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by jader201·2y ago·view on hn ↗
> but I do need things that are essentially task-oriented tools: Uber/Lyft, Weather apps, Maps, Authenticator Code apps

> because it's exactly what I'd want.

I’m not sure it is.

Most of the things you list aren’t that functional on Watch, in my experience. It’s ok-ish to pull up on Watch after you’ve set it up on your phone, but without a phone, Watch is much more limited, IME.

You can definitely use Watch for a number of things without an iPhone — Weather is one you list that is mostly functional, Timer, and Calculator.

But beyond these basic by-design limited functionality apps, Watch doesn’t do a great job as the main driver of most apps — just more as a companion to the iPhone apps.

4 comments
>Most of the things you list aren’t that functional on Watch, in my experience. It’s ok-ish to pull up on Watch after you’ve set it up on your phone, but without a phone, Watch is much more limited

It's okay to not pretend that Apple trademarked the word "watch".

Calling it "Watch" looks/sounds incredibly awkward.

I've had the issue in the past where Apple's auto-correction would capitalize "Watch" every time I typed it.

It doesn't seem to do it on my iPhone now unless it's directly preceded by "Apple." But I wonder if they're hitting that because I notice a lot of different people are capitalizing the word.

But that is a function of apple doing their best to make the watch an extension of the phone rather than its own device.

There is nothing inherent in the hardware limiting you from doing these things, but my understanding is that Apple makes it hard to do.

For better or worse, that is the inherent assumption - that a smartwatch is a companion device to a smartphone. The idea of ditching the phone entirely is, arguably, an unintended consequence of releasing smartwatch variants with built-in LTE connectivity. Giving the app developers the benefit of doubt, it's understandable they don't want to make a standalone app for a fraction off the smartwatch models, where they can do with one simpler extension app for all smartwatches.
Yes, the watch GUI for apps is pretty limited. If you are okay using Siri you’ll find a lot of functionality is actually available.
Great point, and when AI integration makes Siri useful, this might be a game changer for watches.
I’ve seen that a lot of Siri features defer from Watch to the iPhone. Even things like changing the lights.
>It’s ok-ish to pull up on Watch after you’ve set it up on your phone, but without a phone, Watch is much more limited, IME.

Don't you normally still have a phone nearby and synced to the watch? I don't think I know anyone that uses a smart watch in lieu of a phone, just as an accessory that keeps them from having to pull out their phone.

This entire point of this product is to use the apple watch inside this case instead of a phone. If you're using this product, no, you won't have a phone nearby and synced to it.