As someone who travelled for work before and after smartphones, absolutely. You couldn't just open Google Maps, search a business and go there, the problem wasn't going city to city, but finding a specific place in or outside a city. If you got a request to go to X business either you already knew how to get there, or it would take some planning.
Nowadays my company can receive a request from a customer in another country, and in 1 hour they can plan the trip, reserve the rental car, book a plane, book an hotel for the night. That just wasn't possible in the past.
My often used apps are numerous, and there are a few that are not often used but by their nature need to be opened quickly when necessary (such as the camera or qr scanner)... Plus I like to have a monthly calendar and clock on my home screen, those take up quite some space.
European ones have locks as well, but they also have a sensor that disengages the lock when fuel level reaches the nozzle. That's what I've seen all over the world TBH.
It sticks to your hand and smells bad, especially if the station doesn't properly clean the nozzle gun. Plus in Europe we have a bunch of diesel cars, and diesel is like 10 times harder to get off your hands than petrol.
I have a thingy on my key-chain that unlocks the carts without the need for coins!
I still return my cart and stack it because I'm a civilised person of course.