Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Google is finally bringing YouTube Music to older Wear OS watches

By

Google earlier this year brought the YouTube Music app to Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic watches which both run Wear OS 3. It is now doing the same to older Wear OS watches running Wear OS 2. Not all watches will get it at immediately, though. The company will deliver it first to a select few Android smartwatches, before then rolling it out to more devices “later this year” via the Google Play Store.

The initial app rollout will come sometime this week, and it’ll hit the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch (Michael Kors Access 6 version included), the Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, the TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE, and the TicWatch E3. While Google doesn’t exactly say it, these watches are all more powerful Snapdragon Wear 4100 watches. It’s possible the company still needs more time to optimize the app for older Wear OS watches which typically have much weaker hardware.

Recommended Videos

As for the YouTube Music app itself, it appears to be the same app that’s currently available for Wear OS 3. Users can expect to stream music ad-free, listen to curated playlists, or take their own playlists and albums offline via YouTube’s Smart Downloads feature.

While Google may have launched a new version of Wear OS, most people aren’t going to see it for a very long time. The company could have won Samsung over with a Wear OS 3 exclusivity period, after which other Wear OS watchmakers will be able to load the device onto their devices. This is why Google is supporting older Wear OS versions as well as the new ones, rather than locking its newest features behind a new version update. Other than YouTube Music, Google also brought updates to older products including Gboard, the Google Play app, Google Messages, and Google Pay just over a month ago.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

YouTube Music was especially needed on Wear OS. While Google has previously supported Google Play Music on its watch platform, killing off the service without a replacement had left a gap in the experience. Although Spotify existed, the app did not support offline playback until a few weeks ago. Google’s support may have been late, but (to resort to cliche) it’s better late than never.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Michael Allison
Michael Allison
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A UK-based tech journalist for Digital Trends, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a…
Google is working on a much-needed Gemini feature
Google Pixel 8a showing Gemini Nano.

Last month, Google rolled out a YouTube Music extension for Gemini. Now, it appears that Spotify is the next music streaming service to see Gemini support in the near future.

What does the YouTube Music extension in Gemini do, exactly? Essentially, you can use it to find music, start radio stations, and more, all through the Google Gemini AI chatbot experience. With Spotify integration coming soon, it's expected to work in a similar fashion.

Read more
Wear OS 5 is the future of Android smartwatches. Here’s what’s new
A person wearing the Google Pixel Watch 2.

With the Google I/O 2024 opening keynote having come and gone yesterday, showcasing Google’s various AI initiatives with Gemini AI and more, news about the Wear OS took second fiddle -- until now. After revealing that Wear OS grew its user base by 40% in 2023, Google has just announced Wear OS 5, along with a slew of new watch face updates and health-tracking features.

Here’s what’s new.
Wear OS 5

Read more
The OnePlus Watch 2 is the Wear OS smartwatch I’ve been waiting for
Person wearing OnePlus Watch 2 with a green strap on their left wrist.

The OnePlus Watch 2 -- the company's first Wear OS watch -- has entered a market that Samsung dominates. However, OnePlus' popularity as a smartphone brand can be expected to bring small, yet meaningful changes that benefit not only OnePlus users, but all of the Wear OS segment in general.

For almost a decade, Samsung and Apple have predominantly been the default options if you want a smartwatch that is actually useful and goes beyond flashy features. With Samsung shifting gears and migrating from its own Tizen OS to the (relatively) more universal Wear OS platform and Google releasing its own Pixel Watch after struggling with an identity crisis in the smartwatch world, the platform has much more traction than it did a few years ago. As OnePlus carves its way into the segment, it has the opportunity to entice people who don't wish to live within Samsung's limitations when using a Galaxy Watch with another brand's phone.

Read more