Spotify accelerates rollout of Apple Watch download functionality

The updated version of the Spotify app allows users to download music to their Apple Watch and listen to music without a smartphone nearby. Ideal for phone-free running. This is now seeing a wider global rollout.

The functionality was originally announced about a month and a half ago. In a sense, it may have been Spotify’s response to Deezer announcing offline playback for the Apple Watch. The only problem is, very few lucky people actually had access to Spotify downloads since the announcement.

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That has changed over the past 24 hours. It seems Spotify has opted for a gradual rollout. Companies often take this route in order to iron out any issues before updates hit the bulk of their user community. In a sense, it is potential damage control.

As reported by a multitude users, over the past day or so many people have started to see the Apple Watch download option. Most that have not had access to downloads before are getting the update – but not all. Presumably the rest of the user base will get the new version in the coming days.

If you are not seeing the update (version 8.6.40.1248), you may need to wait a little while longer. Alternatively, you can check the App Store to see if it is available.

You may also be able to expedite the software refresh by force closing Spotify and restarting the app. The former is done by swiping up from the bottom on the iPhone, and then swiping up the Spotify page to close. “As soon as I opened Spotify, after that there was a reminder saying it could now be done”, a person on Reddit writes.

The update has hit users in the US, Germany, Austria, UAE, Brazil, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Malaysia, Portugal, Canada, UK and other countries. Many of these only got the software refresh in the past 24 hours. But it seems to be a definite acceleration of the global rollout.

We wrote a separate piece on how to access Spotify offline listening on your Apple Watch. Basically, next to each song in the Spotify iPhone app, you’ll see three dots. Click this and you’ll find “Download to this device” option. Underneath it there’s another option that says “Download to Apple Watch”. Tap on this. Then just sync the watch to your phone.

It is important to note that there are certain limitations. One of these is that you can only download 50 songs per playlist. This is why the download option won’t work for certain playlists. Also, you do need to have a premium Spotify subscriptions in order to access the new functionality.

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