This seems similar to the iPhone prior to iOS 5. Prior to iOS 5 you needed a computer to activate the phone. Only with the introduction of iOS 5 could you activate an iPhone without a computer.

My guess is the ability to have an Apple Watch as a standalone device is at least another year away, possible another 2 to 3.

I wonder if they would use FaceID and Siri to configure it, given the lack of a big screen.

I have an iPad. If I get this watch why do I need an iPhone too?

your ipad doesn't have a phone number :)

Mine does!

Could you use T-Mobile's DIGITS and apply that to the watch?

Yep! That's exactly what they said in the demo.

why couldn't you do that with a computer or an ipad, or an older iphone? ofc you could. Just Apple being really greedy, as we are getting used to

Based on how Apple tells us to develop the apps, you have to do anything bigger than a bread box on the phone. The obvious reason is battery life; every CPU cycle spent doing something in the watch that could be done in the phone is waste. Less waste = better battery life.

You say that like it's a bad thing. Greed is what corporations are for. Greed--and nothing else--drives businesses to provide things that their customers value.

Greed implies excess.

Who decides what's excessive?

It's a conspiracy I tell you! Or perhaps the USB plug doesn't physically fit in an iPad or older iPhone. No, it must be Apple trying to sell everyone these Windows PCs that can restore iPhones!(you never needed anything but the phone and a sim with subscription to activate it)

Mobile is the new PC. Config on the dominant platform is simplest.

Only what will android people do for their bad choices in life.

Continue to not care about apple watches, probably