Talking strictly about 4G LTE, the Apple Watch Series 6 is missing Band 71 (b71). B71 has been on Apple iPhones since at least iPhone 11. Any idea why b71 was not included in Series 6? Is this a significant miss? I am just trying to determine if I should wait and buy a Series 7 since I live in a fringe rural area using Sprint/T-Mo which uses b71. BTW: I understand b71 ties to TV broadcast stations who are leaving this space - some have and some haven’t yet. Thanks! P.S., 5G is not a concern for the Apple Watch since others have shared with me that battery life, et al cannot currently sustain such a connection on an Apple Watch and likely any similar wearable device.
I don’t know why, but would guess it comes down to the watch’s size. Different bands require different antennas, and you can only cram so much into a watch. The b71 band was probably beat out by other more used bands or other radio features. It could also be a limitation of the wireless modems available in sizes and quantity to match the Apple Watch. Many times the features you see in other phones and watches come down to the fact that Apple needs those parts in large quantities for established products like phones and watches.
