As soon as Wi-Fi and cellular networks became available, Spotify support for smartwatches followed (delinking of smartwatches from phones and the rise of standalone smartwatches). Long before Apple and Fitbit included music streaming capabilities on their high-end watches, Garmin and Samsung did so (but with certain limitations). The Wear OS watches weren’t slow to jump on the bandwagon.
The days of a smartwatch’s sole function being to act as a music controller for a smartphone are long gone. Any wristwatch, not just the $200 Apple Watch, may be used as a music remote. Nowadays, high-end watches not only have the ability to play music from services like Spotify (with offline support). but also have enough space to store hundreds, if not thousands, of traditional MP3s.
No one wants to lug around their big smartphone while working out, so it stands to reason that smartwatches that support Spotify (or any other music streaming service) will eventually outsell smartphones. The most notable time was while exercising.
This development correlates with the growing popularity of wearables and streaming apps. Top smartwatch makers already feature apps for popular music streaming services like Amazon Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Pandora (Apple, Garmin, Fossil, Fitbit)
We have compiled a list of the top Spotify smartwatches available today. The vast majority of them allow you to listen to music while you’re away from Wi-Fi and also support a variety of other popular music streaming services. Get ready to have access to a music library of millions on your wrist.
Contents
Best Smartwatch For Spotify Offline: Buying Guide
When Wi-Fi and cellular networks were available, Spotify was added to support smartwatches (delinking of smartwatches from phones and the rise of standalone smartwatches). Years before Apple and Fitbit included music streaming apps on their high-end watches, Garmin and Samsung did so (but with certain limitations). When it came to smartwatches, Wear OS wasn’t slow to catch on.
Smartwatches have come a long way from their early days as simple remotes for smartphones’ music players. A $50 smartwatch may be used as a music remote. These days, high-end wrist computers have adequate storage to hold hundreds, if not thousands, of MP3 tracks in addition to having music streaming services like Spotify preinstalled and fully functional (including offline support).
Due to the fact that nobody wants to lug around their big smartphone when exercising, smartwatches that support Spotify (or any other music streaming services) are likely to become more popular than smartphones in the near future. Most notably while engaging in the activities of running, swimming, and cycling.
This development correlates with the expanding popularity of wearables and streaming apps. Major smartwatch manufacturers currently support apps from a popular music streaming services like Amazon Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Pandora (Apple, Garmin, Fossil, Fitbit)
Here are a few of the top-rated Spotify smartwatches. Most of them allow you to listen to music while you’re not connected to the internet, and they’re compatible with other major music streaming services as well. Get ready to have access to an unlimited music library on the wrist.
What Are The Limitations Of Spotify On A Smartwatch?
This also holds true for similar programmes, such as Pandora and Deezer. There is a long way to go before smartwatches are fully compatible with streaming services. Low storage space is the first major drawback. A typical smartwatch might hold no more than 500 songs. You would have to constantly remove or re-download the music or podcasts.
Many smartwatches do indeed have streaming app integration. however, these apps are often restricted in their functionality. The Apple Watch series fits this description. Spotify has not previously supported any Apple Watches for playback of music. You may now, albeit in offline mode still cannot access them when wearing the watch.
Another drawback is the smartwatch’s low battery life. This is exacerbated by the fact that most modern smartwatches do not feature a built-in speaker. Here is our pick of the top smartwatches to use with Spotify and other media players. Before we dive into the first evaluation, let’s compare and contrast the essential features of a music streaming watch using the table below.
10 Top Smartwatches For Spotify (with offline Support)
These are, without a doubt, the top smartwatches in terms of music storage. Though some models include speakers, they deliver little audible quality whatsoever. To listen to music on one of these watches, you’ll need to pair it with high-quality headphones or earbuds. You’ll need LTE or Wi-Fi connectivity on your watch if you want to use Spotify without your phone.
For music (including Spotify), the Forerunner line of Garmin watches is your best bet. There is scant backing for Apple and Fitbit products. While Samsung offers a few high-quality timepieces that also feature built-in music players.
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music—Best For Runners
- Decent Storage Capacity For 500 songs
- Spotify support and offline syncing (Premium required)
- Deezer & iHeartRadio
- 6 hours Battery Performance With GPS+ music
- Offline playback supported
- All important metrics like Body Battery, Training Effect, Training Load, Recovery time, and Pace Pro
- Heart Rate, Sleep, Stress, and Blood oxygen saturation Monitoring
Garmin’s Forerunner 245 Music is an attempt to create a GPS running watch that also allows its wearer to listen to music. The FR245 is a budget-friendly running watch that doesn’t scrimp on features like offline audio playback and reliable tracking of your running stats.
Build Quality:
The FR245 Music is a compact player with a lightweight design that weighs only 38.5 grammes. It’s entirely fabricated from polymer plastic, which, upon the first touch, has a flimsy quality. However, after prolonged use, the item’s durability becomes apparent.
The textured plastic case can withstand accidental drops without suffering any noticeable damage. The watch’s silicone strap is removable and interchangeable with others. It shares a design with the Fenix Series in that it has side buttons but no touchscreen. (When running or working out, physical buttons are much more convenient than touchscreens.)
Interface & Display:
The interface consists of a number of screens that are accessed through widgets. With a few taps, you can get to your most-used apps, as well as the weather, calendar, heart rate monitor, GPS, and more. It’s easy to use and adapt to your needs. Similar to other Garmin Watches, it has a 240-by-240-pixel screen with Transflective Memory. The display is readable even in bright sunlight, but it lacks an Always-on mode.
Music Support:
The Forerunner 245 Music allows you to carry around 500 of your most treasured songs at all times. It’s incredibly easy to transfer them over using a computer. With its 3.5 GB of storage space, you can sync playlists from Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music or transfer music from your computer. You can listen to your favourite podcast while you’re out for a run by syncing the music from your connected smartphone through Wi-Fi.
Please be aware that only Spotify Premium users are able to sync playlists for offline listening. Because of the lack of a touch screen, the watches’ navigation is limited to the physical buttons on their sides. They are easy to use and protect you from unwanted contact while you work out. However, it becomes awkward to use on a regular basis.
Pressing the Down button on the side of the watch brings up the in-built music player. The music can be played in random order after the app is loaded, and you can also fast through songs. To listen to music, though, you’ll need to bring headphones as there are no built-in speakers. Read on to learn how to pair your AirPods with your Garmin Watch.
Fitness & Health Features:
The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music features numerous running-specific sports modes. With the ability to monitor recovery and energy levels day or night, as well as real-time heart rate and activities in the field, this device will be your ideal trainer.
This running watch boasts high-end Fenix Series features such as the Body Battery, Training Effect, Training Load, and Recovery time monitors. It’s also a fitness tracker that can monitor your rest, stress, breathing, and oxygen levels. Except for an electrocardiogram (ECG), it has all the features of the Apple Watch at a lower price.
Battery Life:
If you turn off the GPS, Garmin says you can use it for a week without charging it. This claim is supported by our findings about performance. But it only lasts for a day while using GPS, and considerably less when both GPS and music are playing at the same time.
Because of the music functions, battery life has dropped since the previous model. That’s not great, but it’s not bad either if you use it four or five times a week.
Garmin Venu 2/2S: Best Mid-range Watch
- Up to 650 songs
- Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio
- Almost 7 hours of music with GPS
- Offline playback/sync supported (Premium Account holders)
- AMOLED Display with on-screen animations
- Two Sizes: Venu 2 (45mm); Venu 2S (40mm)
- NFC payment (Garmin Pay)
- Heart Rate, Sleep, Stress, and Blood oxygen saturation Monitoring, Health Snapshot
- All important metrics like Body Battery, Training Effect, Training Load, Recovery time, Pace Pro
- Latest ELEVATE Sensor with powerful ‘Firstbeat Analytics’s Algorithm
The Garmin Venu 2 is an excellent follow-up to the original Venu, boasting a superior AMOLED screen. It’s the best affordable sports watch available right now, and it has a tonne of useful health and fitness functions. In addition, you can use Garmin Pay to make contactless purchases.
Build Quality:
The screen is protected by a rubberized case and a metal bezel. The watch has interchangeable silicone straps with a variety of holes to ensure a secure fit on the wearer’s wrist. Both men and women can select from 45mm and 40mm sizing options. Both wristwatches are similarly priced and include two side buttons.
Interface & Display:
The 1.3-inch touch screen on the Venu 2 is sharper and brighter than those on the Fenix and Forerunner series (416 x 416 pixels). The tracked data is displayed in eye-catching graphs and charts, and navigating the watch is a breeze thanks to the straightforward widgets.
Improved navigation and the ability to tailor data displays mean you can always keep tabs on what matters most, be it pace or heart rate, while you run. You may view a summary of your sleep and blood oxygen tracking data without opening Garmin connect on your smartphone. With your hands full, you can still quickly check vital stats on its always-on display.
Music Support:
As for music, the storage capacity (about 7 GB) has been increased to accommodate 650 tracks, up from the 500 available on the original Venu. Like the Forerunner 245 Music and the Garmin Fenix 5X, this watch allows for offline syncing with Spotify as well as all other major streaming services.
Fitness & Health Features:
You’ll be able to keep track of a wide variety of fitness-related metrics, from steps taken to heart rate, and much more. As a HIIT-specific Garmin, it ranks among the very best. Besides the functions discussed in FR245 Music Review, you can also find helpful extras like Health Snapshot and animated graphics.
Like the original Venu, Garmin Coach is provided at no cost. Advanced Sleep Monitoring, hydration monitoring, monitoring of blood oxygen saturation, respiration, body temperature, and so on are all part of health monitoring.
Battery:
If you use Venu 2 in its essential/smartwatch mode, the battery will last for 11 days, while the smaller Venu will last for 10 days. However, the battery life is cut in half to just 8 hours if you use GPS and music at the same time (as you would while exercising).
Garmin Venu SQ Music: Affordable Pick
- Storage for 500 songs.
- Offline Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, iHeartradio
- Square design with touchscreen (240 x 240-pixel)
- GPS onboard with a fine selection of sports mode
- 6 hours of battery performance with GPS and Music
Garmin’s Venu SQ Music is the only square watch they offer. It apes the Apple Watch’s design but lacks the latter’s functionality. It’s a low-cost GPS watch that focuses on fitness, yet it has some nifty features like offline Spotify and Garmin Pay.
Build Quality:
The Amazfit Square is quite similar to the Amazfit GTS 2 in terms of design and construction, both being made of plastic. Because of its modest weight and low profile on the wrist, we find it to be extremely convenient for all-day use. The watch’s display is shielded by scratch-resistant gorilla glass, and it can withstand splashes of water up to 5 ATM.
Interface & Display:
the Garmin Venu SQ is not as impressive as the original Venu. Neither the size of the fonts nor the aesthetic styles are considered during the design process, making for a very basic user interface. A 1.3-inch screen (240 x 240 pixels) isn’t as striking as the displays on Apple and even more budget-friendly Amazfit Watches. One can be sure that Garmin has cheated in this regard.
Music Support:
To get enough space for 500 tracks, you’ll need to shell out around $50. You can sync music from paid services like Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, and Deezer, or you can upload music in mp3 format from your computer or mobile device.
Fitness & Health Features:
The fitness and health-tracking capabilities of Venu SQ Music are exceptional. Like Garmin’s more expensive Fenix series, this one tracks your heart rate and where you’ve been with GPS. Unlike most other health trackers, it has everything but an ECG.
Running, walking, golf, strength, cardio, yoga/pilates, elliptical, and skiing are just some of the more than 20 activities that can be tracked.
Battery:
Even though we doubt you will use it just as a timepiece, the watch’s battery can keep going for over a week on a charge. With both GPS and music streaming turned on, the battery drains quickly, reducing runtime to just 6 hours.
Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S:
- 500 songs, the same as Venu SQ
- Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio
- 5 hours of music with GPS
- Offline playback supported
- Garmin Pay, GPS support
- The same health and fitness features as in Venu SQ
Garmin Vivoactive 4 and 4S are similarly priced alternatives if you prefer a rounder appearance. The display is more polished than on the Venu SQ, which it apes. There aren’t many enhancements to the watch compared to its predecessor, the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music.
Build Quality:
Other than its square shape and stainless steel bezel, this watch’s construction is identical to that of the Venu SQ. In the same way that the regular silicone strap contains fibre-reinforced polymer, this one does as well. There’s a 5 ATM rating for water resistance, too. But there are two sizes of this watch to choose from.
Interface & Display:
The interface is minimalist and stylish, with a black background, primarily white text, and brightly coloured icons. The device would have been more appealing if it had an AMOLED screen.
The resolution difference between the Vivoactive 4’s 1.3-inch screen and the Venu SQ’s 1.2-inch screen is minimal, but present. It’s made from gorilla glass and features an always-on feature.
Music Support:
The Vivoactive 4 and 4S, like the Vivoactive 3 Music, provide music support, with space for up to 500 songs. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription in order to access the music via a third-party provider. Before you can get your hands on the playlists, though, you’ll need to sign in to your Spotify account through the Garmin Connect mobile app.
To link your Spotify account and start downloading songs, just follow these simple steps: (this works with any of the supported Garmin devices, as well as any music streaming service)
- Open connect app>>tap music>>Spootify >> follow on screen instruction to connect your account.
- Connect to Wi-Fi>>Open Music Control Widget>>Hold The bottom/back button>>Select Music Providers>>Choose a connected provider>> Select Playlist you want to download.
Fitness & Health Features:
Except for ECG and Body Composition, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 mimics the health tracking features of the Galaxy Watch 4. With respect to precision, it is a step forward from the GW4 and Apple Watch. It’s pretty much on pace with the other items on this list, and not much better.
It includes detailed information on common sports and exercises including jogging, swimming, and weightlifting, among others. The GPS tracking is reliable, on par with other high-end watches like the Apple Watch Series 6 and Garmin’s own Fenix 6.
Battery:
According to Garmin, the Vivoactive 4’s battery life can reach up to 8 days when used as a smartwatch, 6 hours when using the GPS with music, and 18 hours when using the GPS without music. In smartwatch mode, the 4S can go up to seven days without charge, while in GPS mode it can go five hours or fifteen hours if the audio is turned off. The watch has performed mostly in line with the company’s claim.
Garmin Forerunner 945: Triathlon watch
- 1,000 songs storage
- MP3, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music and iHeartRadio
- GPS with music: 10 hours
- Offline playback supported
- Big on Swimming, cycling and running
The Forerunner 945 is a premium Garmin device designed for triathletes, including storage for 1,000 songs or more. We recommend skipping the Forerunner 245 Music in favour of this high-end model if money is no object.
Build Quality:
It’s a big watch by any measure, but the construction is solid, and it’s surprisingly easy to wear (50g). Again, it has a fibre-reinforced polymer case and a silicone band.
Comfort is ensured with the 22mm perforated silicone band, even during the most strenuous of workouts. However, the Quick release mechanism allows you to replace it out for any other third-party strap you like.
Interface & Display:
The Forerunner 945’s interface and display have an always-on, 1.2-inch screen that is legible even in direct sunlight. It has the same pixel density as Venu SQ. With its anti-glare technology, the display works great in direct sunlight. There are several physical buttons to get used to in the user interface.
Music Support:
The watch’s music features are identical to those of other Garmin watches, with the exception of 4 GB of internal storage for MP3s and Spotify playlists. In contrast, the LTE version enables you to listen to music on your wrist even when you’re not in range of your phone.
Fitness & Health Features:
When it comes to tracking your fitness and health, it’s essentially the same as the Fenix 6 except without the sports tracking features. It includes more than 30 different activities, both indoors and outdoors, like jogging, swimming, weightlifting, skiing, and more. You may expect the same health and fitness tracking features as on the Garmin Venu 2.