apple watch

There are two types of Apple Watches, one that does include a cellular modem and eSIM and one that does not.

An Apple Watch without cellular support links to your iPhone via Bluetooth and piggybacks onto your iPhone's mobile number and data plan. It is essentially tethering your watch to your phone. In Bluetooth mode, most functionality on the watch will work only when in close proximity with its parent iPhone, typically within 10 meters. The watch has no access to the cell network on its own. So, there is less flexibility when using the watch, the iPhone always has to be close by and powered up. On the other hand, this has the advantage of both operating on the same line and data plan without recurring any additional cost from your network carrier.

Apple Watches that do support cellular host their own eSIM, i.e. the watch can talk to cellular network on its own, without having to be in range of any iPhone. So, the watch is basically a 2nd phone that you have, giving you the flexibility to operate it independently of your iPhone. But of course, now you would need a second line and data plan for the watch, thus, incurring extra cost from your network carrier. And then you run into the issue, how can the watch make or receive calls under the iPhone's phone number if it has its own SIM on a second line. Overseas carriers often have a service in their portfolio called OneNumber or MultiSIM where they provide you a second SIM card on the same line with the same number and data plan. But, apparently, this is not being done in North America. So, in North America, this seems to rely on using VoWiFi, or more precisely VoCrossSim, which is a service that Fizz does not yet offer.

And then, Apple, for the fear of losing revenue, don't want you to be able to completely replace an iPhone with a watch, which you could in theory do, all the hardware capabilities are there. So, by way of their software implementation, they are making it hard to run a watch completely independent from an iPhone, and one particular doozy is activating the watch, i.e. getting the eSim profile loaded onto the watch, which can only be done, you guessed it, with an iPhone. Giving both themselves as well as the mobile carriers the option to block consumers from using their devices in certain ways even if the hardware is capable.

So, bottom line, what does this all mean? Apple Watches in Bluetooth mode would be compatible with Fizz as their operation does not require any special consideration from the carrier. Apple Watches with cellular could, in theory, work as well, as Fizz is now supporting eSIMs. However, you would need an extra line at additional cost and Fizz would have to support Apple's convoluted activation process and VoWiFi which tie the two lines together. And that is something only https://fizz.ca/en/support can answer for you.