My Week Without Apple Watch

Ben Bajarin writing for Techpinion’s shares his experience of going a week without his Apple Watch. His observations are quite interesting and I find his analysis to be spot on:

The first thing I noticed was my heightened awareness of where my iPhone was at all times. One of my observations from my first week with the Apple Watch was how it untethered me from my iPhone in a positive way. Whether it was in my pocket or on the coffee table or near the front door, the Watch allowed me not to worry about my iPhone needing to be with me at all times to remain connected. Life without the Watch reminded me of the habits I developed to make sure my phone was always near me. I would make sure to always put it in my pocket as I moved around the house or carry it with me from room to room.

This is exactly what I went through when I sold my Apple Watch Sport a few weeks back in order to upgrade to a stainless steel Apple Watch. I went from not really caring where my phone was, to having to make sure it was always within my line of sight. I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but the idea of having to constantly have this big piece of glass in my pocket or in my hands at all times seems rediculous after owning an Apple Watch for a couple months now. I don’t know about you, but I do not like carrying things in my pocket. Keys and wallet always come out whenever possible.

What’s just as interesting is observing people who don’t have a smartwatch and seeing how often their heads are down looking at their phones. While I still don’t believe the Watch will replace the phone anytime soon for reasons like display size, I do believe that the Watch has the ability to free us for the constant anxiety of wondering “did I get an important notification?”

That sort of relief is worth the Watch alone if you ask me.