You're describing the two main problems of ubiquitous computing: utility and interface.

The world has gone app-happy because "can I read excel sheets" and "Buy shit on Amazon" require two different interfaces, and you get around all sorts of usability problems by starting with a blank screen. Notably, you start with a screen. And, the world has gone big screen because the less we use real computers, the more our ubiquitous computers have to do; tablets exist because the people who never really figured out how to run Internet Explorer can totally surf Amazon on an iPad without getting out their readers and the world is a better place.

If I'm being honest, this product exists because the smart watch is a compromise. The only thing it does well is health monitoring. It's a wretched screen for detailed information display. Notably, Apple rolled out that "pinch your fingers" bullshit a year ago and the world has largely responded with "meh." Apple likely understood this. It's not particularly natural, it's not the first thing you reach for, and if you aren't in the habit of having your hands full or covered in cookie dough on the reg, it's of limited utility. But hey - they have research that shows it's handy sometimes, for some people, and they've already got the sensors to recognize what your tendons are doing under your watch as part of their oxygenation and EKG sensing.

If you told me that the guy who headed up "gestures" until 2016 decided that what the Apple watch needed was a lack of screen and being pinned to your fucking lapel, I would absolutely believe you. The whole device screams "look what we can do without a screen" without noticing that it's also screaming "look how hard it is to give up a screen".

So, interface: "imagine interacting without a screen." Except they can't do that, they make you hold your hand up to your chest like you're describing a buxom woman with a mastectomy. And utility: "here's everything we can think of doing without a screen." Except it took way way way the fuck too long for them to figure out that having Siri read out the title and artist of your spotify playlist was excruciating so they had to punt.

'member this guy?

The answer to the question "how do you make a juice press not look like a juice press" is "through liberal applications of money and engineering." The answer to the question "how do you make a smart watch not look like a smart watch" is "put it somewhere else and put a laser projector in it."

How much more effective would this piece of shit be on your wrist?

And how many noncompetes would they blow through if they made that move?

Fuckin' Zardoz has a talking ring with a laser projector in it.

It's how the Eternals communicate with the Tabernacle. Notably, the Eternals are only ever shown conversing with the Tabernacle in quiet, empty rooms, which also happens to be a favorite locale of minimalist tech grifters. And notably, the Eternals are mostly shown using their god-like powers for trivial, effete bullshit, only to welcome the destruction Zardoz brings upon them to return them to their base human nature. But, as with so much of the tech industry these days, "I'll be a supervillain for good" is the modus operandi.

If Google Glass had been marketed to bicycle riders or motorcycle riders? It'd be in its 5th generation right now. "Here's an alternate screen for your phone that requires no hands and takes limited voice instructions that is designed to help you focus on your environment rather than the palm of your hand." Instead they went "here's an alternate screen for your phone because we can."