How to Play Music on Your Apple Watch

Once the music is transferred over, you won't need your phone to listen to your favorite jams

By
Sarah Silbert
Sarah Silbert
Writer
  • Bard College
  • Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence is a consumer technology writer whose work has appeared in Fortune and MIT Technology Review. She's also a previous senior editor at Engadget.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on November 25, 2022

What to Know

  • Make music playlist on iPhone > connect Watch to charger > enable Bluetooth on phone> open Watch app.
  • Next, select My Watch > Music > Add Music under Playlists & Albums > place phone near Watch to sync.
  • Next, open Music app on Watch > choose playlist to start listening.

This article explains how to add music to your Apple Watch by syncing it with your iPhone. It also includes information on how to control your iPhone's music library using the Apple Watch.

How to Add Music to an Apple Watch

If you like to listen to music on the go, whether you're commuting or you're out on a run around the neighborhood, you'll want to configure your Apple Watch to play music.

Here's how to transfer music from your iPhone to the smartwatch:

  1. Prepare a selection of your favorite music to sync to your Apple Watch by making a playlist on your iPhone.

  2. Connect the Apple Watch to its charger and confirm that Bluetooth is enabled on your iPhone.

  3. Go to the Watch app on your iPhone. Select My Watch > Music.

  4. Under Playlists & Albums, select Add Music, and choose the playlist or album you want to sync to your watch.

    Add Music to Apple Watch from iPhone

  5. Place the iPhone near the Apple Watch on its charger to begin the sync.

  6. When the sync is complete, open the Music app on the Apple Watch.

  7. Go to the playlist you made or browse through other options. Select to start listening to your music.

Because there's no headphone jack on the Apple Watch, you need a set of Bluetooth headphones to listen to music playing on the smartwatch.

How to Use an Apple Watch to Control What's Playing on an iPhone

You can also use your Apple Watch to control the music playback on your iPhone. In this case, the playback happens on your phone rather than your watch, so you need headphones plugged into or paired with your phone. However, you can control the music playback directly from the watch; no need to take out your phone. Just follow these steps.

  1. Open the Music app from your Apple Watch home screen.

  2. Scroll up to choose your iPhone as the source for playing music and then select Now Playing to view what's currently playing on your iPhone.

    Now Playing on Apple Watch

    At this point, you have a variety of options for controlling playback. The one you choose likely depends on the music service you prefer.

  3. If you use Apple Music, select Quick Play to pull up a random selection of songs from this service's recommendations for you. You can also listen to the Apple Music 1 radio station.

  4. You can also select My Music to see your music library and choose what you want to listen to by artist, song, or album. 

You can also use Siri (provided voice commands are enabled on your Apple Watch) to control music playback. Siri searches for music that fits your query on both your iPhone and Apple Watch.

FAQ
  • How do I remove music from my Apple Watch?

    On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app and select My Watch > Music, then Edit > Minus (-) to remove added music or turn off Recent Music for automatically added songs. On your Watch, open the Music app and select Library > Downloaded > Playlists or Albums > swipe left on an entry > three dots > Remove > Delete.

  • How do I play music from my Apple Watch's speaker?

    There is no option to play music directly through your Apple Watch's speaker. To listen to music from your Watch without headphones, connect it to a wireless speaker through Bluetooth.

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