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Welcome to Mossberg, a weekly commentary and reviews column on The Verge and Re/code by veteran tech journalist Walt Mossberg, now an Executive Editor at The Verge and Editor at Large of Re/code.

Like most of you reading this, I conduct much of my professional and personal life via digital devices. But which of them could I do without?

Well, for me, having no smartphone would be the worst. I’d feel cut off from other people. Losing my laptop would be a close second, since it’s my main work tool and my best display for browsing and video viewing. I’m a big tablet guy, so I’d hate to lose my iPad, which I now use for many things, including work tasks.

But my $700, stainless steel Apple Watch? If that somehow went away, I expect I’d stop missing it after a few days. Sure, it does just enough for me that I don’t feel terrible about buying it, or wish to get rid of it. But since I started wearing one after it launched last April, it just hasn’t become an integral part of my life. Unlike my phone, if I left my smartwatch at home one day, I wouldn’t drive back to get it.

If I left my smartwatch at home one day, I wouldn’t drive back to get it.

And I’m not alone. I know lots of tech fans who either haven’t bought a smartwatch or who just haven’t formed an attachment to the one they have. One friend, a veteran and savvy tech journalist, removed her Apple Watch upon entering the hospital for a routine procedure, fearing it might be lost or stolen. And when she got out, she simply never put it back on.

So what’s the problem? The smartwatch isn’t smart enough to be essential, to feel like a natural part of daily life. So far, it mostly duplicates things you do on your smartphone — sometimes more conveniently, more often not. In most cases, it’s just sort of a companion to your phone, losing most of its power when left alone.

So what’s the solution? The watches — not just Apple’s, but all of them — need to find lots more independent functions, ones that are consistent with always being on you and knowing who you are, without the nearby presence of a smartphone.