Apple Watch lets you do a lot of things without your iPhone nearby, like listen to songs, read and send messages, and even answer calls. But if you want to do something like watch a video, you’ll probably need your phone – well, not anymore. With WatchTube, you can watch YouTube videos directly from your Apple Watch.
WatchTube is a new app that, as the name suggests, lets you watch just about any YouTube video on the Apple Watch. And the best part is, it works as intended.
The app doesn’t require any complicated settings and not even a setup process from your iPhone. You can download WatchTube and use it directly from the watchOS App Store. Once the app is installed on your watch, just open it and you’re ready to watch YouTube videos.
The interface is surprisingly good for a platform as complex as YouTube. Users will find four different sections in the app: Home, Search, Library, and Settings. Just like the official YouTube app, Home shows videos that are trending on the platform. If you prefer, the app lets users choose a specific category of videos to show on Home.
The built-in search works especially well with the Apple Watch Series 7 keyboard. Of course, you can also use dictation and scribble to search for a video in the app. Just like the real YouTube, WatchTube’s search highlights the top results for videos and also channels.
With WatchTube, users can even subscribe to channels and save videos to find them later in the Library tab. Unfortunately, the WatchTube library is completely local, which means that you can’t link it to your YouTube account. Luckily, the app provides a QR Code so you can share and access a specific video on another device such as your iPhone or iPad.
More about WatchTube
In addition to these features, WatchTube also supports video captions and even provides options to change the text size. The videos are quickly loaded onto the Apple Watch – and if you don’t have AirPods or Bluetooth headphones, the app uses the Apple Watch’s built-in speaker.
According to the WatchTube developer, a future update will add an audio-only mode so that you can listen to songs on YouTube without having to keep the Apple Watch display turned on.
You probably won’t be watching YouTube videos on your Apple Watch for real, but it’s a fun thing to do and it shows how much technology has evolved. Personally, I never imagined being able to stream videos on a watch.
If you want to give WatchTube a try, it is available for free on the App Store. The app requires an Apple Watch running watchOS 6 or later.
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