Modern Survival - 48 hours in my life without a phone
Using my Apple Watch as my only mobile computer
On the morning of September 20, I embarked to the nearest Apple Store (Apple reseller because Bengaluru still doesn’t have an official Apple Store) to pick up my brand new iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium. I had placed my preorder well in advance, found a buyer who would take my old phone at a good price and found the right cash back offers to buy the new phone at a great price. I was prepared for everything.
After we reached the store (may I add, the first customers to reach) and got our customary applause and cheers from the employees, I got some terrible news - the store hadn’t received enough units of the Pro Max in Desert Titanium and I wasn’t getting a unit that day. The store employee couldn’t promise when I would get my phone. He said it would either be that very evening or 3 days later, on Monday (Spoiler - I did not get it that very evening and at the time of this publication, I still haven’t received it).
We had also preordered other units like the Pro and the base 16 (for my partner, friends and family) and they were all getting their units immediately. This meant that owing to the series of exchanges and trade-ins we were performing, I had to give away my phone immediately and rely on a spare test phone I had until I got my new phone. It seemed logical to do it immediately and I started backing up my data and tried transferring my eSIM, only to realise that Airtel, my cellular provider, had changed the method of transferring eSIM via SMS. I deleted my eSIM from my old phone before realising this change and this meant that I effectively had no cellular connectivity. On enquiring with Airtel, I found that my dad had to request a new eSIM in-store using his biometrics (because we had a cellular family sharing plan and he owned the primary account) and that wasn’t going to be possible until 2 days later as he was traveling.
I wondered how I would manage this mess until I realised that in the process of deleting data and giving away my phone, my Watch surprisingly still had all its data intact and its cellular connectivity was still active. I decided that it was time for a fun experiment - to see if I could survive without a phone and just use my Apple Watch as my only mobile computer until Sunday.
The Caveats
My Apple Watch had cellular connectivity but somehow the reset process of the old phone had disabled SMS on my number. This meant that I couldn’t receive any SMS but I was still able to make and receive phone calls from my Watch. I could also add back WhatsApp to my spare phone as it was all synced to my iCloud but since the Apple Watch did not have a way to act as a mobile hotspot, the spare phone was without internet when on the go.
Basics - Phone Calls and Messages
In the first few hours of usage, I found out that the Apple Watch was handling my phone calls and iMessages very well. The only issue with iMessage was that iMessage on my phone number got deactivated but people who had my iCloud email address saved could seamlessly iMessage me, so they found absolutely no difference in their communication with me. Most of my family members and friends could get in touch with me through the day.
WhatsApp was an issue because it didn’t have a native Watch app. As I mentioned earlier, I had added it to my test phone which didn’t have internet on the go, so nobody could reach me on WhatsApp if I was not connected to WiFi. This is largely a WhatsApp issue and not a watch issue. If Meta released an independent watchOS app, it would help people who want to use only a Watch as their primary cellular computer stay connected with friends and family.
Photos? Nope.
One of the main drawbacks of a Watch only life is that you are left without a camera. As someone used to the latest and greatest camera technology from Apple, I did find it difficult to not capture moments around me. This problem did not exist when I was around others as they all could take pictures and share it with me later but whenever I stepped out alone with just the Watch, I was left without a medium to take pictures.
Payments - An India problem
The most critical issue I found was that I couldn’t make a lot of payments because India relies heavily on UPI, a technology that is not available for use on Apple Watch. I am still struggling to understand if this is a government regulation or Apple restriction or both, because UPI just uses a numeric PIN to send money. I don’t see why the Watch cannot be a device using which money can be sent and received. Sure, it can’t scan QR codes, but you should still be able to add a phone number and send money. This is currently not possible.
But I have titled this section “an India problem” because in most countries outside of India where Apple Watch is prevalent, Apple Pay is also supported. Apple Pay on the Watch is a game changer when it comes to payments. You can simply tap your Watch on a payment terminal and the payment is done. Your Watch doesn’t even need to be connected to the internet. Apple Pay is still not available in India after all these years, so that also restricts the usage of the Watch for payments.
So how did I get around? I mostly used my cards as the primary method of payment and where cards were not accepted, like a caveman, I paid with cash(!!!). I also found that when making online purchases on my iPad or the test phone, the card would ask for an OTP. As I mentioned earlier, the SMS functionality on my number was blocked and I assumed I wouldn’t be able to complete my payment but surprisingly, on every instance, the bank also made an automated call to deliver my OTP. This was even before I hit the resend OTP button or requested a call. Somehow the bank was able to figure out that the SMS was not delivered and attempted a call instead. Whoever implemented this feature deserves a raise because this made all my online payments seamless.
Navigation - Hey Google, I hate you! But also, Apple Maps is the GOAT!
When I wanted to navigate, I realised that the Google Maps app on the Watch is perhaps the most useless navigation app I have ever used. It doesn’t let you search locations, doesn’t show you maps, doesn’t let you do anything until you actually input a location on your “connected” phone. My Watch did not have a connected phone so there was no where to input. I have no idea why Google thinks the Apple Watch doesn’t deserve a standalone app.
I switched to Apple Maps instead and got a surprisingly refreshing experience. I was able to search for most places that I wanted to visit using the on-screen keyboard or my voice, find directions and start navigation to that location. I also found that the Apple Watch navigation experience on Apple Maps is a UX delight. The Apple Watch gives you a very nice haptic feedback every time you need to make a turn. This is the ultimate experience of how voice output, haptics and display can come together to truly elevate an app. This is by far the best Apple Watch app I have ever used and I enjoyed it so much that I might continue using this experience even after I get my phone.
Apple Watch Native Citizens - Music, Podcasts, Workouts and Sleep
And then there are the things that I knew the Apple Watch would do well. I had no issues accessing my Music or Podcasts using my watch. I could also track my workouts and sleep as I would everyday. The Watch tracked everything perfectly. The only thing that remains to be seen is if this data would all sync over correctly once I get my new phone.
I could also discover new music using Shazam and directly add that music to my library all through my Watch without any issues.
All other misc items
Things 3 has a good Apple Watch app that let me see my day’s todos, mark them complete and add new ones too. I was able to continue my usual workflows without any hiccups.
On the other hand, my notes app of choice, Craft Docs has no Watch app. This sticks out as a sore thumb because when I am on the go, I find that there is no good way to take notes with my Watch. This is something I have wanted even during my normal use with a phone, because it’s simply more convenient to take notes on the Watch using my voice when I am on the go or when I am driving. I really wish Craft or some other PKM app would come out with an excellent Apple Watch app.
Regarding work - I could access Mail on my Watch, but I couldn’t access Slack. But I did not find this to be too much of an issue because on a normal workday, I would anyways have my laptop open with Slack on all the time, so I was not really missing out on anything by not having it on my phone.
So, can you survive without a phone in 2024?
If you have been looking to remove the smartphone from your life because of your over-reliance on it and are looking for other alternatives on how to survive the world without a phone, I have bad news for you. It’s really, really difficult to make it out there.
I did not talk a lot about travel because I used my own vehicle but if I wanted to take an Uber, I would be stuck as the Watch does not have a native Uber app (none of the ride-sharing apps have a standalone Apple Watch app). And while I was mostly able to survive with just my cards and cash, UPI is omnipresent in India. This is not to say that you cannot survive without UPI, it would just be insanely difficult, slow and time consuming. There are also a thousand other businesses which expect you to have a WhatsApp account to send you promotional material, tickets and OTPs. This also means that it’s very difficult to survive without a WhatsApp account, and WhatsApp expects your primary device to be a phone.
But this leads to a larger question - why are businesses so reliant on a phone? I fail to understand why Uber does not have a native Apple Watch app. They used to have one in the earlier days of the Watch, but they removed it with the recent versions which is crazy because with the larger displays on the new Watches and all the new users who buy the Apple Watch everyday, now is the perfect time to have a ride-sharing app that can be fully accessed from the Watch. I also don’t understand why UPI cannot be used on the Watch but I would assume that’s a government restriction. If Apple Pay makes it to India, the payment problem would be largely solved.
Until Uber, Google and Meta start making native Apple Watch apps, an Apple Watch only future still seems far, far ahead.