Not OP, but I dislike having things in my pockets so much I keep my wallet and keys in my desk at work. Not having to carry anything around would be really nice.

I dislike having anything on my wrist (or fingers, to the chagrin of my wife...). I don't mind having a wallet and phone in my pocket, however.

Luckily Apple makes products for both use cases.

I personally would like to have left temptation to spend time browsing the news, reddit, or other social media. If I could replace my iPhone with an Apple Watch, that'd be great (at least for me)

I use the time I'm out alone to listen to audio books or music instead. If I'm with someone I'm present. It's a conscious effort and if you ask my wife she will tell you I've gotten better at it over the years. Overall I find it's a worthwhile investment. As with all my vices I have found that moderation makes them far more rewarding.

I listen to audio books and pod casts using my Apple Watch and Airpods - I am happy to report that this works great.

Consider using ScreenTime to block the most trafficked sites.

I hate carrying things in my pocket. I hate the distraction. I hate the lifestyle.

>I hate carrying things in my pocket.

Fair enough.

>I hate the distraction. I hate the lifestyle.

How does the watch change either of these? My phone is always on mute and I practice a pull behaviour pattern with it (I choose when to look, answer texts, calls etc) rather than a push (distracting) pattern.

You have greater self discipline than i!

With the watch, It is comfortable to check a notification and quickly respond to it but not much else.

Not self discipline. I just turned off all notifications apart from whatsapp. Notifications are a terrible dark pattern in most apps.