Is it possible to have an Apple watch with a phone number and pair that with an iPad Mini and not have an iPhone involved at all? My daughter is getting old enough to need a phone but she is ADHD as all get out and will most likely put it down and lose it. So I like the idea of a watch that is strapped to her and then an iPad Mini for when she needs more.
Not unless they changed it pretty recently.
Yes, it’s really arbitrary and really annoying. I’d love to use exactly that combo instead of a cell phone, considering the iPad could very easily do it if they wanted it to, but the OS is different and you can’t.
Darn. Thanks for the quick response. Apple still trying to force people to their model/mold I see.
@conciselyverbose @AnotherPerson I wish this was something they changed with the iPad getting the Health app in iPadOS 17. That’s the only hold up besides being annoying by forcing one to own an iPhone that I could have thought of
My other limitation is not having the phone app. I’d genuinely probably use an iPad mini as a phone if I was able to.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211768
You kinda can, as long as someone in your household with an iPhone can set up the watch for your daughter as a family member. Someone has to have an iPhone in order to deal with setup and any access control and some features won’t be available without a companion iPhone, but it might be sufficient for your daughter’s needs. Then she can sign into the same iCloud account on the iPad. I can’t speak to how well it’ll behave between those two devices on the same iCloud account and how well anything like handoff or continuity will work because I haven’t had need to try it, but if you wanted her to have a watch and no phone I think this is the only way to do it right now.
No iPhones in the house, but thanks for the suggestion.
Nah, Apple needs to pressure you into never giving up your iPhone
