Key Takeaways
Smartwatches are great tools, capable of serving similar functions to smartphones, like making calls and sending texts. They can do many of the things smartphones can do with data, but does that mean they need a data plan themselves? The short answer is no, but the long answer is more complicated.
Smartwatch Data Plans May Offer Some Benefits
To start, I can't honestly say that there are absolutely no benefits to having a data plan for your smartwatch, but those benefits are only worth it in a few specific cases. The thing is, smartwatches generally gain access to their functionality by connecting to your phone. All of the smartphone functions your smartwatch can perform are tied to its connection to your smartphone.
Naturally, this means that, as long as you have a data plan for your smartphone, your smartwatch doesn't need a data plan of its own. The only time you might need a data plan for your smartwatch is if you want to make a call or text with it while you are far removed from your phone. If you have only your smartwatch and not your phone, there might be some benefit to a smartwatch data plan.
But your smartwatch generally has access to its functionality through your phone as long as it's within about thirty feet of it. Though everyone's life is different, there aren't too many times when that kind of situation really happens. In fact, how often do you really go without your phone these days anyway? Maybe if you were a surfer or going to the gym, but the situations are niche, plus few and far between.
This isn't the only problem with the idea of getting a data plan for your smartwatch, either. You also have to consider both time and financial investments.
Smartwatch Data Plans Are a Mostly Unneeded Expense
In this day and age, where the average person is being nickeled and dimed by so many expenses, most of us aren't looking to pay for things that don't offer much of a benefit. As mentioned previously, your smartwatch is generally just a convenient way to perform the same functions your phone already offers. Making calls, sending texts, things like that. You already pay for that service on your phone.
Moreover, your smartwatch can already do those things as long as it's connected to your phone. That being the case, why pay for an entire data plan for that smartwatch for the handful of extremely niche times you'd not have your smartphone on you? Smartwatch data plans aren't that expensive, but even at a low price, unnecessary is unnecessary. There's just not enough benefit for the price.
It's not just the price either. Much like a data plan for your smartphone, a data plan for your smartwatch usually involves locking yourself into a contract with a provider. It's not just a financial commitment but also a time commitment. Signing another contract just to get some redundant functionality for a secondary device isn't really worth it in most cases.
Some Smartwatches Can't Even Use a Data Plan
You may be surprised to learn that some smartwatches can't even use a data plan in the first place. For example, we could consider the Apple Watch GPS and the GPS+ Cellular version. Between the two of them, the regular GPS version doesn't support a data plan, so depending on which smartwatch you have or are looking to buy, there may not even be a point in wondering about a data plan.
For many smartwatches, it's simply expected that you will keep it in close proximity to your phone, making use of its functions through either Bluetooth or WiFi. With that alone, you'll have access to apps, calling, text messages, music, and much more. Even if you buy a smartwatch with standalone cellular functionality, it will be able to do all of those things, too, even without a data plan when connected to your phone.
Besides, smartwatches with standalone cellular functionality are more expensive to purchase in the first place. So unless you have some very specific situation in mind in which you will need a smartwatch to do phone things when your phone isn't available to you, there's just not much of a good reason to go this route.
What if You Can Get A Data Plan In a Bundle?
Providers that offer data plans for devices are looking to make money. That's just what it means to run a business. This also means they are likely to try and push bundles that cost you more money, even if that bundle wouldn't actually benefit you that much. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that there is absolutely no value in getting a data plan for your smartwatch in a bundle with some other service.
As mentioned previously, there are a few cases where that smartwatch data plan might benefit you. There are few and far between cases, for certain, but they are out there. For some of you, it might actually be worth it to get that data plan, especially if it's included in a bundle that offers some other products or services you want or need.
If you think it's a good deal that offers you good value, I'm not at all saying that data plans for smartwatches are completely worthless and never worth getting. If you live a certain lifestyle where that data plan would actually provide value for you, absolutely go for it. But ultimately, there's almost no smartwatch out there that actually requires a data plan to be functional and valuable. There are just some that might get a tiny amount of benefit from it.
In the end, you'll practically never need a data plan for your smartwatch. In most cases, that data plan isn't worth how much it will cost you or the fact that you'll likely have to commit to some sort of contract in order to get it. Even the best smartwatches of the year are more than capable of doing everything you need them to do, regardless of whether or not you have a data plan for it.
Still, there are some situations where you might benefit from getting a data plan for your smartwatch. Really, it depends on your lifestyle and how often you're out and about without your smartphone while still needing the type of functionality a smartphone provides.