The Apple Watch has allowed users to do everything from calling their family and friends to keeping tabs on their health. But its media streaming abilities have been restricted to music, podcasts, and audiobooks. That’s about to change, as now you’ll be able to watch your favorite YouTube videos on your wrist thanks to a new app called WatchTube.
Created by Hugo Mason, WatchTube gives access to every YouTube video through the app, and you can hear the videos either through the Apple Watch’s built-in speaker or with a pair of Bluetooth headphones. However, the app cannot be linked to your YouTube account in any way as it’s a third-party app that just happens to carry the word “Tube” in its name. That said, you’ll still be able to search and subscribe to your favorite content creators.
When you open up WatchTube, you’ll see a list of videos currently trending on YouTube, like the lyric video for Beyoncé’s new single “BREAK MY SOUL” and the new music video for Chris Brown’s “WE (Warm Embrace).” As you search for your favorite videos, the app’s algorithm will personalize your feed based on your interests much like YouTube would if you didn’t have an account in the first place. Even so, your data will be stored locally in your Apple Watch to protect your privacy.
You will also have the option to watch videos with captions regardless of whether you’re turning up the volume or muting it, and even change the size of the captions. Although, you might want to use captions without audio to save the watch’s battery.
The ridiculousness of WatchTube knows no bounds. Because the Apple Watch wasn’t designed for video content to begin with — the screen is too small for it, after all — the app may not work as well for some people as it does for others, even though it’s been on the App Store for a couple of weeks. At the time of this writing, I haven’t been able to watch any videos on my Apple Watch even though the thumbnails loaded just fine. There are certainly some quirks to work out, but if you’ve ever dreamed of having YouTube on your wrist, WatchTube will let you do that.
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