Can you play Amazon Music on a smartwatch?
Smartwatches have quickly become a popular way to listen to music on the go without needing to carry a smartphone. Many smartwatches now allow you to sync music from streaming services like Amazon Music for offline listening. With a good pair of Bluetooth headphones, you can enjoy ad-free tunes right from your wrist.
Overall, streaming services like Amazon Music are growing rapidly in popularity for listening to music on smartwatches. A recent survey showed that over 75% of smartwatch owners stream music, and Amazon Music is usually in the top apps supported. Setting up Amazon Music on a compatible smartwatch takes just a few minutes, allowing you to access playlists, stations, and more even when you don’t have your phone.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using Amazon Music on a smartwatch. We’ll look at setup, playback, offline listening, and tips for getting the most out of Amazon Music on your wrist.
Amazon Music Overview
Amazon Music is a music streaming service developed by Amazon that offers users access to millions of songs and thousands of expert-programmed playlists and stations (https://zipdo.co/statistics/amazon-music/). The service comes in three tiers:
- Amazon Music Free – A free ad-supported tier that provides access to top playlists and stations.
- Amazon Music Unlimited – A premium subscription service with over 50 million songs for $7.99/month for Prime members.
- Amazon Music HD – A high-definition tier with over 50 million songs in HD and millions in Ultra HD, priced at $9.99/month for Prime members.
Some key features of Amazon Music include:
- Ad-free listening for paid subscribers.
- Offline listening to download music.
- Voice commands with Alexa to request songs.
- Curated playlists and stations.
- Access across devices like smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, etc.
Overall, Amazon Music provides a robust on-demand streaming catalog and discovery features to help users find music they love (https://gitnux.org/amazon-music-statistics/). The service has grown rapidly in recent years and now has over 55 million users worldwide.
Smartwatch Compatibility
The Amazon Music app is compatible with select smartwatches from brands like Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, and Samsung among others. Whether a smartwatch can support Amazon Music depends on if it has onboard storage for music downloads or if it allows for music playback controls when paired with a smartphone.
Some popular smartwatch models that are compatible with the Amazon Music app include:
– Apple Watch Series 3 and later (source)
– Samsung Galaxy Watch models (source)
– Fitbit Sense and Versa models (source)
– Garmin vívoactive and Forerunner series (source)
In general, smartwatches running Wear OS by Google or watchOS support downloading music from Amazon for offline listening. Smartwatches with LTE connectivity can also stream music directly without a paired phone nearby. It’s best to check your specific model’s specs to confirm compatibility.
How to Set Up Amazon Music on Smartwatch
Setting up Amazon Music on your compatible smartwatch is a straightforward process. Here is a step-by-step guide:
1. Make sure your smartwatch is compatible with Amazon Music. Popular models like the Fossil Gen 6 and Garmin epix allow you to install the Amazon Music app and connect it to your account.
2. Download the Amazon Music app on your paired smartphone from the App Store or Google Play Store if you don’t already have it.
3. Open the app on your smartphone and log into your Amazon account.
4. On your smartwatch, find and open the Amazon Music app from the app menu.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to link your smartwatch app to the same Amazon account.
6. Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on both devices to allow connectivity.
7. You can now access your Amazon Music library, playlists, and stations directly on your smartwatch.
8. To download music for offline listening, tap the “Download” icon within playlists or albums. Downloads will transfer from your phone to watch.
With just a few simple steps, you can start enjoying and controlling Amazon Music hands-free using your smartwatch. The ability to download playlists for offline listening makes it a convenient option for activities like running without needing your phone.
Playing Music and Downloads
Once you have the Amazon Music app set up on your compatible smartwatch, you can start playing music directly from your wrist. The app gives you full control to browse and play songs, albums, playlists, and stations from your Amazon Music library (1).
You can shuffle play songs or select specific tracks to play. Basic playback controls like play/pause, next/previous track, volume adjustment, and liking songs are available right on your smartwatch screen (2). This allows you to listen and control your music hands-free without needing to take out your phone.
In addition to streaming, you can also download songs, albums, and playlists to your smartwatch for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. Downloads are managed directly through the watch app. Just toggle download on your favorite playlists and tracks for access anytime.
Offline Listening
One of the key benefits of Amazon Music is the ability to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. This is especially useful for listening on a smartwatch when you are away from WiFi.
To download music for offline listening on your smartwatch:
- Open the Amazon Music app on your phone and select the playlist, album, or songs you want to download. Tap the “More Options” menu and select “Download”. (Source)
- The selected music will download to your phone’s storage. It may take some time depending on the amount of music.
- Once downloaded, the music will be available for offline listening in the Amazon Music app on both your phone and synced smartwatch.
- You can see your downloaded music in the “On Device” section of the Amazon Music app.
With downloads synced to your smartwatch, you’ll be able to listen to music through your Bluetooth headphones or speakers even when you don’t have an internet connection. This provides seamless listening while exercising, commuting, or traveling without eating into your mobile data.
Voice Controls
One of the most convenient ways to control music playback on your smartwatch is through voice commands using Alexa. The Alexa voice assistant is integrated into many smartwatches including Fitbit and Garmin devices. You can use natural language to ask Alexa to play music from Amazon Music or other services.
Some example voice commands include:
- “Alexa, play relaxing music on Amazon Music”
- “Alexa, shuffle my workout playlist on Amazon Music”
- “Alexa, play the top hits on Amazon Music”
- “Alexa, next song”
- “Alexa, turn it up”
- “Alexa, pause the music”
Alexa allows you to control music playback hands-free without needing to touch your smartwatch screen or smartphone. You can request specific songs, artists, playlists, genres or stations. Alexa can also search Amazon Music to play music based on lyrics, moods, activities, decades and more. It provides a natural voice experience to find and listen to music effortlessly.[1]
One limitation is that Alexa voice controls may not work fully when your smartphone is not connected via Bluetooth. But it enables quick music playback commands as long as your smartwatch has an internet connection.[2]
Music Discovery and Playlists
One of the key benefits of using Amazon Music on a smartwatch is the ability to browse, discover, and save music directly on your wrist. With the Amazon Music app installed, you can access your full music library as well as customized playlists you’ve created. This allows you to explore new artists and songs even when you don’t have your phone with you.
Amazon Music makes it easy to find new music recommendations based on your listening history and preferences. The app’s home screen highlights recommended playlists and stations curated just for you. You can browse through these suggestions directly on the smartwatch and tap to start playing anything that catches your interest.
Saving music for offline listening is also simple with Amazon Music. According to Amazon’s support site, Amazon Music Unlimited members can download individual songs, albums, and playlists by tapping the “Download” button on any listing [1]. Downloads are then automatically saved right on your smartwatch so you can listen without an internet connection.
With Amazon Music’s robust music discovery features optimized for smartwatches, you’ll always have instant access to new tunes and custom playlists right from your wrist.
Audio Quality and Settings
Amazon Music offers several audio quality options depending on your subscription plan. With a standard Amazon Music subscription, you can stream songs in “standard quality” up to 320kbps. Amazon Music Unlimited upgrades you to access to “high quality” audio up to 850kbps for HD streaming (Amazon Music Unlimited review).
For Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers, Ultra HD music is available for select songs at up to 3730kbps bitrate, providing higher than CD-quality audio. Ultra HD and other high resolution audio requires compatible equipment like headphones and DACs to take advantage of the enhanced fidelity and detail (How Do I Know the Audio Quality of Content I Am Listening …).
In your Amazon Music app settings, you can customize the default streaming audio quality under “Audio Quality for Streaming.” Choices include Best Available, High, Standard, and Data Saver mode. This allows you to set your preferred audio quality level for streaming based on your listening needs and connectivity.
Amazon Music Unlimited also provides spatial audio options like Dolby Atmos Music and 360 Reality Audio for a more immersive listening experience on supported devices. You can enable these modes in your Amazon Music app settings as available.
Tips for Using Amazon Music on Smartwatches
Here are some tips for getting the best experience using Amazon Music on your smartwatch:
Choose a smartwatch with enough storage space to download music for offline listening. Many smartwatches have 4GB or more storage which allows you to save hundreds of songs locally on your watch (source).
Connect your smartwatch to WiFi whenever possible to allow for faster music downloading and updating of your library. Downloading over LTE can be slow and use more battery life.
Make sure to enable offline listening in the Amazon Music app settings on your watch. This allows you to listen to downloaded music even when you don’t have an internet connection.
Take advantage of Amazon Music playlists and stations that are personalized for you. These can help you discover new music suited to your tastes.
Use Alexa voice commands to control music playback hands-free. You can ask Alexa to play songs, artists, playlists and more.
Switch on AutoPlay to have similar songs automatically play after the current track ends so you don’t have to keep manually selecting songs.
Adjust audio settings like EQ to optimize sound quality based on different earbuds or your listening environment.
Frequently charge your smartwatch to ensure you don’t run out of battery life during your workout or on the go.