How the (AAPL) Apple Watch Compares to Fictional Dream Watches

The Apple Watch doesn't have Penny's laser watch from "Inspector Gadget" yet.

ByABC News
April 24, 2015, 12:17 PM
An Apple Watch is shown making a tap transaction during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, Calif., Sept. 9, 2014.
An Apple Watch is shown making a tap transaction during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, Calif., Sept. 9, 2014.
Stephen Lam/Reuters

— -- The Apple Watch, on sale starting today, may be touted as the wearable tech that fans have been waiting for, but it's not quite the watch of our dreams yet.

There are more than 3,000 apps available, from adjusting your hearing aid volume with Beltone's app or controlling your PowerPoint presentation from your wrist. But here are some of the things that the Apple Watch can't do yet, based on these beloved movies and television shows.

1. Laser to break down vaults

Penny is seen with a smart watch in the opening theme to Inspector Gadget in this grab from a clip posted to YouTube.

Penny from "Inspector Gadget" could do some pretty rad things with her watch, including communicating with her uncle with a system similar to Apple's "FaceTime" and cutting through metal with a laser.

2. Walkie-Talkie

Dick Tracy is seen in this 1960s era commercial for a two-way radio toy in a grab from this clip posted to YouTube.

Back in September, Apple announced that the Apple Watch would have a Walkie-Talkie feature, much like the one Dick Tracy had, but that feature appears to have been pulled for some inexplicable reason, TheVerge.com reports. An archived version of the Apple website described the Walkie-Talkie feature: "For a fun alternative to a phone call, use the built-in speaker and microphone to trade spur-of-the-moment sound bites with friends."

3. Teleport

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers not only used their wrist communicators to talk to each other and Alpha at their Command Center. They could eventually use their communicators to teleport wherever they needed to go.

4. Control a giant, flying robot and its eye laser rays

Johnny Sokko in the 1960s series "Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot" had it all: a giant robot that flew and had finger missiles. Together, they could defeat weird aliens as long as Johnny had his trusty wristwatch transmitter.

5. Watch TV like on a normal TV

Kenny Countdown shows off his watch in the episode "Elroy's Mob" of the cartoon series, "The Jetsons", as seen in this grab from a video posted to YouTube.

Sure, you can download a show on iTunes or stream it from somewhere. But when can we have a literal mini-television on your wrist?

In an episode of "The Jetsons" called "Elroy's Mob," Kenny Countdown tells Elroy that he's watching the "billionth rerun" of "The Flintstones" in class. The robot teacher catches him and says, “How many times have I told you, no TV in the classroom! What do you have to say for yourself?” before giving the students "report tapes." Elroy gets all As, and (surprise, surprise) Kenny Countdown gets an H, which, presumably, is worse than an F.