US Apple Watch Series 3 LTE Won't Work in Europe

The Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE has a twist for international bargain hunters. The US version won't work on LTE in most countries outside North America.

It's well known that because of import duties, sales taxes, and currency valuations, Apple products tend to be cheaper in the US than in Europe. Apple Stores in touristy cities in the US tend to be packed with travelers who pick up iPhones or MacBooks and throw out the packaging before they get to the airport to avoid import duties.

That price difference holds with the Apple Watch Series 3 ($169.00 at Walmart) . The cellular model is $399 in the US ($435 with New York sales tax), A$559 ($437) in Australia, C$519 ($415) in Canada (C$586/$469 with Ontario tax), but UKP399 ($533) in the UK, and E449 ($502) in France.

The savings is a false economy, though. There are two models of the Apple Watch LTE, a North American one and an "overseas" one. The UK's EE carrier and T-Mobile Germany both use LTE frequency bands 3/7/20. France's Orange uses 7/20. Telstra uses 1/3/28. The US model of the Apple Watch with LTE doesn't have any of those frequency bands. The US model won't even work on Europe's 3G networks, which are 900/2100MHz, as the US watch lacks those bands, too.

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So in Europe, the US version of Series 3 is the the Apple Watch Without Cellular. (The US and Canadian models are the same one.) Tourists visiting the US with the urge to shop for an Apple Watch should go for the Series 3 without LTE, which we think is the best buy in Apple's lineup anyway. Otherwise, you're buying features you can't use back home.

Apple Watch Series 3 - Apple Event