Spotify's updated Wear OS app brings downloads and offline listening to your smartwatch

Spotify has updated its Wear OS app for Android wearables, finally giving it some previously lacking features. You can now download and stream tracks straight to your Android smartwatch, and listen to them without needing a phone or – in the case of downloads – even a wi-fi connection.

The music streaming company announced the update off the back of the launch of Samsung's new Wear OS smartwatches: the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. 

It brings its Wear OS app in line with its Apple Watch version, which has had these features since last May.

Downloads are only available to Spotify Premium users, however. Those on the free tier can stream music in Shuffle mode using wi-fi or a data connection, meaning there's no getting around those ads. However, free tier customers can still download podcasts to their watch.

To download to your watch, find your chosen content using the app on your wearable and tap 'Download to watch'. You can see the progress in the Downloads section on your watch. Once the content has downloaded, a green arrow will appear next to its name in your library. Then just connect a pair of wireless headphones and get listening.

To use the new features, you'll need a wearable running at least Wear OS 2.0 and a mobile device with the latest version of the Spotify app. The new features should land "in the coming weeks" according to Spotify.

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