The Apple Watch is one of Apple’s most popular accessories. It helps you at all kinds of times in your daily life, from exercising to sleeping. To use Apple Watch, you need an iPhone. In this article we discuss whether it also works with an iPad or Mac. Is it possible to connect the Apple Watch to another device, for example another iPhone and perhaps even an iPad or Mac? And what can you do if you want to use an Apple Watch and only have an iPad?
Pairing your Apple Watch with your iPad: There’s one exception
The Apple Watch is not a standalone accessory. You need at least an iPhone 5s or later to use the Apple Watch. If you have an Apple Watch Series 5 or later or want to use a Cellular model, you need at least an iPhone 6 or later.
To get straight to the point: You can’t connect an Apple Watch to an iPhone. So the Apple Watch works no Along with an iPad. The Watch app cannot be installed on the iPad and cannot be found in the App Store if you search for it. This is a disappointment for people who only have an iPad and want to use the Apple Watch. There were once rumors that Apple had plans to pair multiple devices with the Apple Watch (including iPads), but that has yet to come to fruition.
Exception: Apple Watch with Fitness+ on iPad
There’s one way to use your Apple Watch with your iPad, and that’s with Fitness+. This paid fitness service from Apple offers you all kinds of workouts from experienced trainers. While you’re exercising on your iPad, measurements like heart rate and calories burned (measured by your Apple Watch) are displayed on the screen. This requires watchOS 7.2 or later. Fitness+ hasn’t officially launched in the Netherlands yet, but you can use it from the Netherlands by creating a US Apple ID.
Pair your Apple Watch with your Mac
We can also summarize this point: Apple Watch cannot be paired with Mac. The chance that Apple will support this is very slim. After all, the Apple Watch is designed for all-day use, even when you’re on the go, so you don’t always have your MacBook with you. This is probably also the reason why Apple has not added support for the iPad yet. Apple Watch models without cellular functionality still rely on a paired iPhone for some tasks, for example asking Siri questions. Since watchOS 10, it has been possible to use Siri on the device, but at the moment this only applies to English and Chinese. There are some tasks the Apple Watch can do without an iPhone, but you’ll always have to use your iPhone to activate and use them.
See also
The Apple Watch can do this without an iPhone
What can the Apple Watch actually do without an iPhone? In this article you can read about the functions that you can use when there is no iPhone nearby. We differentiate between apps that work standalone on Apple Watch Cellular and apps you can use on regular Apple Watch models when your iPhone isn’t nearby.
Is it possible to connect Apple Watch to multiple devices?
As mentioned earlier, you can only pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone. You can also link multiple Apple Watches to a single iPhone. But is the opposite also possible, i.e. using the Apple Watch with multiple Apple devices? This is possible, but only if they are iPhones. It’s also a somewhat indirect turn, which we don’t recommend.
For example, let’s say you have two iPhones: one for private use and one for work. The only way to change in the meantime is as follows:
- Disconnect your Apple Watch from your first iPhone.
- Your Apple Watch settings are now backed up.
- Now connect your Apple Watch to your second iPhone and restore the backup.
- If you want to go back to your first iPhone, disconnect it again so it’s back up.
- Pair with your first iPhone, restore backup, etc.
This is something you won’t do every day, but if you switch iPhones once or twice a week, it can be done.
Pair Apple Watch without iPhone
If you want to use your Apple Watch without having an iPhone, there’s only one way to do it. You will then have to use Family Configuration, a function that is not yet supported by local providers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Family Setup is intended to activate the Apple Watch for someone else in the family.
