New YouTube Music app for Wear OS runs only on Samsung smartwatches

Google has released a new YouTube Music app for Wear OS. For now, the app only runs on Samsung smartwatches that support the new operating system and only allows offline playback of music that was downloaded on the watch.

According to 9to5Google, it is not yet possible to stream music with the app. For now, premium users of Google Play Music can only use the app for offline music playback. Downloading those songs is reportedly only possible when the smartwatch is charging.

Google reports on its official channels that the new YouTube Music app currently only works with Wear OS powered by Samsung. That is the name given to the new operating system that consists of a combination of Tizen and Google’s Wear OS. In May, the two manufacturers announced that they were merging the operating systems. A name was not mentioned at the time, but in later communication Google mentioned Wear OS 3. The first devices to run on Wear OS 3, or Wear OS powered by Samsung, are the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic that will be launched on 27 September. come out in August.

It is unclear whether Google will release the Wear OS app for other smartwatches and/or expand its functionality. Some existing smartwatches will be able to upgrade to Wear OS 3 from the middle of next year. According to Google, the upgrade to Wear OS 3 will therefore be opt-in.