Apple watch with LTE chip will be on the market before the end of 2017

According to insiders, Apple is going to release an Apple Watch equipped with an LTE chip before the end of this year. The wearable could therefore function without a paired iPhone within reach. The chip would be supplied by Intel.

That’s what “people familiar with the case” are saying to Bloomberg. With its own connection to mobile networks, the Apple Watch itself could, for example, download music and apps. The company is already in talks with telcos in the US but also in Europe. However, the release of the device is not fixed. Not only because it concerns statements from anonymous sources and not from Apple’s own statements, but also because such a design has already been postponed by Apple due to disappointing battery life.

Although Intel has provided the internals for iPhones before, Qualcomm has traditionally been responsible for this task. Apple is now moving away from that Qualcomm thanks to the legal battle raging between the two. Apple accuses Qualcomm of abusing its dominant position in the socs market.

The second version of the Apple Watch, the Series 2, already received a GPS chip last year so that the iPhone was no longer needed for location determination. This allows users, for example, to run with the Apple Watch but without the iPhone.

Apple Watch Series 2