Yes, it absolutely is different. The naive code will not have unwrap() in it, and it will fail to compile. At that point the developer can still mistakenly use unwrap() to unblock themselves, but it's still opt-in, not opt-out.

If you're implying that coders use unwrap() pre-emptively, I don't think there's any evidence for that. Besides, you can't just slap it on every value you have - it must actually be a result type! - so even if it's applied incorrectly in advance, that still requires some conscious consideration.

This is not at all the same as forgetting an "else" - or, far more often, forgetting the "if" altogether.