How to Use Spotify on Apple Watch

With the Spotify for Apple Watch app, you don't need your iPhone to control Spotify. Skip tracks, shuffle songs, stream music, download content, and control music playback, all right from your wrist.

How to Get Spotify for Apple Watch

Getting Spotify for Apple Watch is simple. You just need a few things:

• An Apple Watch running watchOS 5 or higher. Some functions, such as offline playback for Premium users, require WatchOS 6.0 or later, with WatchOS 7.1 or later recommended.
• An iPhone that's paired to the Apple Watch.
• The Spotify app (latest) installed on the iPhone.
• A Spotify subscription that lets you use the app on the iPhone. Premium subscribers can access more features.

When you've got those things, the Spotify for Apple Watch app will be automatically installed onto your Watch (remember, Apple Watch apps are added to the Watch after they're installed on the paired iPhone). If it's not, try restarting your iPhone and it should appear on your Watch.

About Spotify on the Apple Watch

Spotify is continually improving its Apple Watch integration. Originally, the Apple Watch served as a kind of remote satellite for Spotify on your iPhone. You could play recently listed-to playlists and skip back and forth between playlists, but you couldn't browse your library from your wrist, and you needed your iPhone on hand to stream music or podcasts.

In December 2020, Spotify added the ability to stream music directly from your Apple Watch to Bluetooth headphones or speakers, which was a game-changer, allowing users to leave their phones at home if they have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

In May 2021, Spotify unveiled even more functionality for Spotify Premium users with the ability to download playlists, podcasts, and albums directly to their Watch for offline and phone-free listening even without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. You can even use your Watch to add and remove Spotify content on your iPhone.

To download content from Spotify to your Apple Watch, use your Watch to navigate to the music or podcast you want to download, then select the song or podcast, tap More (three dots), and select Download to Apple Watch.

Spotify is also integrated with Siri on the Apple Watch, so you can say, for example, "Hey Siri, play my running playlist on Spotify." Use Siri to control volume and other media settings, as well as "like" music and find out what's currently playing.

Using Spotify on Your Apple Watch

When you open the Spotify app on Apple Watch, you'll go right to the controls screen. Tap the Play/Pause button to control playback. The back and forward buttons let you move through your current playlist or album.

Swipe the screen left to right to reveal the Recently Played screen. This shows your most recently played artists, albums, and playlists. Tap one to play it. Move the Shuffle slider to on/green to shuffle songs within your current artist, album, or playlist.

How to Add a Song to Your Spotify Library From Apple Watch

Loving the song you're listening to and want to add it to your Spotify library? It's easy as just one tap. Here's what to do:

1. When the song you want to add to your library is playing, go to the main controls screen in the Spotify for Apple Watch app.

2. Tap the heart icon.

3. The heart will turn green and an onscreen message will let you know that the song has been added to your library.

4. To remove the song from your library, just tap the green heart icon so that it turns white again.

How to Play Spotify on Speakers From Apple Watch

You can use the Spotify app on your Apple Watch to choose what speakers you play Spotify through. The speakers available here are the same ones that would be available in the iPhone app, including speakers that support Apple AirPlay and Sonos speakers. To play to them, just follow these steps:

1. Open the Spotify app on your Apple Watch.

2. Tap the speaker icon in the bottom right corner.

3. A list of all available speakers appears. Use the Watch's Digital Crown to scroll through them.

4. Tap the speaker you want to play Spotify through.

5. When Spotify connects to the speaker, it turns green and returns you to the main controls screen in the Apple Watch app.

6. Play music in the Spotify app like you normally would.