When it comes to the third-party apps on Android-compatible smartwatches, Wear OS reigns supreme, and this continues with a big upgrade to the Spotify app.
Today Google announced that it would be bringing some major changes to the Wear OS platform. Included in these changes was a unified platform that sees the best parts of Wear OS come together with the best parts of Tizen OS.
The changes also include improved battery life and performance, as well as faster app load times. And in addition to all of that, the Spotify app for Wear OS is getting an upgrade that makes it infinitely more useful than it is right now.
The Spotify Wear OS app upgrade intros offline playback
Wear OS got some much needed love today. Even if only by way of announcements on what’s coming. In the middle of all of that, was details about changes for the Spotify app on the platform.
Specifically the app’s capabilities to offer offline playback. It isn’t quite clear when these features will arrive, however when they do, users will be able to download content onto the watch for when there’s no internet connection.
If you’re someone who really only wants the watch on runs or walks for music use and some light data tracking, this will enable that more than ever. Say you’re going out for a run and want to listen to a playlist. Well, this new update will let you download music to the watch, then you can connect a pair of Bluetooth earbuds or headphones to listen to music on the watch locally.
No internet connection needed. This is all assuming that you don’t want notifications from your phone. If you do, then you’ll still have to keep the phone on you. But if you don’t mind unplugging for a bit while you exercise, you can still get use out of Spotify so you have something to listen to.
The update will also let you download podcasts
The update won’t just be adding the ability to download your favorite music tracks. It will also include the ability to download podcasts.
Spotify thinks of its attention to the Wear OS platform as an essential thing. And with offline content, it shows. Google says the Wear OS app will get the update to enable this feature sometime soon. So it could arrive before the big Wear OS unification.