Why it's time to buy a smartwatch: the wearable technology finally has its own 4G internet connection

The Huawei Watch 2, released this week, features its own 4G mobile network connection. Photo / Huawei

Smartwatches are on more wrists than ever but they could be about to get a greater shot in the arm ... so to speak.

The wearable technology is poised to become independent: able to place calls, send messages, and deliver app notifications without help from a phone.

Stand-alone smartwatch technology arrived inside Huawei's latest timepiece this week but rumours are swirling that Apple will follow the Chinese company's lead later this year.

Experts say their evolution could not only see smartwatch holdouts finally adopt the technology, but it could be responsible for more sociable behaviour, allowing people to "leave their smartphone at home" and look up once more.

Smartwatches with their own internet connection have been rumoured for years, and Korean brand Samsung dabbled in the technology in 2014. Its sizeable Gear S smartwatch could accept a SIM card to operate independently, but Australian phone companies declined to support it.

Huawei is restarting the trend, this time with Vodafone keen to provide a 4G phone and internet connection.

The Huawei Watch 2, released this week for $599 or on a $16.63 monthly plan, looks like a traditional sports wristwatch, but it's packed with advanced sensors.

They include a GPS chip to map your runs and work with apps such as Uber, a heart-rate sensor to track exercise, NFC (Near Field Communication) to allow its use as a credit card with Android Pay, Bluetooth to allow a phone or headphone connection, and dual microphones to pick up your voice when you make calls and talk at your wrist.

But, of course, there's also room for a SIM card, giving this watch its own connection to the outside world.

This means you can use all the features of the smartwatch with no phone in sight, whether you want to jog without it swinging in your pocket, or conserve space in a tiny evening bag.

Vodafone Australia devices head Ian Walls says the stand-alone device "demonstrates how smartwatches are evolving to suit people's needs and lifestyles".

Apple is also tipped to launch an independent smartwatch this year, with rumours swirling the US juggernaut will use Intel 4G modems in a new Apple Watch, and is already in discussions with American carriers about phone plans for the timepiece.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi says making the Apple Watch smarter would work well for Apple, as it would not only grow its audience beyond iPhone users but recruit buyers who "held off buying a smartwatch" while waiting for it to perform more tasks.

Fadaghi says stand-alone smartwatches could also help smartphone obsessives spend more time with friends without distractions or the fear of missing out.

"With this kind of offering, people might be able to leave their smartphone at home and return to socialising," he says.

"One of the unrealised benefits of the smartwatch is doing away with carrying a phone at all times. It would allow people to get on with what they were doing without being distracted by the supercomputer in their pocket."

There could be one major hurdle to the trend's success, however: battery life.

Fadaghi says users shouldn't expect a phone call-making, message-sending, fully connected smartwatch to go for a week without a recharge, and the smartwatches may need to become marginally larger to power through an entire day.