Apple
Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular, used standalone)
Leave the iPhone in a drawer and wear the phone instead. Setup needs the iPhone once.
Price not listed plus roughly $6.50-$20/mo standalone watch line
Hardware plus a standalone watch line: roughly $6.50-$20/month depending on carrier
- TypeWatch
- SoftwarewatchOS
- ScreenOLED
- Network4G
- Introduced Unknown
Software and apps
- Operating system
- watchOS
- App store
- Curated apps
- Web browser
- No
- Unknown
- Spotify
- YesApple Watch apps
- RCS messaging
- Unknown
Hardware
- Form factor
- Watch
- Screen
- OLED
- Camera
- No
- Battery
- Unknown not user-replaceable
- USB-C
- Unknown
- Headphone jack
- No
Connectivity
- Network
- 4GLTE
- VoLTE
- Unknown
- SIM
- Physical SIM + eSIMeSIM
- Carriers
- Standalone plans reported at US Mobile, Truphone and T-Mobile; Verizon offers one without an existing line. AT&T does not offer a standalone plan unless it's tied to an AT&T iPhone line. Visible and Cricket do not support standalone.
Where to get one
- Regions
- Ships worldwide
Notes
Not a phone, but a real strategy people use, so it earns a row. The catch: an iPhone is required for initial setup, either by direct pairing or through Family Setup (now branded Apple Watch For Your Kids). After setup the watch runs independently on a standalone plan and the iPhone can go in a drawer. Two limits to know: on a companion plan the watch shares the iPhone's number and stops working if that plan is cancelled, and on Family Setup SMS/MMS handling is limited because it normally depends on a fully paired iPhone. Typing is the other obvious constraint.
Sources
Last checked 2026-09-15.Photo: Apple Inc..
