TV Watch

App Store version: 1.1. Includes Orbita, Gears, Tennis, Pong and Aquarium, with 30-second video loops at 1 fps. The new screensavers shown below, 2 fps playback and imports up to a minute are in the upcoming 1.2 update, currently on TestFlight.

A tiny video, right below the time on your Apple Watch. Because apparently having the time there wasn't enough.

In 1982, Seiko made a watch that could show television. I recently found out about it and thought: my watch is considerably more powerful, surely it can do that too. Apple had other ideas, so TV Watch uses a very weird font and system-updated timers to reveal video frames inside a complication.

Is it useful? Absolutely not. Is there now a tiny aquarium on my watch? Yes.

Coming in 1.2: old screensaver energy

The next update includes five original pixel-art animations: Orbita, Aquarium, Gears, 3D Maze and a Castaway on a very small island. They're available in colour and black and white.

Colourful fish swimming among plants in the included pixel-art aquarium. — Aquarium. Tiny fish, no feeding required.

A set of interlocking gears turning in the included clockwork animation. — Gears. A watch inside your watch.

A castaway fishing beside a palm tree on a tiny island. — Castaway. He has things to do, occasionally.

A first-person trip through the corridors of the included 3D maze. — 3D Maze. You probably remember the vibes.

The castaway has twelve little episodes: fishing, reading, trying a raft, dealing with a crab, and generally being stranded. Each episode loops for 30 seconds. In the Watch app they change every 30 seconds; the complication requests a different episode every 15 minutes, with the actual timing decided by watchOS.

Or bring your own video

Choose a video from Photos or Files on your iPhone, convert it and send it to your paired Watch. The App Store version uses the first 30 seconds, silent, at 1 frame per second. Version 1.2 extends that to a minute, targeting 2 frames per second. Shorter clips repeat. Each new transfer replaces the active video; you can switch back to the included animations on the Watch.

Seiko mode uses 128×72 pixels and eight shades of grey. Colour mode uses 256×144 pixels. Both are included in the price.

The included castaway animation in its dedicated monochrome palette. — The included castaway in black and white.

The same included castaway animation in colour. — And in colour.

Getting it onto your watch face

Install TV Watch on your iPhone and paired Apple Watch, then open it on the Watch.
Choose an included animation, or send your own video from the iPhone app. Wait for frame preparation to finish.
Edit a compatible watch face and choose Full video in a rectangular complication slot.
For a bigger picture on Modular Duo, use Top video and Bottom video in its two rectangular slots.

If the complication hasn't caught up, open TV Watch on the Watch and tap Refresh widgets. watchOS controls redraws and Always-On behaviour, so animation can slow down or pause when the display is inactive. TV Watch adds complications to existing faces; it isn't a new watch face.

The boring bits

€0.99 (or local equivalent), once. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads, no account.
iOS 17 or later and watchOS 10 or later. A paired iPhone is needed to import and transfer your own videos.
Conversion happens on your iPhone. Your video goes to your paired Watch, not a developer server.
English and Italian.
Inspired by the Seiko TV Watch. An independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by Seiko.

Prefer tiny pixels that tell you something useful? AniMeteo puts animated weather on your watch face, using the same idea.

If you'd rather build it yourself, here's the code. Something broken, or an idea for a screensaver? Write me at luca@grokked.it.