Learn how to download music for offline listening - and more.
Spotify subscribers with an Apple Watch can download playlists, podcasts, albums, and tracks straight to the smartwatch for offline listening.
You can also access Spotify Connect and harness playback control via LTE or Wi-Fi straight from the wrist, making it a complete listening experience. If you own the Apple Watch Series 10 or Apple Watch Ultra 2, you can even use the speaker to play Spotify tunes out loud.
This guide will explain all these tricks in detail, allowing you to get the most out of the Spotify Apple Watch app.
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How to download the Apple Watch Spotify app
1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. In the ‘My Watch’ tab, under the heading ‘Installed on Apple Watch’, check if Spotify is already downloaded. If it isn’t installed on your Apple Watch, scroll down to the ‘Available Apps’ section and hit ‘Install’ on Spotify.
3. On your Apple Watch, open the app grid and find Spotify. The app will also open automatically when you start playing music from your iPhone.
1. Download Spotify content for offline listening
You can easily download content from Spotify to your Apple Watch. This lets you listen on the move without needing to be connected to your phone – or using LTE, either.
Aside from having a functioning Spotify Premium account subscription, there are a few requirements.
For Spotify on the Apple Watch to work, you need an Apple Watch Series 3 (or newer) running on watchOS 7 (or later), an LTE or Wi-Fi connection, and an iPhone running iOS 12 or later.
Follow these steps to download Spotify content to your Apple Watch:
1. Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Spotify app on your phone or tablet; this will ensure your Apple Watch is also up to date.
2. In the Spotify app on iPhone, find a playlist or album you want to download, hit the three-dot menu, and choose ‘Download to Apple Watch’.
3. In the Spotify Apple Watch app, swipe right to find the ‘Downloads’ folder.
4. Downloaded content will be indicated by a green arrow if successful.
2. Browse Spotify playlists and tracks
The Apple Watch’s Spotify app offers extensive playback and browsing control.
A swipe to the right brings up the ‘Home’ dashboard as it would on the smartphone or desktop app, featuring everything you’ve listened to recently and the usual array of Spotify recommendations. Here, you can then scroll with your finger or the digital crown to move through the page.
You can also swipe to the left and find ‘Your Library’ to view saved playlists, podcasts, artists, and albums, or browse options within, playing any track you feel like.
3. Quickly add songs to your Spotify library
You can add music to your library straight from the Apple Watch screen.
The prominently placed tick can be tapped, turning green, and the track will be added to your account’s Liked Songs.
As on other devices, re-tapping the tick will remove it from your library and Liked Songs.
4. Go phone-free and stream over LTE
Spotify enables users to stream music without their iPhone present, but they’ll need an LTE connection if the playlist, song, album, or podcast hasn’t been downloaded to the Apple Watch previously.
If you have a cellular plan set up for your Apple Watch, the smartwatch’s Spotify app will stay connected even when away from your iPhone and allow you full control over the experience. You don’t need to do anything.
5. Control Spotify on Apple Watch using Siri
Spotify gives you hands-free control via Apple’s smart assistant, Siri, giving you easier access.
To get Siri to play something from your Apple Watch, you can ask it to help you out with the following:
- Play your favorite songs, playlists, podcasts, artists, and albums
- Adjust volume, play/pause, and skip tracks
- Play Discover Weekly
- Add songs to your library by ‘liking’ the current track
6. Control playback on other devices
You can automatically control playback from your linked account through the smartwatch, whether listening via your phone, a wireless speaker, or a games console.
Even if you’re playing something from your phone, the Apple Watch Spotify app will automatically open when you raise your wrist – providing you do the following things:
- Ensure you have the latest version of the Spotify app downloaded on your Apple Watch, phone, laptop, or tablet
- Ensure your Apple Watch and the device you’re trying to control are connected to the same Wi-Fi network
