If you were thinking of adding a new Apple Watch (or any other LTE-ready smartwatch with a dedicated phone number) to your Verizon account, you’ll probably like to hear that the carrier just cut the monthly cost of doing that by half. It’s normally $20 to add a watch if you don’t already have a phone on your account, though it will now costs $10 per month per watch for all standalone plans. Pricing for subscribers who have both a phone and a watch on their accounts is unchanged.
This is welcome news considering Apple debuted two new Apple Watch models today: the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, both of which have an LTE option. The most affordable Series 6 with LTE costs $499 ($399 without LTE), but the real bargain is the Apple Watch SE with LTE, which costs $329 (just $50 more than its price without LTE). Both models are available for preorder now and will be available this Friday.
If you’d like to buy Apple Watches for your whole family, this news will be even better. Apple showed off the Family Setup feature that lets you set up and manage multiple Apple Watches with just a single iPhone. Before, you needed an iPhone paired to each smartwatch.
The caveat here is that each of these Apple Watches connected through the iPhone via Family Setup needs to be an LTE model, not the cheaper GPS model. (It supports as far back as the Apple Watch Series 4.) But if you’re someone who wants to load up on Apple Watches for your family, paying for them each month will be a little more affordable at Verizon.
Updated 10:12AM ET, September 17th: We reached out to Verizon for clarification on the price cuts after several readers claimed to already be getting these prices. A spokesperson specified that its standalone watch plans (without the need for a phone) have been reduced from $20 to $10. As readers have noted in the comments, the pricing has been at $10 per month for smartwatches (and sometimes cheaper), though it’s only been possible to get that pricing if you also have a phone on your plan.
