The thing that makes phones such gold mines is that people in many countries reliably buy a new one every two years (through a carrier). Tablets are arguably on a plateau already. I wonder if the industry can really turn phone watches into something that reliably generates cash.
Its almost sad that the goal is "reliably generating cash" instead of "making something better for humanity." Working to prevent me from having to pull my phone out of my pocket is not anywhere close to where our technological efforts should be placed.
It's not about making you pull your phone out less its about trying to integrate more things around you seamlessly to be more interconnected. Reaching for your phone less is a by-product. Altruistic views are nice but the driver of our technology is consistent investment facilitating iteration on all fronts.
To a certain degree I still disagree. Integrated and more connected? Take that all the way out until you can't tell where the machine stop and the human starts.
While all these micro-iterations on technology are great, and we have some amazing toys, I can't help but think that humanity is getting too DISCONNECTED from EARTH.
Let me counter your anecdote with mine. I talk with customers all day for project related work. I regularly put thousands of minutes on my phone each month, mostly for work.
There's literally no way that today's battery density (or even in several years) is high enough to support more than a dozen calls, not to mention all the radios a cell phone requires (just think antenna length, not space).
I wouldn't expect a viable standalone phone-watch until 2025 barring significant advances in battery technology and cell antenna design.
99% of the time, I'm using the "tablet features" of my phone. I maybe get 3-5 calls a month.
A phone-watch would suffice for this.
If it could tell the time, provide me with notifications, has vibration and can tell if I move or not, this would be perfect.
The rest of the information I would consume with my tablet.