---
title: "After nine years I took off the Apple Watch: a phone and one sensor are enough"
language: en
topics: ["apple", "health", "lifestyle", "minimal", "sensors", "watch"]
full_article_url: https://willem.com/en/2026-07-25_no-smartwatch/
---
# After nine years I took off the Apple Watch: a phone and one sensor are enough

*The best screen is no screen.*

> In the summer of 2026 the Apple Watch went, after nine years on my wrist, and with it the chargers, bands and sensors. A phone, a WHOOP band and a mechanical watch cover everything I need.

The phone became so strong that the screen in between turned redundant: navigation, payments, music and the odd message all live there already. The band records heart rate, sleep and strain around the clock without asking for attention.
The watch that stays is mechanical. It tells the time, needs no charger and never interrupts.
The paradox is that high tech makes low tech possible: only because the phone and the sensor are this good can the wrist go back to being just a wrist. It took me nine years to arrive at that insight.