iPhone 16 Pro Max Buying iPhone 16 Pro Max and Watch S10 in the US and bringing them back to the EU?

[farfarhad]

Good afternoon everyone. I am going for an holiday trip in the US and I was thinking to buy for myself a 16 Pro and Watch S10 and bring them back home (i live in Europe).

First question (bands):
will I have bands problems? I've checked the Apple link for band comparison for the Watch and for the iPhone. The Watch model seems the same that is sold in Europe and US (A3003), so will it work seamless in Europe? The iPhone model differs (US: A3084, EU: A3296) but the bands seem almost the same: will it work fine in Europe?

Second question (Apple Care):
I am aware that warranty only applies in the country where I bought the device, therefore I will need to add the AppleCare+ in the country of my residence after my purchase. Will the Apple Care cover me in cases of issues? I have read that, if I need something more than a screen or battery replacement, and the device is not sold in the country where I have issues (and that will be the case of the iPhone since the models are different) Apple won't help me and won't solve my issue. I've read that AppleCare+Theft&Loss should overcome this problem. Is that true?

Third question (Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor):
Since the model of the watch sold in US and EU is the same (A3003), I suspect Apple will just deactivate/activate the sensor based on the country of residence of the user. Can it be? Or the watch I am going to buy in the US won't measure my blood oxygen even if I am an European citizen and I live in the EU?

What do you think in general? Do you have any other suggestions or critics? Thank you very much!

 

[dave006]

Do you need a SIM tray? The US models only support Electronic SIMs (eSIM) since there is no SIM tray on the phones.

Dave

 

[Yuuuki]

As far as I remember isn't there also some warranty problems? I feel like I have read somewhere in the past that in the EU this only is accepted for EU models and not from US for example.

 

[emeka09]

As far as I am aware, apple care + is covered where ever you go that has an Apple Store. There should be no issues if you buy it in the US and have a problem that needs fixing in the UK. As for the bands, I have a US model E sim iPhone 15 pro max and have used it comfortably in the UK with an EE esim. I had to get a contract to use the E sim in the UK, but there were no issues with signal or anything like that.

 

[ukms]

There are other threads that cover the Blood Oxygen question.

Regarding the phone. If you decide that the phone will work in the EU, my advice is to buy the AppleCare directly from the device wherever your Apple ID is registered, rather than instore in the US. I have a UK Apple ID and always purchase AppleCare from the device, I have purchased phones in the UAE and US and on the rare occasion that I need support I have never had an issue in any country.

 

[maerz001]

Dont keep the original boxes. Otherwise custom might let u pay import tax

 

[farfarhad]

thank you very much everyone for your answers!

So yeah, i don't think i'll buy Watch in the US since it will lack the oxygen sensors (it's the LW/A code) and it's a feature I'd like to have. Also the price difference is not so big enough (about 80 Euros).

For the iPhone itself, if I buy it in the US I will need to activate the AppleCare+Theft&Loss (for me it's 299 Euros), while I don't need it if I buy directly in Europe (I usually buy this type of stuff on Amazon, so I can have Amazon's warranty). And in this case, considering that I don't have the SIM tray as well, it's not a great choice (I'll pay more with an US iPhone in the end)