Hm, some context here is that Apple Watch apps were — until recently — actually iPhone apps. The iPhone app was treated kind of like if you wanted to make a widget for your app, except it appeared on your wrist rather than your springboard. The whole app architecture really tightly coupled the products.

This has started to change with “set up for family” watches (which is mostly so you can give a kid a watch and no phone) but there are still lots of weird edge cases there.

I do personally wish they were standalone. If they were I would have gifted one to my father in law this Christmas. Instead he got a Garmin.