How to play music from your Apple Watch to Bluetooth or AirPlay speakers

This tutorial shows you how to route audio from your Apple Watch to your Bluetooth or AirPlay speakers.

Connect an earphone or speaker to Apple Watch

AirPlay music or podcasts from your Apple Watch to another device

1) Open the Music app or the Apple Podcasts app on your Apple Watch by tapping their icon on the Home Screen or asking Siri to do that.

2) Browse your playlists, albums, artists, songs, or podcasts until you see what you want to listen to. Now tap a song or podcast episode to play it.

3) If a Bluetooth earphone is not connected to your Apple Watch, it will automatically show you the option to connect to one. This is because the Apple Watch speaker is not allowed to be used for music or podcast playback. When you see this screen, select your AirPods, paired Bluetooth earphones, or choose an available AirPlay-enabled destination.

Choose where to play audio on Apple Watch

4) If you don’t see the automatic splash screen to connect to an audio device or if you want to change the currently connected external speaker, tap the three dots icon from the top right and choose AirPlay. From here, select your AirPods or another available AirPlay speaker.

Select audio destination for Apple Watch music playback

Select a speaker from Apple Watch Control Center

In addition to selecting the Bluetooth or AirPlay device from the Now Playing screen, you can also connect one from the Control Center or change the existing speaker. This method is also handy if the watch app in question does not show a native AirPlay button on its Now Playing screen.

1) Press the Apple Watch side button to open the Control Center. On watchOS 9 and older, swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to get to the Control Center.

2) Scroll down and tap the AirPlay icon.

3) Select your AirPods or another Bluetooth/AirPlay speaker.

Select audio device from Apple Watch Control Center

Connect a Bluetooth speaker to your Apple Watch

You can connect any Bluetooth headphone or speaker to your Apple Watch and stream audio there. Here’s how to do that:

1) Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.

2) Scroll down and tap Bluetooth.

3) Put your Bluetooth headset or speaker in pairing mode.

4) Select your Bluetooth speaker and wait until it says “Connected.”

Connect Bluetooth speaker to Apple Watch

5) Now, play a song or podcast on your Apple Watch, and its audio should be routed to the Bluetooth speaker. If not, follow the above two methods and select your Bluetooth speaker from the AirPlay screen or the Control Center.

Music playing on Bluetooth speaker via Apple Watch

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