Will Life360 Work on an Apple Watch?

Evan Gower February 18, 2020

That’s a tough question because it depends on the model of Apple Watch you have. Yes, Life360 works on some version of the Apple Watch. Namely on the newest models of Apple Watch (series 5 and 4).

However, the app works better with smartphone devices, i.e., your iPhone. The abilities of Life360 on an Apple Watch are pretty limited. That said, the Apple Watch is still the best smartwatch for this app. Other brands officially don’t have any Life360 support.

Read on to find out more about the issue, as well as some recent developments.

Technically It Will

Apple Watch is on the list of supported devices for Life360. They say that the demand for the app on this device is not too high, which is why they don’t pay as much attention to it as some other devices. Life360 is mostly there for smartphones because they are the most used smart devices.

Life360 downloads across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store platforms are in the millions. The app is indeed hugely popular, both on Android and iOS, though not as much on smartwatches.

Life360 encourages its users to make more requests for Apple Watch support if they want more functionalities added in the future. That will draw their attention to the matter, but until then, the chances are rather slim.

The company officially stated that their app displays some notifications on other brands on smartwatches, while it shows all of them on the Apple Watch.

The Drawbacks

Naturally, there are some drawbacks to using apps designed for smartphones on a watch. For one, the app will not use the LTE (long term evolution) capabilities of the watch. In simpler terms, it won’t use the wireless data on your watch, as it does on smartphones.

Also, the Life360 app on iPhones is much better than the one for your watch. It is much more useful and versatile if you use it on the phone. Currently, the developer doesn’t plan on improving the Apple Watch version of the app.

That may occur in the future, but nothing is confirmed yet. That brings us to another issue. Life360 is not compatible with Apple Watch 3 series anymore. The 6.0.1 update for the watchOS rendered the app unusable on the 3^rd-gen devices.

We can assume that Life360 doesn’t work on former iterations of the Apple Watch either. So, your only options when using Life360 on an Apple Watch are the series 4, and the newest series 5.

Life360 Basics

You might already be familiar with all the features of Life360, but let’s cover them quickly for those who are not. This app is similar to a GPS device, as it follows your location and sends that information to other people in your network.

Don’t worry; you choose the members of the network because the app’s primarily a family tracker. You can easily set up notifications so the app can inform you when your kid reaches the school, etc.

Even though Life360 is free, you can buy the premium version. The benefits of this version are mostly safety-related. You can get driver protection, roadside assistance, theft protection, and so on.

The app is valuable to people who want to keep a close look at their family’s movements in real-time. Make sure to get their consent before installing it, though.

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It Could Work Better

Getting Life360 on an Apple Watch is not precisely the best solution. The app works much better on iPhones if you have an Apple ecosystem. It’s also great on Android phones, but watchOS is not there yet and can’t properly support this app.

The app’s developers have addressed the issue, but aren’t too concerned with it at the time. Perhaps Apple Watch support will improve in the future. Until then, we suggest getting the app on the iPhone.

What do you think? Is Life360 on your Apple Watch good enough for you, or is it better on your phone? Let us know in the comments below.