Play tunes and podcasts from your wrist.
With each successive update, the Apple Watch becomes even more useful. But to get the most out of it, you need to load it up with the right apps. So we collected the best music and audio programs for your smartwatch.
You can disable auto-launch from the iPhone or the Apple Watch. From the iPhone, go to the Watch app, find the General section from the My Watch tab, look for Wake Screen, and toggle Auto-launch.
The wearable actually comes with a default Music app, which lets you control your phone's audio playback from your wrist (at least when that audio is running on Apple's native apps). But these additional apps can do even more than that: They give you easy access to your tunes, help you identify songs, organize your podcasts, and more. To play around with them, just install them on your iPhone, and companion versions will appear on your Apple Watch.
This app lets you start and stop Spotify music from your wrist, hop between recent playlists, jump forward or backward in time on the current track (very useful when you're listening to podcasts), and mark a favorite song by tapping the heart icon. Unfortunately, the current version of the app doesn't let you sync your music to your watch, so you can't leave your iPhone behind when you head off on a jog. However, Spotify says this feature is coming soon.
Spotify for iOS, free or $10 per month for a subscription
This app lets your wearable control playback on your phone's Deezer app. Through it, you can also mark tracks as favorites, jump between existing playlists, turn shuffle on and off, and access Deezer Flow—that's the personalized, endless radio station that the service builds based on your listening history. Again, you can't sync tracks to the Apple Watch itself, but this may appear in a future app update. For the time being though, you'll still have to bring your iPhone along when you want to listen to your music.
Deezer for iOS, free or $10 per month for a subscription
The app is smart enough to display lyrics synced to the music your phone happens to be playing, whether in the default Music app or in Spotify. Even better, it can identify music playing around you, which makes it perfect for nights out, weddings, and road trips. The text shows up clear and legible on the Apple Watch display, and you don't have to lift a finger as the pages automatically update.
Musixmatch for iOS, free or $3 per month for the premium plan
For example, if you're blasting some tunes through the VLC program on your laptop, then the wearable app lets you start and stop playback, adjust the volume, view details of whatever song is currently playing (in case you've forgotten an artist or album name), or pick another playlist. In fact, you can browse through your entire media library, video and music tracks alike, from your wrist. As with all the software released under the VLC umbrella, this app is free and open source.
VLC Mobile for iOS, free
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From your wrist, you can start and stop playback, quickly jump forward or backward in the current stream, add a station to your favorites, or switch to a different station you've recently listened to. You can also access podcasts through the app.
TuneIn Radio for iOS, free or $10 per month for the premium plan
The tune-recognizing app is a breeze to use on mobile, and the Apple Watch app that comes with it lets you launch Shazam and identify songs in seconds. Swipe up, and your previous Shazam searches appear. With another tap, you can send identified tracks to the app on your iPhone, where you can watch associated videos, get more information on a track, and even purchase that song from iTunes.
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Shazam for iOS, free
That quality carries over to Overcast's Apple Watch companion app. If you're listening to podcasts on your phone, your smartwatch can start and stop them. And Overcast also lets you sync audio to the Apple Watch itself, which means you can enjoy your podcasts on a morning walk while leaving your phone behind. On top of that, the wearable app includes a bunch of other cool features, such as playback control, volume adjustment, and the ability to skip forward or backward in an episode.
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Overcast for iOS, free or $10 per month for an ad-free version