Do I need to pair my Galaxy LTE Watch with my Phone?

I have a Galaxy s9 and a new, T-Mobile 4G LTE Galaxy watch. I want to start using my iPhone 6s, for work reasons, and am hoping to have the same functionality on the watch as if it was still being used with a Samsung phone. I mean, what's the point of my having a standalone, LTE, watch unless I can truly use it by itself?

Is this possible?

I moved this to the Galaxy Watch forum for more specific traffic.

Originally Posted by Android Central Question

I have a Galaxy s9 and a new, T-Mobile 4G LTE Galaxy watch. I want to start using my iPhone 6s, for work reasons, and am hoping to have the same functionality on the watch as if it was still being used with a Samsung phone. I mean, what's the point of my having a standalone, LTE, watch unless I can truly use it by itself?

Is this possible?

I believe only for Samsung Health/Galaxy Wearable apps.

I know for my carrier (Telus) they say it will only work properly with a Samsung phone. Not sure if it's because how the number sharing service works or if it's something else.

As for iPhone compatibility, one of the biggest hurdles would be iMessage. If the watch was in standalone mode, SMS messages using iMessage (blue bubbles) would not be able to be received independently of the phone. Honestly, there's a few other limitations even with the Bluetooth version when paired to an iOS device that it's not an easy recommendation anyways (and you can blame Apple themselves for that one).