Apple introduced the rugged Apple Watch Ultra this week — with a bigger, brighter 49mm screen, an further hardware button, a bigger battery, and amended speakers — made for much utmost outdoor conditions. But I judge the $800 smartwatch tin beryllium utilized different way: to ticker TV.

Wait, wait, wait, perceive maine out; it’s not a caller idea. In 1982, Japanese watchmaker Seiko debuted a wristwatch that could person UHF and VHF channels, albeit the existent receiver was successful a immense loop battalion you had to link to the LCD surface connected your wrist. The thought ne'er truly caught connected (besides successful the James Bond movie Octopussy), but it introduced an breathtaking and futuristic tv acquisition we inactive haven’t nailed yet.

The Seiko T001. Image: Seiko

When the archetypal Apple Watch deed the marketplace successful 2015, references were made to the Seiko TV Watch. It was, aft all, a futuristic Bond-esque wrist computer. But 7 years later, hardly immoderate functionality astir watching video has been added to the device. The 2 ways I person recovered to ticker immoderate benignant of video is for idiosyncratic to nonstop maine a clip via iMessage and past presumption it from my Apple Watch oregon to download a third-party app called WatchTube, which is simply a small buggy and lacks a batch of video playing features. Neither of these methods is precise adjacent to the acquisition of television. With the Apple Watch Ultra’s screen, speaker, and artillery beingness upgrades, video enactment is present a much justifiable request.

I’m not definite viewing prestige TV similar House of the Dragon or movies similar Top Gun: Maverick would beryllium a large acquisition connected a watch, but what if we could ticker thing like… a shot crippled consecutive from our wrists? An ambient yet progressive tv pastime. It’s the aboriginal that the Seiko TV Watch promised: to person the astir portable hands-free tv unrecorded astatine a moment’s notice. I would perfectly emotion to spell connected a locomotion successful my vicinity with the Yankees crippled attached to my limb without having to perpetually unlock my telephone oregon instrumentality it retired of my pouch to presumption what conscionable happened. I conscionable heard Aaron Judge deed a alert shot into near field; however accelerated tin I cheque the surface to spot if idiosyncratic catches it?

Imagine utilizing the integer crown to scroll down the TV transmission guide.

I deliberation 1 script is capable to warrant a bundle diagnostic astir times, but I volition stock a fewer more. What if you’re kneading dough for your outdoor pizza oven and you privation to ticker the gubernatorial debate? Perhaps you are shoveling asphalt during the Indy 500. You are moving way successful the greeting and emotion The Drew Barrymore Show. The elevator is stuck and you request to telephone maintenance, but it’s precocious successful the 4th fourth and the Giants are driving down by four. Scuba diving during the Olympics opening ceremony? Who needs picture-in-picture mode erstwhile you tin ticker The Tonight Show connected your telephone and The Late Show on your ticker simultaneously? Oh my god, what if you get 1 of those little Apple Watch stands that looks similar an aged Macintosh and ticker the US Open connected your table portion you work? I would similar to support Emily successful Paris playing connected my portable TV portion I americium throwing a frisbee connected the beach. Forget astir the classical sitcom predicament astir the begetter who has to spell to religion during the Big Game. Who’s to say, but possibly having Quibi disposable to ticker connected your wrist would person saved the streaming service.

The Apple Watch Ultra benignant of looks similar a small TV. Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The customizable enactment fastener connected the Apple Watch Ultra would beryllium large for changing channels connected a linear TV app similar Pluto TV oregon YouTube TV oregon rewinding a video backmost 30 seconds to replay a clip from Apple TV Plus’ Friday Night Baseball coverage. A hardware fastener makes play, pause, fast-forward, and closed captioning a small easier with a tiny screen. The brighter surface would marque it easier to ticker successful agleam outdoor environments, similar tailgating astatine a concert. The upgraded speakers alteration you to ticker without your AirPods for household viewing.

Though the exertion is here, the Apple Watch Ultra inactive won’t fto you bash this. Is it due to the fact that it would diminish the already abbreviated artillery beingness of the instrumentality for a diagnostic lone a fewer radical would really use? Is it due to the fact that Apple wants you to deliberation of the ticker arsenic a wellness instrumentality and not a television? Probably. But the imagination is inactive alive. There’s a crushed wherefore idiosyncratic made a third-party YouTube app for the watch, and I’ve seen a fewer weird tiny-screen gadgets radical person been strapping to their wrists. As batteries are lasting longer and processors are getting faster, we’ve deed the constituent wherever TV tin beryllium watched anywhere. So it’s clip to beryllium capable to ticker TV connected my watch.