Let me watch TV on the Apple Watch Ultra

Image: Andrew Marino

This week, Apple introduced the rugged Apple Watch Ultra, with a bigger, brighter 49mm screen, an additional hardware button, a bigger battery, and better speakers. I think the $800 watch can be used to watch tv.

It's not a new idea. The wristwatch that could receive the two channels was released in 1982, but the receiver was in a huge belt pack and you had to connect to the screen on your wrist. The idea never caught on, but it did introduce an exciting and futuristic television experience.

Image: Seiko

There were references to the Seiko TV Watch when the Apple Watch was first released. The wrist computer was a Bond-esque one. Almost nothing has been added to the device to watch video. I have found two ways to watch video, one of which is by sending a video to someone via iMessage and the other by using a third-party app called WatchTube, which is buggy and lacks a lot of video playing features. The experience of television is very close to either method. Video support is now more accessible with the Apple Watch Ultra.

If we could watch a baseball game from our wrist, what would it be like? Television is an active pastime. The future of the Seiko TV watch is to have the most portable hands-free television live at a moment's notice. I would love to go on a walk in my neighborhood with the Yankees game on my arm and not have to keep my phone in my pocket to see what happened. I heard that Judge hit a fly ball into left field, but I don't know if someone catches it.

One scenario is enough for a software feature most of the time. If you want to watch the gubernatorial debate, what should you do? Maybe you are shoveling the asphalt during the race. You love The Drew Barrymore Show and run in the morning. The elevator is stuck and you have to call maintenance, but the Giants are going to win the game. The opening ceremony of the Olympics features scuba diving. When you can watch The Tonight Show on your phone and The Late Show on your watch at the same time, you don't need picture-in- picture mode. Imagine if you got an Apple Watch that looked like a Macintosh and you were able to watch the US Open on your desk while you worked. I want Emily to stay in Paris while I throw a frisbee on the beach. The sitcom situation about the father going to church during the Big Game is over. Maybe having Quibi available to watch on your wrist would have made a difference.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

If you want to change channels on a linear TV app, the action button on the Apple Watch Ultra would be great. It's easier to play, pause, fast-forward, and closed caption with a hardware button. It would be easier to watch a concert if the screen was brighter. If you want to watch with your family, the upgraded speakers allow you to.

The Apple Watch Ultra won't allow you to do this. It would diminish the battery life of the device for a feature only a few people would actually use. Is it because Apple wants you to think of the watch as a health device instead of a TV? It's probably a possibility. The dream is not dead. There is a reason why someone made a third-party app for the watch. We have reached the point where TV can be watched anywhere because of the longer batteries and faster processing power. I want to be able to watch tv on my watch.