The end of Google Play Music has been written on the wall ever since Google introduced YouTube Music. The problem is that the latter doesn’t seem to be 100% ready to take over the former’s users. The mobile app is ready but those who are using Wear OS smartwatches got a rude awakening that YouTube Music will not be available yet even as they’re losing Google Play Music in the next couple of weeks. So this means you can’t play or download music on your smartwatch for the next few months.
We’re not sure how large a percentage of Wear OS users actually use their smartphones to play music. But the fact that you have the option to do that with Google Play Music means that there are those who probably do so. And according to Android Police, some have already expressed their annoyance that Google is not prepared to replace the app with YouTube Music by this time. Some users are already upset that Wear OS doesn’t seem to be a priority for the company.
So over the next couple of weeks, Wear OS users will not be able to download Google Play Music on their smartwatch or use it at all. Google says they’re working on bringing a better music experience to the wearables. But unfortunately, YouTube Music is not yet ready for Wear OS devices even if it’s already full blast on other platforms and devices. They didn’t give any time table as to when it will be ready though.
The sort of good news is that if you still want to use your smartwatch for music-related things, you can use it to control the YouTube Music app on your Android smartphone. You will see the controls on your wearable when you start playing music from the app on your smartphone. That’s basically it. You still can’t play the app from your Wear OS device.
We don’t know if they will be adding other features or if it will just be straight to getting the YouTube Music app on your smartwatch. Hopefully it will be the latter especially if you’ve gotten used to having music on your wrist that is not Spotify.
