Jio, Airtel Are Bringing Apple Watch Series 3 Cellular Version to India; Pre-Bookings Start May 4

The GPS + Cellular variant of Apple Watch Series 3, which was released alongside the iPhone 8 last September, is finally coming to India. Jio and Airtel have announced partnerships with Apple to launch the wearable in the country next month. In separate press statements on Tuesday, Jio and Airtel announced that the Apple Watch Series 3 cellular variant will be up for pre-orders starting May 4 on Jio.com, Reliance Digital stores, and Jio stores for the former, and Airtel's website for the latter. It will be available for purchase, across all above mentioned outlets, starting May 11.

This new variant will accompany the GPS-only variant of the Apple Watch Series 3 that is available in India since last year. While there are currently no pricing details around the Cellular version, the GPS-only variant of Apple Watch Series 3 with Sport band is priced at Rs. 32,380 while the Nike+ band variant bears a price tag of Rs. 32,470. The new model is now also listed on the Apple website without price.

Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular supports only a built-in embedded SIM (eSIM) to offer cellular connectivity. This allows the user to retain the same mobile number as the one on the iPhone. Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) requires an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 11 or later.

Jio customers, pre-booking the cellular variant of Apple Watch Series 3 will be entitled to priority first day home delivery that will include the Apple Watch and relevant Jio service. Additionally, Jio will not charge anything over and above your previous prepaid pack or postpaid plan; both the iPhone and Apple Watch will work on the same tariff.

Similarly, users looking to pair the Cellular variant of the Apple Watch Series 3 with their Airtel number will have to open up the Watch app and pair the wearable to the mobile number. However, unlike Jio, the Cellular variant will work only with Airtel postpaid users on Infinity plans. The same plan will be valid for both the iPhone and the Apple Watch Series 3.