When Apple preannounced their Apple Watch, some naysayers complained that the watch doesn't work as a standalone device. It requires an iPhone to be fully functional. But those critics should be careful what they wish for. There are competing smartwatches that can accept a SIM card and access the Internet directly via a cellular carrier, but those wearables may require a data contract, and that can cost as much as a phone or tablet would cost.
Considering that the quantity of data displayable and downloadable on a watch should be much less than a tablet, this is prohibitive. While users might stream videos via Netflix, surf the web, and download apps on a tablet, a smartwatch is more likely to be accessing weather, news, and texts; small potatoes compared to a phone or tablet.
Apple's decision to tether the Apple Watch to an iPhone might make more sense, as the cellular carriers try to turn wearables into a cash cow. Smartwatches are a luxury item, not a necessity and at $200 to $300 or more, they are not impulse purchases. If wearables are to take off, they need to be more affordable, not more expensive. The data plan money grab doesn't help.
