Google is testing a new feature for an upcoming update to its Watch OS software, allowing Android smartwatch owners to play media through the watch’s speaker.
Watch speaker playback is mentioned in the release notes for an upcoming version 5.1 update to Wear OS. “On devices that support media playback through the watch speaker, users can select this speaker as their preferred media output option if your app integrates with the Wear Output Switcher,” according to the official Wear OS 5.1 changelog published on Google’s Android Developers blog.
It’s unclear what devices “support media playback through the watch speaker.” What is clear is that apps will need to support speaker playback, so it doesn’t sound like you’ll be able to install Wear OS 5.1 when it releases to the public and automatically gain this feature in every audio app out of the box. However, popular apps will no doubt release updates to enable support for speaker playback.
Another thing to note is that Pixel Watch owners may get this feature a bit later, as the next Pixel Watch software update is due to be released in March 2025.
You can already listen to music, make phone calls, listen to podcasts, and more using Wear OS and a pair of wireless headphones. And pretty soon, you’ll be able to play media through the built-in speaker. Not everyone has wireless earbuds to use with a smartwatch, so this could be a way to listen to music on your smartwatch. And even if you do use Bluetooth headphones with your smartwatch, this feature ensures media playback is routed to the built-in speaker when you put the watch in Airplane Mode or shut down Bluetooth.
Wear OS 5.1 also introduces several other improvements to boost your experience, including syncing your account credentials, including passwords and passkeys, across devices. Google released Wear OS 5, based on Android 14, in May 2024.
Don’t blame Google for taking the time to implement this seemingly simple feature; Apple Watch owners only gained media playback via the built-in speaker with the release of the watchOS 11 update in September 2024. I use this feature occasionally on my Apple Watch Ultra 2 and can confirm that music sounds surprisingly loud through that tiny speaker.
Source: Google via Mishaal Rahman and The Verge
