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I think it's much less addictive. And if you only allow very urgent notifications, it's almost like a plain watch.

Whereas on a phone, the temptation to open apps to do things is always there.

It's almost like comparing an eink device with a regular tablet.

Considering the number of times I've heard cell phones referred to as being "attached at the hip", I think that ship has sailed.

Also, almost every smart watch allows you to block notifications on top of what you phone already blocks, so if you have apps that you want notifications from for when your attention is on your phone, but not all the time, you can only allow those through. It's not "anything it wants", it's anything you choose.

Just turn off notifications for the vast majority of apps. I don't even auto-install third-party apps on the watch. I use my watch as mainly a fitness tracker and I allow notifications from fewer than 5 apps.