Apple Rumored to Release LTE-Equipped Apple Watch

The rumor mill pegged Apple as working on a smartwatch for several years before the Apple Watch finally launched. The long development timeline gave everyone else a chance to launch their wearable platforms, but wearables haven’t been the explosive success technology firms had hoped. Even Apple’s eventual Apple Watch launch was only successful compared with other smartwatch makers. Now, the Cupertino company is said to be working on a new version of the Apple Watch that can operate over its own dedicated LTE connection.

The new report comes by way of Bloomberg, which says Apple’s goal is to end the smartwatch’s complete reliance on the iPhone. Currently, the Apple Watch connects to an iPhone over Bluetooth, and it does very little if that connection is broken. You can’t stream music, run apps, or load maps without being tethered to an iPhone. The LTE-equipped watch would be able to do all the things it does when connected to the phone even if your phone is nowhere nearby.

Apple is not alone in freeing smartwatches from phones. Google revamped Android Wear early this year in the 2.0 update, which includes more standalone features. You can install apps directly on the watch, control notification modes, and even connect to services online via LTE. Although, few watches support LTE. There’s a good reason for that — it’s expensive.

Putting LTE in the Apple Watch will mean convincing consumers to sign up for yet another monthly LTE data plan. Watches aren’t likely to use a lot of data, but it’s still a few more bucks every month. The addition of LTE also means increased component cost and more power usage. Most LTE-equipped Android Wear devices include larger batteries than the non-LTE versions.

Sources claim Apple has already forged a deal with Intel to provide LTE modems for the device, which is a big win for Intel. It’s been trying to get a piece of Apple’s mobile business for years, but Qualcomm has been Apple’s main chip supplier. Apple is still talking to carriers in the US and Europe about selling the watch, which would allow them to cash in on all those data plans people would be forced to buy.

The Apple Watch sales remain a small part of Apple’s income. Sources tell Bloomberg the company hopes making the device more capable without a phone will push more consumers to pick one up. Still, the likely increased cost might scare away just as many.