Spotify rolls out a huge Wear OS upgrade including new album art and handy
tap gestures, giving you even more control from your wrist

Date:
Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:14:15 +0000

Description:
Spotify's Wear OS upgrade is truly stunning, but its pretty new visuals are just the beginning.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Spotify has rolled out a bold upgrade for Wear OS As well as new visual elements, you can now use tap gestures to play and skip songs It's available to all Wear OS-compatible devices, so long as you update the Spotify app in the Play Store Are you a Wear OS user and a Spotify subscriber? Your on-wrist experience is about to get better thanks to a major upgrade coming to some of the best smartwatches which includes a new graphic redesign and handy tap gestures.

If youre a power-user of a Samsung Galaxy Watch or Google Pixel Watch , youll now have access to the new Spotify experience for Wear OS so long as youve installed the latest version of the Spotify app via the Play Store . In an email sent to TechRadar, Spotify details that the new wave of Wear OS
features are redesigned to be more intuitive, more discoverable bringing the best of Spotify to your watch. So, whats new? First off, Spotifys Wear OS revamp puts visual aesthetics at the forefront of its new Now Playing screen, which displays creator art behind the current playing song as well as the playback controls. You can also view and amend your music queue from this
view and control audio output too. When you swipe from top to bottom, it
takes you to a new immersive view, where the creator art is displayed in its entirety without the obstruction of the pause and play icons. Article continues below You may like Spotify rolls out handy Smart Reorder tool for Mixed playlists Apple Music has a slew of new features on the way, including
a revamped UI 3 Wear OS features you're probably not using, but should be
When you swipe up on the Now Playing screen it takes you to Spotify's main Home page, where your Liked Songs, Downloads, recently accessed playlists, podcasts, artists, and more will be front and center. That said, one of the more handy tools is the search function allowing you to look up a song to add to your queue, bringing music discovery features to your wrist.

However, the new update isnt just about how pretty it looks, it also has a slew of practical new tools. Now you can manually use your finger to pause, play, and skip through songs on your watch face, as well as use tap gestures to control the playback. One tap will pause and play music for you, while two taps will skip from one song to the next. Im an Apple Watch user, and Im envious of this upgrade (Image credit: Future) The best part about Spotifys smartwatch app is that it takes all the best features from the mobile experience and puts them right on your wrist, providing a convenient way to control your music playback when youre working out or have your hands tied.

Spotifys Apple Watch experience isnt dissimilar to its new Wear OS update.
You can still amend your music queue, search for songs, and access your full Library of saved artists, albums, and recently streamed playlists but its certainly not as pretty. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Apple Watch users miss out on the album art feature, a tool that makes the new Wear OS Spotify experience so bold and visually engaging. Instead, the
Now Playing page on Apple Watch just displays the song title and artist, with pause, play, skip, and queue icons against a plain black background. Its far too simple for my liking and, dare I say, slightly dull.

However, Spotify for Apple Watch does replicate the Home tab and Your Library from the mobile experience, so at least you dont have to navigate an
interface that feels completely different. That said, I do hope that Spotify gives its watchOS version a bit of TLC in the near future it should at least emulate the Liquid Glass aesthetic that Apple has been pushing for almost a year. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/spotify-rolls-out-a-huge -wear-os-upgrade-including-new-album-art-and-handy-tap-gestures-giving-you-eve n-more-control-from-your-wrist


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