What You Can Do with the Apple Watch Without a Paired Phone GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Smart & Connected Life > Smart Watches & Wearables 103 103 people found this article helpful
What You Can Do With the Apple Watch Without a Paired Phone
Listen to music, view photos, and more
By Sarah Silbert Sarah Silbert Writer Bard College Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence is a consumer technology writer whose work has appeared in Fortune and MIT Technology Review. She's also a previous senior editor at Engadget. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 20, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email In This Article
Expand Jump to a Section Play Music From a Synced Playlist Use the Alarm and Other Time Features Track Your Daily Movement Display Photos Connect to Wi-Fi Networks Cellular-Enabled Apple Watches Much of an Apple Watch's functionality depends on pairing it with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Still, you can do many things on your watch even when your phone's not handy. This article describes a few of them. Information in this article applies broadly to all Apple Watches, but the specifics depend on your model. Play Music From a Synced Playlist
To pair your Apple Watch with Bluetooth headphones to stream music from Spotify without your iPhone, go to the Music app and select Apple Watch as the source. Then, scroll down and select Now Playing, My Music, or Playlists. You can keep one playlist on your Apple Watch at a time. You must connect the smartwatch to its charger to sync a playlist. Make sure your iPhone's Bluetooth is on, then go to the Watch app and select My Watch > Music > Synced Playlist. Select the playlist you want to sync. With a Spotify Premium account, you can download playlists, albums, and podcasts directly to your Apple Watch for offline use. Select More (three dots) > Download to Apple Watch. Once it's downloaded, you can listen to your content without needing your iPhone nearby. You can also use your Apple Watch to control playback on other devices, such as wireless speakers. LeoPatrizi / Getty Images Use the Alarm and Other Time Features
You don't need to have your Apple Watch connected to the iPhone to use the alarm, timer, and stopwatch. The device still functions as a watch without any assistance from your smartphone. Track Your Daily Movement
The Apple Watch can display your up-to-date activity stats without being connected to your iPhone. The Activity app on the smartwatch displays your progress toward daily movement and exercise goals. The app also tracks calories, suggests daily goals, and breaks your activity into movement and exercise. When paired with your iPhone, this app can display more information, such as an overview of your daily stats for the month. You can also use the Apple Watch's app independently of the iPhone. This app shows real-time stats such as elapsed time, calories, pace, speed, and more for a variety of exercise activities. It's a pretty good feature set, enough for some people to question whether they even need a standalone activity tracker. Display Photos
Provided you synced a given photo album via the Photos app, you can view it on your watch even when your phone isn't connected. Connect to Select Wi-Fi Networks
Your Apple Watch can connect to a Wi-Fi network if you connected to it previously using the paired iPhone. So if you used Wi-Fi with your watch and phone paired previously, that network should be accessible if in the future you don't have the two devices paired. If you can connect with only the Apple Watch, you can enjoy a few more features. You can use Siri, send and receive messages, and make and receive phone calls, among other tasks. Cellular-Enabled Apple Watches
Series 3 Apple Watches and later support a cellular connection along with Wi-Fi. You must have a compatible mobile data plan for your iPhone to use this feature. Cellular-enabled Apple Watches can: Receive notifications.Make calls.Reply to messages.Use Walkie-Talkie.Stream music and podcasts. How Far Does the Apple Watch Reach? Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire The 9 Best Free Music Streaming Apps for iOS and Android (2022) How Far Does the Apple Watch Reach? How to Pair and Connect an Apple Watch With a New iPhone What Is the 'i' Icon on the Apple Watch? How to Back Up Your Apple Watch How to Connect the Fitbit App to Apple Watch How to Unpair Apple Watch How to Silence Your Apple Watch Does Apple Watch Work Without an iPhone? How to Download Music to Apple Watch How to Set Alarm on Apple Watch Is an Apple Watch Worth It? How to Pair an Apple Watch With Your iPhone How to Use Apple Watch With Siri How to Reset Your Apple Watch How to Use WhatsApp on Your Apple Watch Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies