monthly on AT&T’s network under NumberSync. The carrier is offering three months free (in the form of a $30 credit) and is also giving a $25 activation fee credit for eligible customers.
T-Mobile
You’ll pay $10 a month on T-Mobile’s network for Apple Watch Series 3 with Digits, and the carrier is offering the same 3-month introductory offer as its competitors. After a brief kerfuffle over a cap on speeds to 3G levels (512kbps) on its T-Mobile 1 unlimited plan, T-Mobile has a announced all customers will receive high-speed 4G LTE data for $10 a month. Initially, it was planning to change twice as much for the faster speeds.
Sprint
Sprint’s data plan for Apple Watch Series 3 costs $15 a month, but customers who sign up for auto-pay will get a $5 discount, bringing it down to the same $10 as the other three carriers. And Sprint is also offering a three-month free trial with no activation fee.
Preorders
Apple Watch Series 3 pre-order will begin Friday, September 15 at midnight PDT/3 a.m. EDT through Apple.com or the individual carrier sites. The regular, Hermes, and Edition versions will ship the following Friday, September 22. The Nike Plus models will ship Friday, October 5.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.