So you just got a shiny new Apple Watch and want to take your music with you on the go without lugging your phone around. With the latest WatchOS versions, you can now stream music and podcasts directly from your wrist to Bluetooth headphones, no iPhone required!
But with so many streaming services to choose from, how do you pick the right one? Do you want ad-free listening? Offline playback? Radio stations? Support for lossless audio? I‘ve tested and compared the top options to help you decide.
Here are my picks for the 10 best music streaming apps for Apple Watch along with their key features and differences.
1. Apple Music
Price: $9.99/month individual, $14.99/month family
Key Features:
- Seamless integration with Apple ecosystem
- 75+ million song catalog
- Download playlists for offline listening
- Lossless audio support
- Listen to music videos
- Excellent recommendations and curated playlists
- Share music and playlists with friends
- Siri support
As you‘d expect, Apple‘s own music service integrates the most seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod. From browsing playlists to searching artists, it offers the most Watch-friendly interface.
You can even ask Siri to play music hands-free. Other perks are downloading playlists for offline listening, following friends to share music, listening to music videos synced from your phone, and unlocking Spatial Audio and Lossless tracks. It‘s slightly pricier but justified for Apple users wanting the best experience.
2. Spotify
Price: Free with ads, $9.99/month premium
Key Features:
- 82 million track catalog
- Millions of playlists and podcasts
- Downloads for offline listening
- Enhanced sound quality options
- Share and collaborate on playlists
- Daily personalized recommendations
- Sleek easy-to-use interface
- Cross-platform support
As the world‘s most popular music service boasting over 430 million users, Spotify offers an unbeatable song selection including plenty of Apple Music exclusives. The Apple Watch app lets you browse playlists, view recently played tracks, and control playback entirely from your wrist.
While not as deeply integrated with Apple devices, Spotify connects better for cross-platform flexibility across phones, tablets, consoles, speakers, TVs, and cars. Lossless CD-quality streams are now an option along with highly personalized music discovery tailored to your tastes. For the ultimate portable jukebox, download playlists to your watch for phone-free listening.
3. Pandora
Price: Free with ads, $4.99/month for Pandora Plus
Key Features:
- Innovative Music Genome Project algorithm
- Creates personalized stations from songs/artists
- Download up to 4 stations for offline listening
- Podcast recommendations
- Ad-free and unlimited skips (Pandora Plus only)
Rather than just playing albums or songs, Pandora pioneered personalized internet "radio stations" powered by advanced AI matching over 1000 musical attributes. It learns your tastes to serve unlimited tailored playlists requiring minimal input.
The Apple Watch app lets you create new stations, give feedback to tune recommendations, and control playback. For true portability, Pandora Plus subscribers can download 3 or 4 favorite stations to their watch for offline listening and unlimited skips. If you like music that caters itself specifically to your preferences, Pandora brilliantly fulfills that need.
4. Amazon Music
Price: Free with ads, $7.99/month for Prime members, $9.99/month for Amazon Music Unlimited
Key Features:
- 90 million song catalog
- HD and Ultra HD options
- Download playlists for offline listening
- Podcast support
- Voice control with Alexa
- Prime member discounts
Included with a Prime subscription or available as Music Unlimited, Amazon Music grants access to a vast library of songs, playlists and stations. Support for lossless quality audio makes this a great pick for audiophiles valuing sound quality.
The Apple Watch app enables Prime members to download playlists for phone-free listening. You can also control playback, shuffle songs, and tune stations directly from the watch. Alexa voice assistant integration allows handy hands-free voice controls. For Prime subscribers or Echo device owners, Amazon Music neatly rounds out the ecosystem.
5. YouTube Music
Price: Free with ads, $9.99/month for YouTube Music Premium
Key Features:
- Expansive catalog of official songs, albums, live performances and more
- Download playlists for offline listening
- Ad-free and background listening
- Personalized recommendations
- Listen to music videos synced from your phone
As a fusion of Google Play Music and YouTube, YouTube Music offers unique advantages for music and video. It spans not just official releases but remixes, covers, and live concert footage. Ad-free Premium unlocks background listening, offline downloads, and audio-only tracks.
The Apple Watch app delivers quick access to recently played songs, playlists, and recommendations. You can also control playback and volume entirely from the small screen. For those who enjoy watching music videos, Premium allows playing synced visuals from your phone on the move.
6. Tidal
Price: $9.99/month for Premium, $19.99/month for HiFi
Key Features:
- CD-quality lossless audio
- 25 million+ track catalog
- Enhanced search and discovery
- Download playlists for offline listening
- Track upcoming concerts
- Get artist commentaries on songs
Positioning itself as a premium music service for discerning ears, Tidal focuses on sound quality and music discovery versus just catering to mass-market tastes. Alongside standard audio, it offers uncompressed 1411kbps lossless CD-quality streams for Premium subscribers seeking the very best fidelity.
Integrating with the Apple Watch, the app enables you to directly control songs, playlists, downloads and more from the mini screen. Support for storing playlists offline coupled with high-res audio makes this a smart pick for audiophiles wanting crisp portable sound.
7. SoundCloud
Price: Free with ads, $4.99/month for SoundCloud Go+
Key Features:
- Massive 200 million track catalog
- Listen to emerging and independent artists
- Ad-free and offline listening
- Original singles, EPs and podcasts
- Continuous mixes
- Community of creators
Whereas major services focus primarily on topping charts, SoundCloud spotlights rising talent and lesser-known music often overlooked elsewhere. With a huge platform nurturing independent artists, it‘s a hotbed for discovering fresh new tracks across vastly diverse genres.
For $4.99/month, SoundCloud Go+ removes ads plus unlocks saving songs offline. The Apple Watch app provides quick access to your playlists, likes, stations and more. As a prime spot to find hidden gems either from pro creators or bedroom talent, SoundCloud is worth tuning into.
8. Audible
Price: $14.95/month for 1 audiobook credit
Key Features:
- All-you-can-listen audiobooks
- Podcasts, theatrical performances and more
- Car mode for safe driving
- Sleep timer option
- Whispersync cross-device playback
- Globalaudiobook exclusives
Although not purely music, Audible by Amazon remains a top listening choice fordigesting audiobooks on the move. One credit per month provides unlimited access to any title including bestsellers, classics, podcasts, theater shows and more.
Syncing wirelessly with the Apple Watch, you can quickly play or pause books, set sleep timers before dozing off, and safely control playback through car mode. For avid readers wanting to enjoy the convenience of audiobooks anywhere untethered from a phone, Audible perfectly fits that need.
9. iHeartRadio
Price: Free
Key Features:
- 20 million songs and podcasts
- Over 1000 live radio stations
- Create custom artist stations
- Set alarms to wake up to radio or music
- Sleep timer for falling asleep to favorite stations
With iHeartRadio, you gain access to a vast catalog combining music, podcasts and live radio spanning nearly every genre. As well as playing songs on-demand, you can tune into radio stations broadcasting across the globe in pop, rock, hip hop, classical and more categories.
Handily controllable through Apple Watch, it lets you set sleep timers, alarms, quickly skip tracks or radio channels, adjust volume – everything needed for an handy bedside and portable player. For free access to a gargantuan jukebox, iHeartRadio is hard to beat.
10. Napster
Price: Free, $9.99 per month for Napster Premier
Key Features:
- 90 million song catalog
- HiFi lossless streaming
- Save songs for offline listening
- Ad-free music
- Integrated with latest smart devices
- Unlimited skips
Offering a free tier and paid Napster Premier at a very reasonable $9.99 monthly, Napster grants access to another extensive library boosted by major and indie labels. Premier subscribers unlock perks like lossless CD-quality audio, saving songs offline, unlimited track skipping, and cutting out disruptive ads altogether.
Controlling playback, queuing songs, tuning favorite albums or stations all work smoothly through the Apple Watch interface. For the price, Napster Premier supplies fantastic functionality and audio quality in a neatly wearable package.
While all services outlined above offer free ad-supported listening on phones, tablets and computers, offline download and audio quality privileges are often reserved for paid subscribers.
Here‘s an at-a-glance comparison of key differences in features between free and paid plans on Apple Watch:
| Free Plan | Paid Subscription | |
|---|---|---|
| Offline Listening | Limited offline playlists | Unlimited song/playlist downloads |
| Audio Quality | Standard quality streams | Enhanced or lossless CD-quality audio |
| Ads | Interruptive audio/visual ads | Ad-free uninterrupted listening |
| On-Demand Songs | Shuffle only or radio-style stations | Full catalog of songs on-demand |
| Skips Per Hour | Limited (Pandora) | Unlimited skips |
| Wrist Control | Playback, volume, skip track | Offline library management |
Based on how you plan to listen on your Apple Watch, deciding between free or paid tiers depends on your needs:
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For occasional casual listening, free ad-supported plans from Spotify, Pandora or Amazon Music often suffice. Enjoy shuffle play playlists, radio-style stations and basic remote controls.
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For regular daily listening, paid subscriptions prove worthwhile for perks like creating offline playlists on your watch for phone-free sessions, enjoying high resolution lossless audio, and unlimited ad-free music tailored to your tastes. Spotify and Apple Music excel here.
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For listening offline away from your phone, download playlists, albums or stations from supporting apps like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora or Amazon Music depending on where your library is. This keeps the music flowing anywhere even without connectivity.
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For audiophiles wanting premium sound quality, paid HiFi options from Amazon Music HD, Tidal or Napster grant lossless CD-quality streams for your high-end headphones.
Ultimately decide based on your budget, listening habits, song library source, and audio quality preferences. Many services offer 1-month free trials for risk-free testing.
Here are some handy pro tips for streaming music successfully from your Apple Watch regardless of which service you select:
1. Ensure Your Watch Runs watchOS 6 or Later
To stream music directly through LTE or WiFi connectivity, you need Apple Watch Series 3 or later running at least watchOS 6 firmware. Upgrading to watchOS 8 is recommended for best speed and features. Check Settings > General > About on your watch to verify.
2. Check You Have an Active WiFi or Cellular Connection
Without an internet connection whether through WiFi or mobile data plan, you cannot directly stream content. If lacking, you must tether Bluetooth to a phone with internet access. Confirm active data indicated by cloud icon with bars or WiFi logo showing in status bar.
3. Download Playlists for Offline Listening When Possible
Don‘t rely entirely on streaming which eats battery life rapidly. Pre-save playlists, albums or stations to your watch through supporting apps for longer offline listening sessions away from WiFi/LTE signals.
4. Manage Cellular Data Usage Through iPhone
If using a cellular plan with your Apple Watch, keep close eye on data consumption under the Watch app. Streaming songs rapidly depletes 100-200MB hourly. Throttle quality under mobile settings to cap usage if needed.
5. Use AirPods or Bluetooth Headphones
For true wireless freedom, always pair Bluetooth headphones to your watch. AirPods sync instantly. This avoids dangling wires from wired earbuds plugged into the watch during workouts. Powerful Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity enables straying further from the watch.
I hope this run down of the best Apple Watch music apps coupled with tips helps you decide the right streaming service for your personal listening needs. With the ability to directly control playlists and stations from Apple Watch without iPhone tethering, we now have amazing musical freedom on our wrists!
Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy listening!
