Apple admits its new Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity has a big problem

Apple admits its new Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular connectivity has a big problem 

 

Apple Inc's on Wednesday conceded its latest smartwatch unveiled a week ago has problems with its most important feature: the ability make phone calls and access data without an iPhone nearby. 

Several prominent reviewers said Wednesday they could not recommend the device because of a wifi glitch that causes cellular connectivity problems. 

The Watch Series 3 starts at $399 and was launched alongside new iPhone models. Unlike previous versions of the watch, it has cellular fee.

Apart from connection issues, some reviewers were disappointed with the drain on the watch's battery while making calls. Apple had touted up to 18 hours of battery life but said the watch would get only one hour on a cellular phone call.

 Gene Munster, a longtime Apple analyst with Loup Ventures, doubted issues with the Series 3 Watch would hurt Apple's bottom line. "That review takeaway is a negative but is not a surprise. This is the first generation watch with LTE," he told Reuters. 

Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with Techanlysis Research, said the watch reviews, paired with reviews of the iPhone 8 that were generally positive but described the phone as an incremental improvement on its predecessor, put more pressure on the iPhone X to garner good press before its Nov. 3 launch. 

Apple also experienced hiccups with iOS 11, the new operating system the firm released Tuesday. 

For business users, iOS 11's Mail application had problems sending mail for Microsoft Exchange and Outlook.com mail accounts.