Why does my iPhone not notify me of texts when wearing an Apple Watch?

Silent mode on the watch is apparently turned on by default. Until I figured this out, I was getting what I initially perceived to be intermittent text sound notifications, which I later learned had to do with the phone being locked or unlocked. With silent mode now turned ON, I get a single "ding", which is barely audible even with volume on high and prominent on. I miss text messages even now. Also, sometimes I don't wearing the watch. Must the watch be unpaired when you are not wearing it? This design, if indeed intentional, assumes a very specific use case.

Let me also point out phone calls do not work that way. When "Mirror My Phone" is on, the ring occurs on both devices. If I turn on "do not disturb" on the phone, neither one rings. If I set custom, I can set the sound on the devices independently. The way these settings work is intuitive.

Text messages have precisely the same menu, but act quite different. With the way text notifications operate, I don't even know what is meant by "Mirror My Phone". It's not mirroring anything. I went set it to custom and fooled with the settings. Text notifications are seemingly hardwired and do not respond to the settings at all.

Lawrence, seriously, if you are truly convinced that this is by design, I challenge you to hypothesis the reasoning behind it. Far more likely that this behavior was observed and that Apple adopted it as a "design feature" instead of fixing it. I admit, I am hard pressed to come up with feasible motivations. Perhaps it is an irreconcilable design conflict with wrist detection. I tell you with all sincerity, I cannot fathom of a design team getting together and deciding that this is the best way for this to work. Besides you, I have yet to discuss this with anyone who understands how this could possibly be intended operation.

Taking me back the most was your proud wording of the statement "And no, Apple is not listening to user-to-user forums." I left a message on feedback, as many in the forum have said they did since 2015. I have a suspicion that Apple is not listening much to those either.

Why would Apple disregard the opinion of what users are saying in its own forums? Other companies scan even third party web sites and social media to see what is being said about their products, and use ML and AI to derive meaning. In the days before everyone was doing this, Apple was the clear leader in this. Those days have dawned.

I am a big Apple fan. Over the years, I have purchased many versions of all that Apple makes. I realize that my purchases do not make or break the company, but being a loyal fan should count for something. The total dismissal of this issue, coupled with the mindset that users have nothing important to say, reminds me of the old Lilly Tomlin's Saturday Night Live skit of the phone company, the punchline being "We don't have to care. We are the phone company."

Thank you for your help, Lawrence.