Wear OS loses its Google Play Music app in weeks, but YouTube Music won’t arrive for months

Ben Schoon | Aug 5 2020 - 9:51 am PT

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Google is preparing to shift all Google Play Music users over to YouTube Music in just a matter of weeks, but there are still a lot of loose ends to tie up to get to feature parity. Today, Google has confirmed that the Play Music app for Wear OS will die in just a couple of weeks, but YouTube Music isn’t coming any time soon.

In a brief post on its forums this week (via Android Police), Google confirmed that the Play Music app for Wear OS will stop working “in the next couple of weeks.” That means Wear OS users won’t be able to use or download music from their library through that app.

This, of course, makes sense as Google Play Music will be shutting down for most users next month. However, YouTube Music isn’t ready to replace Play Music on Wear OS just yet. In fact, Google says that the replacement app is still “months” away from debuting. In the meantime, the company just points to Wear OS’ built-in music controls that tether from your phone.

In the next couple of weeks, users will no longer be able to use or download Google Play Music on their Wear OS by Google smartwatches. Google is investing heavily in improving integrated music services through all of your connected devices with YouTube Music.
We are working on bringing our users a better music experience in the coming months with planned improvements to YouTube Music. In the meantime, you can use your Wear OS smartwatch to remotely control the YouTube Music app on your Android or iOS phone. When you play music from YouTube Music on your phone, controls will automatically appear on your watch.

Of course, people are upset.