How to Download Spotify Songs to Apple Watch Instead of Streaming Them
Spotify has finally introduced what we once called the “Holy Grail of Smartphone Streaming” – the ability to download songs to your watch so you can listen to them even when your phone is at home and you’re running through the woods without data. connection. This feature is currently rolling out, although you’ll need a Spotify Premium account to use it.
By the way, to play any music from Apple Watch, you need to connect Bluetooth headphones to the watch (they will not play through the watch speakers). To pair your Bluetooth headphones, if you haven’t already, open the Settings app on your watch, tap Bluetooth, and activate pairing mode on your device. Once connected, you can start listening to music or podcasts right from your watch with apps that support it. (For example, Apple Music or Audible.)
How to Download Spotify Playlists to Apple Watch
- Open Spotify on your phone.
- Select a playlist. (You cannot download individual tracks.)
- Tap three dots to open the menu; one of the options should be “Download to this device” (that is, to your phone), and the other should be “Download to Apple Watch”.
- On Apple Watch, open the Spotify app.
- Tap the phone-like rectangle; it allows you to decide where you are listening from. Choose your watch.
This last step matters because the Spotify Apple Watch app can act as a remote for your phone. Choosing a watch means that music will actually play from your watch and you can leave your phone at home. Just make sure your music is fully loaded before you go.
You can swipe from the Spotify home screen in the app up to what they call the Spotify “home” screen, which displays your library and recently played tracks. There is now an option labeled “Downloads” and from there you can select the downloaded playlist to listen to.
How much music can I download to my Apple Watch?
Spotify says downloads are limited to 50 tracks per playlist, but you can download as many playlists as you have space. They estimate that a watch can usually hold 10 hours of audio, depending on what else you might have saved on it.