Back in October, a few weeks before Google killed Google Play Music for all remaining users, the company announced that they would be releasing a new YouTube Music app for smartwatches. Unfortunately, the watches that the new app got did not have Android and it was rather the Apple Watch. As for Wear OS, Google can only tell us to ‘stay up to date’ for news there.
Less than two months later, Google ended Google Play Music, but Wear OS users still heard nothing about YouTube Music to save the day on the music front. We’re now 4 months alive without Google Play Music (and even longer for the Wear OS app) and yes, the same goes – there’s no YouTube Music app for Wear OS.
You may be wondering why this is such a big deal. First, a standalone YouTube Music app Wear would give OS users access to their music collection from their wrists, allow the game to be controlled, and possibly add Casting controls. This is what the Apple Watch version can at least do.
For Wear OS users today, the only option is to control tunes through system media controls, which allow you to pause / playback volume or skip tracks. But it’s pretty limited functionality there. Once again, the Apple Watch app gives you access to library and Casting controls without ever pulling out your phone.
We still think Google is making a YouTube Music app for Wear OS because they have not yet said it is not. They told us in August last year that there were plans for YouTube Music and portable articles, although they did not specifically say that an app was coming. In October, however, the message about ‘stay tuned’ was a reference to the fact that we were on the lookout for ‘additional updates on the availability of YouTube Music on Wear OS’. It sounds like an app, right?
Either way, it’s April and YouTube Music replaced Google Play Music months and months and months ago without a proper replacement program for Google’s portable operating system. This is bad.
- UPDATE: A YouTube spokesperson tells us that they are ‘actively working to bring a robust YouTube Music experience to Wear OS’ and that they ‘will share more information as soon as possible’.