How to use the Music app on Apple Watch

The Apple Watch has a Music app on it. But, it isn't very much like the Music app on your iPhone. You can access music in your iTunes library and playlists, listen to Beats 1 radio, and control playback on your iPhone. It's not meant to be a full Music app. But, if you understand how to use it, you can really make it work for you. Here's how.

How to play music from your iPhone on Apple Watch

If you just want to get the party started and know what you've got stored on your iPhone, you can drop a beat fast by using the Music app on Apple Watch without having to take your device out of your pocket.

1. Press the Digital Crown to select the Home screen.
2. Tap the Music app.
3. Scroll up and tap the device icon at the top of the screen to stream music from your iPhone.

4. Tap a category to select music from:

   • Tap Now Playing to see what is currently playing on your iPhone.
   • Tap Quick Play to start playing a random song. This feature is available for Apple Music subscribers.
   • Tap Beats 1 to listen to Beats 1 live.
   • Tap My Music to browse artists in your iTunes library.
     1. Select an artist to browse albums and songs.
     2. Force Touch the Apple Watch screen and tap Library View to switch to Album or Song view.

   • Tap Playlists to listen to a playlist on your iPhone.

     

Tap your selection to begin playing music from your iPhone.

How to use the playback controls on Apple Watch to control music that is playing on iPhone

While music is playing on your iPhone, you can use your Apple Watch to control playback. So, if you want to skip a song, turn up the volume, shuffle, or repeat, you can do so right from your wrist.

1. Start playing music on your iPhone.
2. Press the Digital Crown to select the Home screen.
3. Tap the Music app.
4. Tap Now Playing.

5. Control music the following ways:

   • Tap Pause to pause music and Play to play it.
   • Tap the back arrows to start a song from the beginning.
   • Double-tap the back arrows to play the previous song again.
   • Tap the forward arrows to skip to the next song.
   • Tap the Heart to "like" a song.
   • Tap the audio icon to adjust the volume. You can also turn the Digital Crown.
   • Tap the Plus (+) icon to add a song to your iTunes library.

   • Force Touch the screen to call up the option to shuffle, repeat, play from another source, or stream to Airplay.

     

How to play music directly on Apple Watch

If you have Bluetooth headphones paired to your Apple Watch, you can listen to music directly from your wrist worn device without needing to bring your iPhone with you. You can only sync one playlist at a time and audiobooks and podcasts don't work.

1. Place your Apple Watch on its charger. You cannot sync a playlist unless the Apple Watch is on the charger.
2. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app.

3. Scroll down and tap Music.

   

4. Tap Synced Playlist.

5. Select a playlist.

   

6. Wait for the entire playlist to sync.
7. Remove your Apple Watch from the charger.

How to change the playlist limit on Apple Watch

You may only be able to sync one playlist at at time on Apple Watch, but you can make that playlist up to 2 GB or 250 songs if you want. You can change the limit of music you can store on your Apple Watch if you worry about overdoing it.

1. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app.

2. Scroll down and tap Music.

   

3. Tap Playlist Limit.
4. Tap Storage to set a storage limit.
5. Tap the maximum amount of storage you want to sync to your Apple Watch.
6. Tap Songs to set a song limit.

7. Tap the maximum number of songs you want to sync to your Apple Watch.

   

Any Questions?

Is there anything else about the Music app on Apple Watch that you'd like to know about? Let us know in the comments