How to Listen to Music on Apple Watch

You can listen to music on the Apple Watch, but only from select sources. This is what you need to know about listening to music on the Apple Watch. While you can control music playing from apps on your iPhone with the Apple Watch, you cannot play Spotify or Pandora on your Apple Watch.

If you want to run with the Apple Watch, and leave your iPhone at home, you should plan on syncing your workout playlists to the Apple Watch or subscribing to Apple Music.

How to Listen to Music on the Apple Watch

This is how to listen to music on your Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch 3 can stream Apple Music over WiFi or LTE. You cannot stream music on other Apple Watch models, and you cannot stream from any third party apps. All Apple Watch models can control the music on your iPhone or store music locally.

If you want to leave your iPhone at home and listen to music on the Apple Watch, you need to use Apple Music or sync playlists to the Apple Watch ahead of time. You also need bluetooth headphones to pair to the Apple Watch to listen.

How to Sync Music to the Apple Watch

You need to have the Apple Watch charger handy to sync music to the watch, and you will likely want to make playlists, though it is possible to sync albums. You can sync music you bought from Apple, music you ripped or bought and added to the iPhone or playlists from Apple Music.

Sync music to your Apple Watch to listen without your iPhone.

1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. On the My Watch Screen scroll and then tap on Music.
3. Now tap on Add Music.
4. Pick the playlists, albums or compilations you want to add.
5. Put your Apple Watch on the Charger.
6. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on and the Apple Watch is connected.

Now you can wait while the music syncs to the Apple Watch. You may need to download the music to your iPhone first for a sync to work. You can’t sync audiobooks or podcasts to the Apple Watch.

You’ll see the music in the Playlists & Albums section. You can also turn off your iPhone, pair headphones to your Apple Watch and test the playlist to make sure it is working before you head out for a run. You can also adjust

Set a Workout playlist to automatically start when you start a workout.

If you always listen to the same playlist when you workout. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, scroll down and tap on Workout. Then tap on Workout Playlist to choose your music. The next time you start a workout, the playlist will automatically start playing.

How to Listen to Apple Music on the Apple Watch

It’s even easier to listen to Apple Music on the Apple Watch. If you are a subscriber and you own the Apple Watch 3, you just need a WiFi or LTE connection and you can stream your Apple Music to the watch.

1. Open the Music app on the Apple Watch.
2. Scroll up and tap on Library.
3. Pick the music you want to listen to.

You can listen to playlists, albums, music and radio stations with this method. You can also use Siri on the Apple Watch 3 to listen to get the music you want on your Apple Watch going.

How to Control Music on Your iPhone With the Apple Watch

Use the Now Playing option to control music playing on your iPhone with your Apple Watch.

If you just want to be able to control the music you are listening to on the iPhone by looking at your wrist, you can use Now Playing.

Start listening to the music you want on your iPhone. This works with Apple Music, Spotify and other music apps.

Open the music app on your Apple Watch and then you can control playback, volume and where it is playing.

For more on what the Apple Watch can do, check out our list of 50 exciting things the Apple Watch can do.

Answer Calls on the Apple Watch

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You can answer a call on your Apple Watch using it as a small Bluetooth speakerphone. You only want to use this for shorter calls because the audio quality isn't as good as when you are talking on speakerphone on your iPhone.  The Apple Watch only allows you to answer your calls on Speakerphone, so you won't want to use this all the time. It is very handy when you are working on a project or busy with your hands. Definitely be conscious of where you are taking calls. If you wouldn't talk on speakerphone, you shouldn't talk on your Apple Watch. If you buy the new Apple Watch with LTE, you can even make calls on the Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby. This requires adding the watch to your plan for $10 a month. You cannot answer a FaceTime video call on the Apple Watch.

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