Recently, I’ve started running again, using the Apple Watch Series 9 to track my workouts. Even though it’s been amazing to show me the weekly updates I’ve been doing, I still have to bring my iPhone 17 Pro to all my problems.
It’s annoying because the whole point of wearing the best smartwatch on my wrist is to disconnect myself from my iPhone when I exercise, so that’s one less thing to worry about. The problem is that the YouTube Music app doesn’t allow me to download music locally to my Apple Watch. Instead, it just acts as a glorified Bluetooth controller to access the app’s apps on my iPhone – and that’s completely useless.
That’s why I started wearing the Google Pixel Watch 3 on my other wrist, to allow me to listen to my music without my phone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Apple Watch, but it needs to fix this. Here is the reason.
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The YouTube Music app for watchOS is just a controller
Obviously, I like the convenience of using my Apple Watch to control the music I listen to on the AirPods Pro 3. At first, it wasn’t a problem because I carried my iPhone every time I went for a run. However, when I left home without my phone, the music stopped immediately.
I quickly realized that I needed my iPhone with me to use the YouTube Music app on my Apple Watch. I thought it might work if my watch was connected to Wi-Fi – and it did, even when I put my phone in airplane mode. But as soon as I went out for a run without my iPhone, it stopped working.
You can imagine my frustration at this point, but it’s clear that the device is nothing more than a controller. I confirmed this by completely shutting down my iPhone, at which point I finally got a message that my phone was disconnected and gone.
Streams automatically on the Pixel Watch
After a few days trying to figure out what to do, I decided to set up the old Pixel Watch 3 that I used before – and no wonder it works like a charm. For context, my Apple Watch and Pixel Watch are LTE models with active cellular data plans. These plans allow them to work independently, but the Pixel Watch is the only thing that sets the phone apart.
I paired my Pixel Buds Pro 2 with my Pixel Watch 3, which allows me to view my entire library while running. Plus, it also saves songs from my playlist locally, so I don’t have to watch and eat up my data all the time.
That’s honestly the only fix I have until Google addresses this. You read that right: it’s actually Google that needs to fix this, not Apple.
Apple has opened the door, but Google hasn’t
This is Google’s problem more than anything else, since Apple has provided the necessary APIs for developers to stream and store local music on the Apple Watch. In fact, I can already stream over LTE using apps like Spotify and Pandora.
However, the YouTube Music app for watchOS remains reluctant to offer this simple functionality – which serves as a big incentive to choose the Pixel Watch over the Apple Watch. You could argue that I should just sign up for another music streaming service, but that’s just a waste of money.
I might look weird wearing two smartwatches right now, but I’ll have to do it until Google decides to stop doing its best and support the platform its customers use.
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