After years of wearing my Apple Watch everyday, I thought about going without it for 24 hours. The idea made me hesitate. Wouldn’t I miss constant activity tracking and closing my fitness rings? Leaving my smart timepiece behind kind of felt like amputating an appendage. But I had to try, just for a day. It turned into a week-long experiment.

Time for a reset

There were several mixed factors that led me to rethink my Watch usage:

• The annual WatchOS update brought unwelcome changes.
• You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. A break might help me reset and warm to the OS changes.
• The update also apparently diminished the daily battery life of my 2020 Apple Watch SE.
• At three years old, my Watch is running out of time before it’s obsolete.
• Would I eventually replace the Watch or could I live without it?
• I don't want to feel like my health and fitness require the Watch.
• Giving up the smartwatch means having one less tech gadget to manage.

How the time passed

Going watch-less for a week, my wrist felt weird all the time. And I often raised it by habit to check the clock but saw my naked forearm instead, "Oh, right, no watch." To be fair, that's not only the Apple Watch's fault. I grew up always wearing a digital timepiece so I’m accustomed to one. It’s a good fit; I like punctuality and gadgets.

The thing is, my smartphone is a great gadget (smarter than my smartwatch) and has a clock on its display. It's like a smart pocket-watch. So why wear a smartwatch? Answer: fitness tracking.

The Apple Watch's unique traits are its health sensors. As a fitness tracker, it's really great. But I don't always fully use this since my exercise habits are sporadic, seasonal at best. And as for the smart features (remote control of audio playback, weather info at a glance, notifications, etc), they're icing on the cake. It's a compelling package and a lot of tech.

Yet it might be too much tech. Lately, I've felt the need to simplify things. So I thought that if I could live without the fitness tracking of Apple Watch, then I could minimize and focus the smart stuff on my genius-phone instead.

During the week sans Watch, I enjoyed notifications all on my iPhone; they're far bigger and easier to read. When away from my phone, I enjoyed the disconnect, untethered from frequent pinging on my wrist. Another smart feature my iPhone filled in for the Watch was the temperature "complication" on the lock-screen. I often checked it on my Watch, but I was able to do the same thing on my phone instead.

My Apple Watch SE still works fine, though, and is strapped to my wrist again. I like the convenience of having the current time and date at a glance. When it dies, I won't need to run out and buy another one to replace it. Instead, I can get a simple Timex or Casio digital watch.

In the meantime, I've simplified my Apple Watch face to mimic a "dumb" watch. It only displays the time and date; no complications. I've also setup the new widgets to only give quick access to the stopwatch, timer, and alarm.

Dumb watch, smart choice

A Simple Watch has its own set of features and benefits:

• It never needs to be charged.
• It doesn't require a proprietary charge cable.
• It has an "always on display."
• It never needs to sync.
• It makes my overall gadget setup simpler.
• It helps me better appreciate my smartphone.

It might seem a bit eyebrow raising; why would someone switch from a smart watch to a dumb watch? Well, it's simpler (though not as simple as owning no watch at all). But it's not like I'm giving up my smartphone for a "dumb" flip phone.

Summary

The Apple Watch is a great gadget for both its smarts and its fitness features. It ties with the iPhone and AirPods super well. My Apple Watch even unlocked my MacBook Air all the time. For many, I know the Apple Watch provides enough benefit to be worth sticking with. Fall Detection, Crash Detection, heart health tracking, and general fitness motivation are valuable if not vital.

And some people lean into the Watch with cellular in order to minimize usage of their iPhone. Yet despite the Watch's utility, I'm leaning into simplicity the other way by minimizing the Watch and focusing on the iPhone. I think that's enough for me, at least for now.