Oh, so you are not a developer and want to just use existing apps as is? Then yes, you need the real thing.
With those watches after some inital setup you can connect to Bangle app loader and try some apps but most may not fit or look good because of resolution or may use hardware not present in the watch or the Espruino build for it is outdated and/or is missing some Bangle APIs so yes it needs extra effort (which is part of the fun for some people)
Espruino is a JavaScript interpreter for low-power Microcontrollers. This site is both a support community for Espruino and a place to share what you are working on.
Oh, so you are not a developer and want to just use existing apps as is? Then yes, you need the real thing.
With those watches after some inital setup you can connect to Bangle app loader and try some apps but most may not fit or look good because of resolution or may use hardware not present in the watch or the Espruino build for it is outdated and/or is missing some Bangle APIs so yes it needs extra effort (which is part of the fun for some people)