We use our phones a lot, and a growing number of people are trying to do something about that—even switching to dedicated “Minimalist” phones. Those phones are neat, but I think there’s actually a far better and far easier solution to the problem: a smartwatch with a mobile data connection.
Leave Your Phone Behind
Before I dive into the reasons why a smartwatch is a great “minimalist” phone, we have to address the elephant in the room. None of this works if you still walk around all day with your phone in your pocket. The temptation to pull out your phone will still be there.
To get all the benefits of a “minimalist” phone with your LTE smartwatch, you need to put some distance between yourself and your phone from time to time. When you wake up in the morning, leave your phone on your nightstand. If you’re done with work for the day, put your phone somewhere out of reach. Don’t bring your phone to your child’s t-ball game. You get the idea.
Notifications Without Distractions
Most people would likely agree the biggest concern with their smartphone usage is distractions. We’ve all unlocked our phones to quickly check the weather temperature, only to be sucked into social media or an email. And there are always notifications popping up trying to pull you in.
However, notifications are not all bad, and the fear of missing something can make “minimalist” phones a hard sell for some people. The beauty of a smartwatch is you don’t have to decide between missing notifications or being distracted by your phone. You still get every notification that comes into your phone—there’s just not much you can do from a 2-inch screen.
For example, when a notification from Instagram says someone liked your post, everyone’s first instinct is to open the app. Next thing you know, you just spent 15 minutes scrolling through Reels. A smartwatch enables you still to see that someone liked your post, but you won’t get sucked in from your watch—there’s no app to do it.
Access to Essential Apps Only
Speaking of apps, smartwatches don’t have many, and that’s a good thing if you’re looking to limit your screen time. Most smartwatches only have apps for essential tasks: phone, messaging, mobile payments, weather, calendar, maps, music, smart home controls, fitness tracking, and maybe even notes.
Ultimately, these are the apps that make smartphones so useful. It’s all the extraneous stuff—mostly social media—that turned these super handy tools into distraction machines. This is another beautiful thing about a smartwatch: it’s like a smartphone without all the junk.
Still Easy to Call and Text
Of course, a smartphone is a phone at its core, even if that’s not how we mainly use them anymore. This is why, specifically, an LTE smartwatch—not a Wi-Fi-only smartwatch—is a great minimalist phone. It has the same calling and texting abilities. You can still leave the house without worrying about missing a call or being able to call someone in an emergency.
A smartwatch with a data connection uses the same phone number as your phone. There’s no hassle of giving people a new number. In the case of an emergency, a smartwatch may even be better than a phone. Since the watch is physically attached to your body, it’s always in arm’s reach. Many smartwatches now have an “Emergency SOS” shortcut as well.
Minimalist phones are all about intentional limitations, and that’s what a smartwatch does well, too. The small screen boils everything down to the essentials. And since an LTE smartwatch is always connected, you can leave your phone behind and go about your life, still being connected to the world without all the distractions.
