With the release of a new update to its WearOS smartwatch platform, Google allows wearable devices to access YouTube Music without a smartphone. ‌
You can connect via WiFi or even LTE if your watch supports it.
Previously, YouTube Music only allowed WearOS devices to download music offline into the device’s internal storage. ‌
In this case, one can listen while offline without connecting ‌to‌‌ ‌‌a‌‌ ‌‌phone. ‌
Nevertheless, the new version of the watch can stream music without connecting to a ‌phone. WearOS watches with this feature are ideal for people who use them while exercising, walking, or running without carrying their phones. ‌
YouTube Music Premium will now offer users access to over 80 million tracks. Furthermore, the users can access thousands of playlists without sticking to their smartphones. However, the functionality is unavailable on an iOS phone paired‌ ‌with‌ ‌your‌ ‌watch.
YouTube Music for WearOS: Additional Features
In addition to the Smart Download feature, YouTube Music for WearOS will automatically refresh songs on your smartwatch when you connect your device to the Internet.
However,‌ ‌it is essential to note that you will require an LTE-enabled watch and a mobile data connection to stream music while running outside or for a similar purpose. Consequently, you will be restricted to using offline music or WiFi networks that are accessible near you.
A blog post by Google also stated that users could add a tile for YouTube Music to their watches. ‌
In addition, this‌ ‌tile‌ ‌will‌ ‌provide users access to ‌recently played‌ ‌music.Â
Since Samsung introduced the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup last summer, YouTube Music has not been available on Wear OS devices. This feature was limited to Wear OS 3. However, a month later, Google released Wear OS 2 watches app powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 processors. However, it was only available for offline use. The latest update effectively closes the loop, making YouTube Music a full-featured music streaming application for smartwatches.
Written by Nikiya Biggs
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