Digital has three meanings; having to do with fingers and toes. Having to do with something discrete. And having to do with computers, with electronic as synonym.
You are arguing from the second definition while the quote is of the third definition.
You're missing the meaning where the display uses the symbols we call digits (rather than hands). I don;t think most people would call an electronic watch "digital" if the display was hands, even if the "hands" are actually an lcd display.
> And having to do with computers, with electronic as synonym.
Computers do not have to be electronic. Counterexamples: Mechanical calculators, LEGO logic gates, hydraulic logic valves, electrical (not electronic) relays. Heck, even human meatbags were called "computers" back in the day.
You’re being needlessly pedantic. Obviously, “computers” also has varied meanings. In this case, it is referring to systems built with discrete electronics and ICs. That is, its operation is based almost entirely on the manipulation of electrons and their associated fields.
Watches are nice because it’s much less common to have such tiny precise physical machines anymore, since so many of these use cases have been replaced by “computers”.
It was pretty clear to me that the 3rd sense of "digital" pertains to modern-ish electronic digital computers. I would not call mechanical calculator, human or hydraulic logic "digital computer". (Relay computer is on the fence)
GP wrote that a base-60 second hand is digital, but the second hand on a Rolex ticks at 5 steps IIRC. It is not clear to me that the natural numbers would exist at all if human beings did not.
You are arguing from the second definition while the quote is of the third definition.