Apple Highlights Three Benefits of Apple Watch for Kids Without iPhones

Since watchOS 7 in 2020, parents have been able to pair their iPhone to their child's Apple Watch. Formerly known as Apple Watch Family Setup, and now marketed as Apple Watch For Your Kids, this option allows kids to use an Apple Watch with a cellular plan for texting, calling, and location sharing, even if they do not own an iPhone.

apple watch se 2022
For children, a cellular Apple Watch can be a stepping stone towards an iPhone, and Apple has now marketed that idea in a series of new ads.

On its YouTube channel in Canada, Apple has shared three short videos advertising the benefits of the Apple Watch For Your Kids feature. In each video, a child uses their cellular Apple Watch to text their parents. And in one of the videos, a parent reminds their child who is secretly at a shopping mall that they can see their child's location.

Three key benefits of a cellular Apple Watch for kids: texting, calling, and location sharing.

"Apple Watch with cellular lets your kids text, call and location share, all without their own phone," says each video's description.


Apple Watch For Your Kids requires a child to have an Apple Watch Series 4 or newer with watchOS 7 and later, while the parent must have an iPhone XS or later. A cellular Apple Watch is recommended for full functionality, but a limited set of features are available on Apple Watch models with Wi-Fi only.

More details are available on the Apple Watch For Your Kids page, and in a support document.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...

Top Rated Comments

CobaltJacket Avatar
10 months ago
I fully agree with the three use cases, and my youngest uses a watch instead of a phone. He also happens to be a heart transplant recipient, so we use it for heart rate monitoring, and it contains his emergency medical info.

Disclosure: I am co-author on a paper about using Apple Watches to monitor kids in heart failure.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
10 months ago
These are a great choice for kids, I agree

I wish they'd go even further with Apple Watch and make it truly standalone and never require an iPhone.

I've considered "Apple Watch only" as a possible long term solution to the lack of small phone options anymore.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcewen98 Avatar
10 months ago
The implementation of the family setup for a child having only a watch without a phone is poor and sloppy. It just doesn't work well and feels like apple bolted on it on after the fact, similar to parental controls in general. An SE watch running only on a cellular gets quite poor battery life as well, and at many schools you can't get on wifi due to the captive portals and log in process that don't work on a watch without a browser.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TETENAL Avatar
10 months ago
Why is this for kids only? As an adult one might want to use an Apple Watch without an iPhone too. Maybe a Mac is enough for some people. The Watch should be independent.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacMikePro Avatar
10 months ago

It sounds like it's something else I want my kids distracted with.
You're missing the point. The point is an iPhone would be WAAYYY more distracting. An Apple Watch can't really do too much on it's own and therefore would not be distracting, so if you want the ability to call and text your child and see their location without them owning a distracting cell phone, this is absolutely the best solution.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CobaltJacket Avatar
10 months ago

It sounds like it's something else I want my kids distracted with. /S
WatchOS has a "Schooltime" feature to deal with this.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)