Pandora Apple Watch App Now Works Without iPhone

Stream your tunes to your wrist with a Wi-Fi or cellular connection

by
Rob LeFebvre
Rob LeFebvre
Senior News Editor
Rob LeFebvre has been a freelance technology writer for 10 years and an educator for 20. His articles have appeared in 148Apps, Cult of Mac, Engadget, and many others.
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Rob LeFebvre
Published February 14, 2020
Updated February 14, 2020 03:51PM EST

What: Pandora’s updated Apple Watch app can now stream music and podcasts to your wrist without a connection to your iPhone.

How: The app uses cellular or Wi-Fi connections to stream directly to the Apple Watch.

Why Do You Care: Pandora is the first non-Apple streaming music app that no longer needs to tether to an iPhone to stream audio to Apple Watch.

Pandora app on Apple Watch
Lifewire / Rob LeFebvre

Pandora just leapfrogged the competition, bringing an update to its Apple Watch app that lets you stream directly to your wrist without a tethered iPhone.

This is the first non-Apple app that can do this on the Apple Watch; Apple Music and Podcasts can use a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, but Spotify and Deezer still need the iPhone for their Apple Watch apps to work. As Engadget notes, YouTube Music and Tidal don’t even have an Apple Watch app.

To make sure you have the latest update, head to the Apple Watch App Store and search for Pandora. Download the latest if you don’t yet have it on your Apple Watch, or tap Update if you do and it hasn’t been updated yet.

You’ll see a new interface that lets you Search or tap through to your Playlists and Podcasts. You can then choose any song you like (with a Premium account) or play through your playlist, no iPhone needed.

Three Pandora Apple Watch app screens showing the new interface

Now if you hit the gym or take some time away from your iPhone, you can still listen to Pandora right on your own wrist.