Enjoy music anywhere using your watch, without needing to carry a mobile device with you. You can stream music over LTE or Wi-Fi, or you can download songs to your watch so you can listen to music while offline. Leave your phone behind, and workout to your favorite songs with YouTube Music on your wrist.
Having a premium membership allows for downloading playlists to your smartwatch or sports watch and listening to them even without an internet connection, e.g. while you are on a run. Spotify offers pretty much the same functions as downloading offline playlists to your smartphone.
Do I always need my phone to use my smartwatch? Not always, although your phone needs to be on. Android Wear features such as using your smartwatch as an activity tracker, setting alarms and checking the time work without being paired with your phone. Plus, you can easily manage many of its settings on your phone.
Yes, your smartwatch will work if you leave your phone at home. It will be able to perform basic tasks such as checking the time and streaming offline music. However, if it is connected to the internet / cellular, it'll be able to connect to your phone and receive calls and work normally.
If your watch supports Wi-Fi, it can stay connected to your phone at any distance when they're both connected to the Internet. To stay connected to your phone, turn on and connect to Wi-Fi on your watch. Not all watches can connect to Wi-Fi. Try turning on Wi-Fi on your watch.
Can a smartwatch work without a phone? Yes, as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi. Many smartwatches have built-in cellular connectivity to function independently of a phone but require a separate smartwatch data plan.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4G allows users to use a 4G connection without needing a smartphone nearby. Users can leave their phone at home and still stream music, take calls or messages, or get notifications while out and about.
Most smartwatches don't need data plans unless they're standalone smartwatches with cellular connectivity capabilities. Even then, a data plan isn't necessarily required for you to use the smartwatch. Smartwatches use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection from your phone.
Ready to experience the freedom of a wireless, phoneless, and practically weightless workout? If your smart watch has a built-in speaker, you can play music right from your watch. If it doesn't, don't worry! All you need to do is connect Bluetooth headphones.
If you want to stream Spotify without your iPhone nearby, you'll need to have a Spotify Premium subscription. Make sure your Apple Watch is connected to Wi-Fi. You must connect your Watch to the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone. If it's not, then your Spotify app won't work on your Watch.
Listen directly from your Watch
To play from your Watch without your phone, you need: Spotify Premium. Apple Watch Series 3 or later. watchOS 7.0 or above.
Best smartwatch for music: The Louder Choice
Top of the pile of the best smartwatches for music has to be the Garmin Fenix 7. It offers offline Spotify music storage and Bluetooth for headphones. That means you can go for a run, track it all, and listen to your favourite music as you do it.
Use the Music app to choose and play music on Apple Watch. You can play music stored on Apple Watch, control music on your iPhone, and stream music from Apple Music and Apple Music Voice if you're a subscriber. Note: Not all features are available in the Apple Music Voice Plan.
You will have to pay for a separate data plan for your smartwatch — about $10 per month — which is something to consider if you want to take advantage of its cellular connectivity. Many smartwatches have NFC chips inside, which means you can use them to pay for stuff, even without a phone nearby.
Most smartwatches don't require a SIM card because they connect to your phone, usually via Bluetooth, and use it to access the mobile network. However, if you're looking to equip your child with a smartwatch that supports GPS, so you can use it as a location tracker, then you'll want a SIM card.
Most of the current iterations of smart watches aren't wholly standalone devices, simply because they lack an Internet connection. So many of the watches are designed to link directly with other devices that do have Internet connectivity, namely your smartphone.
So, what does this mean for you if you have a non-Samsung phone? Essentially, you'll miss out on some of the advanced health features of the watch, but you'll still be able to receive notifications, track your workouts and sleep, and more.
In Standalone mode, the watch is not connected to the smartphone and operates as a standalone device. While in Standalone mode, the watch will only send and receive notifications from the Watch phone number and will have no access to Watch manager functions.
Many people use their smartwatches to track their health, or to manage emails, texts and phone calls without the need to carry around their mobile phones. If you and your phone have parted ways, there's even a Find My Phone function built into Galaxy smartwatches to help you find it again.
They are paired usually by Bluetooth with a smartphone. Some of these only work with a phone that runs the same mobile operating system; others use a unique watch OS, or otherwise are able to work with most smartphones. Paired, the watch may function as a remote to the phone.
Your smartwatch is dependent on your smartphone in order for most of the apps and features to operate correctly. However, the connection to Wi-Fi can be via your smartphone, or the smartwatch can connect directly to Wi-Fi independently. Your smartwatch can receive emails without being connected to a smartphone.