---
title: "Using an Apple Watch with Cellular as Your Only Phone"
language: en
topics: ["apple", "minimal", "watch"]
full_article_url: https://willem.com/en/2023-11-10_apple-watch-as-phone/
---
# Using an Apple Watch with Cellular as Your Only Phone

*What happens when you ditch the iPhone entirely and live with just the watch.*

> Willem ditched his iPhone and lived with just an Apple Watch Ultra on cellular for months. Calls, messages, maps, music — all from a screen the size of a postage stamp. Here's what worked, what didn't, and what you learn about yourself when the big screen disappears.

The experiment was simple: remove the iPhone from daily life entirely. Keep the Apple Watch Ultra with its cellular connection. Can the smallest Apple device replace the biggest?



The answer is nuanced. **What works:** phone calls are surprisingly good on the watch speaker. Messages via dictation are fast. Apple Maps gives haptic directions on your wrist. Apple Pay works perfectly. Music streams to AirPods.

**What doesn't:** typing anything longer than a sentence is painful. Group chats become unmanageable. Some apps simply don't have watch versions. And the battery needs daily charging.

The deeper insight: removing the big screen doesn't just change how you communicate — it changes how you think. Without the ability to endlessly scroll, you're present in a way that a smartphone prevents.

Read the [full experiment with all the details](https://willem.com/en/less-screen-more-life-dumb-phones-watch-phones-and-digital-boundaries/).