Spotify Is Beta Testing Critical Upgrades to Its Apple Watch App

Spotify hasn't made any substantial changes to its Apple Watch app since 2018, but that is about to drastically change.

Though the Apple Watch first appeared on the scene nearly five years ago to underwhelming sales in its first year, the industry-leading wearable device has flourished in popularity in recent years and is poised for further growth.

As the release of Apple's latest Series 6 watch looms, Spotify has stepped up efforts to support and improve its capabilities on the device. Despite having an app since 2018 on the watch, Spotify has not created a native wearable experience, instead vastly functioning as a control for the Spotify app on the iPhone. 

Until now, Spotify's Apple Watch app has not supported streaming natively through the device. However, recently users have reported seeing a blue "beta" icon within the watch's connected devices window, which has allowed them to stream directly through the device with no iPhone connection required.

The feature appears to be in a limited testing stage for the moment, and will hopefully roll out to users in greater numbers in the coming weeks. 

Spotify has picked a good time in history to step up its support for wearable devices. The first half of the decade is forecasted to see the entire wearables market grow nearly 20% every year, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence. While 216 million wearable units moved off shelves in 2019, an estimated 614 million are expected to sell in 2025.

Source: Digital Music News

source https://edm.com/gear-tech/spotify-beta-testing-apple-watch-app-upgrades