Apple Watch owners in the UK just got an exciting upgrade

The Apple Watch gained cellular support, bringing 3G and eventually 4G connectivity to the wearable, way back with the Watch Series 3 in 2017.

Now, a whole five years later, Three finally offers a data plan for the Apple Watch. The service works by adding the wearable to your existing Three data plan with a virtual eSIM. This costs £7 a month and data used by the Watch comes out of your existing monthly data allowance.

The service is called Smartwatch Pairing Plan and it costs £7 a month to share your call, text and data allowance between two devices, in this case, an iPhone and an Apple Watch. Three is currently offering a deal where smartwatch pairing is free for the first six months.

The network says this service is currently being rolled out as a soft launch, so while Three’s website has been updated to include information on smartwatch pairing, it hasn’t made a formal announcement just yet, while any potential issues with early customers are ironed out.

Three customers will surely be grateful for the update, but the network has joined the party a long way behind its rivals, as Vodafone, O2 and EE have supported the cellular Apple Watch for years already.

Customers with unlimited data can pay £7 a month and use their iPhone and Apple Watch as much as they want. But those with capped data allowances will have to keep an eye on how much data each device is using. The core functions of the Apple Watch don’t consume much data at all, but if it’s being used to stream music over a 4G connection, then that data allowance could start to feel restrictive.

Regardless, this is great news for Three customers with an iPhone and Apple Watch, who can now leave their iPhone at home and remain fully connected with the watch – handy when running or swimming, or going anywhere that might pose a threat to the phone.