YouTube Music for Wear OS rolls out Wi-Fi and LTE streaming [U]

Abner Li | May 19 2022 - 3:33 pm PT

In addition to a new Recently Played tile, YouTube Music for Wear OS will soon let you stream songs over data/cellular instead of having to download songs, albums, or playlists ahead of time.

Update 5/19: Version 5.07.40 of YouTube Music for Wear OS is rolling out now via the Play Store and enables streaming. When you tap on a playlist or album, the download button is now accompanied by one for playing.

Original 5/17: First previewed in February for Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4, the YouTube Music Wear OS app is rolling out streaming support. This capability is positioned as letting you “listen to your favorite playlists wherever you go, even when your phone isn’t nearby.”

*To use a cellular connection, you need an LTE plan from your provider. Cellular streaming is not supported on iOS.

You’ll be able to browse in the app and start playback immediately without a paired device. Today, there’s always a black screen with download button after tapping on tracks.

A YouTube Music Premium (or YouTube Premium) subscription is still required for downloading and the new streaming support. YouTube says this feature will start rolling out this week, and we’re not seeing it live just yet.

Google today also made official the Wear OS tile for quickly accessing the Browse page and what you’ve just listened to. These developments follow the launch of the Pixel Watch at I/O 2022 and push for more and updated wearable apps.