The Apple Watch Series 3 is the best overall smartwatch you can buy, but battery limitations and add-on fees keep it from being a must-have upgrade. Apple with likely release an upgrade later this year.

Cellular connection works well for phone calls, email, Siri and messages; Music now syncs more easily; Improvements in fitness tracking and added watch faces; Adds barometer to GPS and swimproofing; Same overall size as last year's watch

Battery life takes a major hit when making calls or during GPS workouts; 42mm cellular model is expensive, and that's before monthly wireless service and Apple Music fees; Still requires an iPhone to set up and pair with; A new Watch is expected later this year

All told, the Apple Watch Series 3 feels like two separate devices. When it's used as a traditional smartwatch - by which I mean it's connected to, and in range of a phone - it's the best wearable Apple has ever made.

Improved performance; Great battery life when connected to a phone; Valuable new fitness features; Siri feels more useful

iPhone still needs to be on to receive texts; Lousy battery life on LTE; Call quality can vary; Apple Music streaming not ready yet

I've owned multiple iPhones, iPads, iPods and MacBooks over the past decade. I wore a first-generation Apple Watch and now sport the Series 2 on a regular basis, when I'm not testing other wearable devices.

Improved fitness-tracking features; Faster Siri with new vocal responses; Lower price than Series 2 and LTE Series 3

Still just 18-hour battery life

Apple adds cellular connectivity and doubles down on fitness features with the Watch Series 3, but it comes at a price.

Built-in cellular connectivity; Improved heart rate monitoring; Faster processor; Clear call quality; New band and case options

Expensive; LTE drains battery rapidly

The Apple Watch Series 3 is essentially a suped up Series 2 with improved battery life and performance. Apps load faster, Siri is smarter, and the sports/activity tracking features are better.

Improved battery life over Series 2; though still not that great; Large ecosystem of apps and accessories; Much faster than the Series 2; Water resistant with plenty of sport features; Very helpful smart features including notifications; music playback; and Siri

Still requires phone to be helpful (this is not the Cellular version; Expensive; Always looks like a smartwatch; Not terribly durable

Even though the cellular variant of the Apple Watch Series 3 looks identical to the previous model, it does more than any smartwatch can do today. It gives you the freedom to not be tied to your smartphone and enjoy your workout without any distractions.

Can make phone calls independently; Can stream music without using an iPhone; 50-meter water resistance; Arguably the best fitness watch you can buy

Battery life falls short with heavy cellular usage; Needs to be recharged every night

It's not easy to thoughtfully integrate cellular and LTE service on a wearable. A number of Android Wear devices have tried in the past, and none of them hit home runs. In my short time with the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE, it's clear that Apple has the software chops to make cellular and LTE a...

Battery life can stand up to some LTE use; Audible Siri responses make hands-free; eyes-free Watch interactions easy; Improved performance thanks to S3 dual-core processor

Why the red dot Why; LTE models require additional monthly charges by wireless service providers; Quite expensive even before extra monthly wireless charges; Standalone LTE can be unreliable; No on-Watch toggles to disconnect Wi-Fi and Bluetooth manually

Well, long story short, I'm keeping the Apple Watch Series 3 for the following reasons: refinement, material/build quality, enhanced Apple ecosystem experience, and added motivation.

Excellent material/build quality; Best smartwatch OS to date; Enhanced Apple ecosystem experience; Great motivational tool; Built-in LTE

Expensive

The Apple Watch Series 3 is the best smartwatch you can buy -- and oh so close to replacing your phone.

Makes calls from your wrist; Voice control is excellent; A joy to use; Masses of personalization options; Superb fitness tracking ability

Third-party app support is lacking; Expensive; Speaker is quiet

I finally made the switch from FitBit to Apple Watch and I'm loving it! It has taken me some time to get used to the features and I still do not know to utilize the watch to its full potential, but am very happy with it so far. I have to charge my watch every other day.