The watch alone isn’t sufficient. I didn’t realize how frequently I need the camera, especially when I need to confirm something at the grocery store or get a pic of that thing on the road. There might be a little more utility with my own phone number, rather than a test number, but Signal is too much a part of my routine for the watch to stand alone.
The Apple Music piece works great, but I also find myself dependent on SomaFM and RadioGarden, neither of which is on the watch. And honestly if I’m out doing pub night stuff, I need reading material, which probably means the phone anyway. In short, the use case for cellular on the watch is for when I’m away from home, without a phone, with access to public transit or other people and no WiFi. Which is a mighty thin reed.
I think in the grand scheme of things, what I want is a world where I don’t need the phone. Having the Internet on my person at all times is an invitation to be too much in this world in a way that becomes more untenable with every passing day. The trick is going to be to put aside the need to see it coming, the anxiety of being caught unawares, just long enough to remain sane.
And if at any point the cellular is a $5 add-on, then sure, why not. But at this point it’s a $25 add-on and that’s not going to work. Still, better to have paid $35 to get it out of my system and be done with that glee.