In August, 2019, Amazon released the first smartwatch application for its widely popular music streaming service dubbed as ‘Amazon Music’. Surprisingly, the e-commerce giant was reluctant to show love to the popular wearable operation systems at that time (Apple Watch OS & Wear OS aka Android Wear). Rather, it picked the unpopular Garmin OS as its favorite.
Right after the release, the app was available for multiple Garmin devices allowing users to download and play music from their wrists. The access to songs was dependent on the subscription of users. Those with ‘Prime Subscription would have a cap of 2 million tracks, whereas Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers get access to the service’s full library of 70 million songs. Garmin users can get the app from Connect IQ store.
Though Amazon Music is nowhere to be found on Wear OS devices, the case is similar for Watch OS. Also, the company has yet to release its wearable app for Samsung & Fitbit wearables.
So, we are only left with Garmin wearables to choose from. However, for those who are interested, I can discuss some hacks with you to listen to Amazon Music on Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, and WearOS devices. More on that later.
Table of Contents
Top 6 Amazon Music Enabled Smartwatches:
Garmin Venu 2/2S:
$261.55 in stock
3 used from $309.99
Key Features:
- 2,000 songs
- Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio
- 8 hours of music with GPS
- Offline playback supported
- Multiple Sizes and Colors
- Light-Weight, Durable Smartwatch
- AMOLED Display
- Garmin Pay
- Pulse Oximeter, New 4th Gen Elevate Sensor
- On board GPS with GLONASS and Galileo satellite systems
- Week-Long Battery Life
Two Minute Review:
The Garmin Venu 2 is a fantastic smartwatch for people who want to track their fitness progress, but also listen to music. It’s lightweight and durable making it perfect for runners or those looking to stay active in general. The watch has a long battery life of up to 8 hours on (GPS+Music) mode which will last about two weeks when you turn off these two features.
The Garmin Venu 2 also includes a pulse oximeter and the latest 4th Gen Elevate sensor which can track your heart rate, monitor stress, sleep levels, and provide you with detailed information on how your body is doing in general. It’s one of the most comfortable smartwatches I’ve ever had to wear because it doesn’t feel heavy or bulky like other smartwatches (thanks mainly to its plastic build). Also, it has a crisp AMOLED display with great viewing angles and brightness.
The Garmin Venu 2 is the perfect watch for anyone looking to listen to music and stay active at the same time. Best of all, it’s compatible with Amazon Music so you’ll never have to worry about not being able to stream your favorite songs ever again. Other than Amazon Music, you get access to Spotify, Deezer, and iHeartradio as a bonus. Also, the watch has enough storage for 2000 MP3 songs which can vary depending on which model you choose: Garmin Venu 2 (45mm) or Venu 2S (40mm).
Pros
- AMOLED Display
- Long battery life
- Huge Music storage capacity
- Durable Build
- Garmin Pay
Cons
- Expensive, no difference in price for two variants.
Garmin Venu SQ Music: Best Cheap Smartwatch With Amazon Music
$149.99 in stock
4 used from $139.97
Key Features:
- Touchscreen smartwatch
- One can store up to 500 songs
- Can download playlists from Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer.
- Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity for fast data transfer
- Comes in a host of colors: light sand/rose gold, navy/light gold, moss/slate, and black/slate.
- Low resolution (240 x 240 pixels) LCD, 1.3-inch display
- Garmin pay for contactless payments
- On board GPS with GLONASS and Galileo satellite systems
- Come equipped with a blood oxygen sensor
- 6 days battery life
Two Minute Review:
Garmin Venu SQ is both the best affordable option by Garmin and also the cheapest watch that allows you to download playlists from Amazon Music (overall there is a capacity to download 500 songs. You will have to access the Garmin ConnectIQ store to download the app, and thankfully, the company has added Wi-Fi compatibility to makes the whole transfer process faster.
There is another distinction. This watch is the company’s very first square-shaped model, and as we can guess, is designed to target the market of Apple, Huawei, Amazfit, and Fitbit. The watch undercuts its own siblings, Garmin Venu and Venu 2, plus the pricier forerunner and Fenix devices.
It has a plastic build that reeks of cheap quality, the design is big and boxier although lightweight. You can swap its comfortable silicone straps with third-party straps. Our big disappointment with the watch is a low-resolution LCD. The company ditched the AMOLED found on the original Venu for a cheaper price tag. The user interface is just passable.
This budget-friendly sports watch is also packed with multiple health features. It includes a heart rate monitor, built-in GPS, and pulse ox sensor (simply the oxygen sensor). The watch also has sleep tracking capabilities as well as steps and stress tracking. The sports tracking modes are more than enough: 20 dedicated modes including running, cycling, and swimming.
As mentioned earlier, the watch has a music player to play songs on-board. You can download popular streaming apps like Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora right on the watch. Other smarts include Garmin Pay for contactless payment and access to Garmin’s Connect IQ for downloading apps and watch faces.
Lastly, the watch would last you a week if you are conservative with your usage, about 6 hours if you run GPS+Music continuously.
Pros
- Budget-Friendly
- Oxygen sensor for blood saturation monitoring
- light-weigh durable design
- Multiple-sport modes
- Music Storage
- GPS-onboard
Cons
- Lacks AMOLED display
- Unimpressive design
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music: Best Runner Watch with Amazon Music
$239.88 in stock
7 used from $199.99
Key Features:
- 500 songs Capacity (Like the Garmin Venu, Venu SQ)
- Spotify support and offline syncing (Premium required)
- Deezer, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio
- 1.2in transflective MIP (240×240 pixels)
- 6 hours GPS with music
- Offline playback supported
- Water resistance: 50 meters (5ATM)
- Sensors: GPS/Glonass/Galileo, compass, accelerometer, heart rate, pulse Ox
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, ANT+, wifi (Music only)
Two Minute Review:
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is a GPS-enabled smartwatch dedicated to runners and athletes. Despite the introduction of the latest watches models like Forerunner 645 music, 745, and 945, this old goodie has managed to be relevant thanks to its affordable price-point and non-intrusive UI. The watch lacks the flashy OLED and doesn’t have a touch screen. However, it has a robust build.
The music edition was released later and offers a capacity for 3.5GB or 500 tracks as a plus. The original FR 245 can only control music playback on a smartphone
Like other Garmin Watches, the Music in MP3 or AAC format can be transferred from the computer to your Garmin device using a USB cable. If you’re already a Spotify Premium, Deezer, or Amazon Music subscriber, you can use the corresponding app to load music and podcasts onto your watch using wifi.
Downloading takes time, and playing music on the watch puts a huge dent in the battery performance of the watch (it reduces to six hours). This watch doesn’t have a speaker, so you would have to pair the earbuds with the watch via bluetooth.
Made for the runners, it offers detailed metrics like various timers and laps, distances, paces, speeds, heart rates, and zones, running dynamics, cadence, race info, temperature, elevation, and other bits. The battery lasts for only 24 hours if you prefer to run the GPS continuously. You won’t have to lug your smartphone around with this smartwatch by your side.
Pros
- Best For runners (marathons, 5K)
- 5 ATM water-resistant
- Music storage
- Robust Construction
- Affordable Garmin
Cons
- Lacks touchscreen interface
- Garmin Pay is absent
Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S:
$159.95 in stock
Key features:
- 500 songs, Offline playback supported
- Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio
- 1.3-inch color touchscreen and weighs 1.7 ounces
- Fiber-reinforced polymer case and a stainless steel bezel
- It has two size variants
- 5ATM for water resistance
- Onboard GPS with GLONASS and Galileo satellite systems
- A pulse oximeter, heart rate sensor
- 8 days Battery Life; 5 hours with GPS+Music
Two Minute Review:
Garmin Vivoactive 4 is a very popular GPS watch that supports offline music playback for Amazon Music, Deezer and Spotify. It provides the same music features packed in the Vivoactive 3 Music (affordable option), including Garmin Pay, GPS, and a heart rate monitor. This feature-rich smartwatch is available in two size variants with water resistance up to 5ATM. It offers 8 days battery life (5 hours with GPS+Music).
Before the Garmin Venu series, Vivoactive watches were the only ones by the company that had a touchscreen display, smart features, and a music player. They were considered Garmin’s answer to the Apple Watch.
The watch comes with a wide-ranging sports tracking with lots of dedicated modes including running (indoor, outdoor, treadmill), cycling (indoor and outdoor), swimming (pool only), golf, strength, cardio, elliptical, indoor rowing, yoga, and more. However, the feedback from the watch is pretty basic when compared to premium Fenix and Forerunner watches.
Pros
- Respiration tracking, Pulse oximeter readings, stress, and heart rate monitoring
- On-screen workout animations
- Music storage and support for Bluetooth headphones
- Underwater optical heart rate monitoring
- Affordable price point
Cons
- Lacks AMOLED display
- Limited Sports features
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Series: Best Outdoor Watch With Amazon Music
$489.00 in stock
6 used from $338.95
Key Features:
- 1000 songs
- Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio
- 10 hours of GPS with music
- Offline playback supported
- On board GPS with GLONASS and Galileo satellite systems
- Rugged Build, Suitable for large wrists
- Multiple Sport modes, comprehensive data
- Garmin Pay, Third-party apps
- Body battery, health snapshot feature
- Waterproof to 100m (10ATM)
Two Minute Review:
The Garmin Fenix 6 is the best smartwatch for runners and outdoor enthusiasts. It is ideal for sports lovers with its vast array of modes, metrics, and settings to suit any type of workout.
This watch not only measures everything from running to skydiving, but it also offers VO2 Max data and insights on your form. And all its models have a separate solar edition.
It’s packed with multiple smart features, the battery lasts up to ten hours of GPS tracking or navigation mode when running without music. And, it has an excellent rugged build that can be worn in any environment.
Best of all, this model also comes with Amazon Music so you’ll never miss out on your favorite tunes. Like other Garmin on this roundup, it supports Spotify, Deezer, and iHeartradio too. The capacity for on-board music is massive at 1000 songs.
One of the biggest features of the Fenix 6 – and why it costs so much – is the extended battery life. You get 10 hours of GPS tracking with music (or 36 without), meaning serious runners will have no problem wearing it for a full day’s long-distance run (half & full marathons).
Pros
- Best outdoor smartwatch
- Garmin Pay, Music Storage
- Extra-long battery life
Cons
- Hefty price tag
- Too large for small wrists
Garmin Venu 2 Plus: Best Amazon Music Watch
Key Features:
- 650 songs
- Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio
- 8 hours of GPS with music
- Offline playback support
- On board GPS with GLONASS and Galileo satellite system
- Multiple Sport modes, Health watch
- Garmin Pay, Third-party apps
- Speaker and Micorphone integration
- Waterproof to 50m (10ATM)
Two Minute Review:
Venu 2 Plus has improved upon the original Venu in several ways. One of those is the addition of a speaker and microphone. This means that you can listen to music directly from your watch.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus like its predecessor extends support to Amazon Music, Spotify, and Deezer. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can download and listen to your music playlists on your watch. The watch has Wi-Fi connectivity and enough storage for 650 songs (up from 500 songs in Venu 2), so you can store plenty of music on your device, and download them fast.
Note: You don’t need ‘Amazon Music Unlimited’ account to download playbacks on any of the supported Garmin watches.
In addition to this, Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a crip AMOLED display with a touchscreen panel, so navigating your way around the UI is a breeze. You would only appreciate these changes if you have used older Garmin Forerunner and Fenix series watches in the past. On these watches, downloading playbacks from Amazon Music or any other platform is really a fuss.
As far as the sports and health features are concerned, Venu 2 Plus offers all of the features that you would expect from a Garmin smartwatch. It tracks heart rate, stress, steps taken, stairs climbed, and calories burned. You can also use it to monitor your sleep, and set custom alerts for tracking your performance over time.
The watch has a battery life of up to a week but it surely takes a hit if you use the music playback feature and GPS extensively. In terms of performance, it offers 8 hours of battery life if you run the GPS mode with music playback, the same you can get in Venu 2.
Pros
- More storage than Venu 2
- Speaker and Microphone
- Refined UI
Cons
- Expensive
- Battery life hasn’t been improved
How do I get Amazon Music on Garmin Watch?
You will have to Download and Install the Amazon Music Connect IQ app first.
You can download the app from the Garmin ConnectIQ store by following the link: Amazon Music Connect IQ app. Make sure that your Garmin device is within the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi range of the smartphone. Alternatively, you can use Garmin Express to download the app via pc. Once the app is downloaded and installed on the Garmin watch, you can move to the next step.
Swipe the screen on the watch to the Music Widget. You will find an option for Music Providers there. Select Amazon Music, and the screen would prompt you to visit https://amazon.com/us/code. The code provided on the watch will tie it to your Amazon account. To download content from Amazon Music, your device needs to be connected to a Wi-Fi connection. Some Garmin Watches have LTE connectivity (Vivoactive 3 Music Verizon) so you can download playlists without connecting to Wi-Fi on these devices.
How to download and listen to Amazon Music on the Apple Watch?
As there is no dedicated Amazon music app for Apple Watch, you will have to do a workaround. you will have to download the music on your PC in a supported format, and then you will have to use iTunes, to load these songs on the Apple Watch.
Alternatively, you can sync the songs to iPhone first and then sync them further to Apple Watch.
How to play Amazon Music on Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, 3 & Active 2?
Just like Apple Watch, there is no Amazon Music Apple for the flagship Galaxy Watch 3 or Active 2. You will have to use a converter to download songs/playlists from Amazon Music, upload them to your Android device, and then sync the music using the galaxy watch wearable app. Active has 4 GB of storage whereas Galaxy Watch 3 has 8 GB of music storage.
Verdict
For casual fitness enthusiasts who don’t want to spend a fortune on a single feature (Amazon Music on smartwatch), Garmin Venu SQ and Vivoactive 3 are the best options. Pro Runners would found both budget and premium fit in Garmin Forerunner 245 Music, 645 Music, and 945. Users who prefer flashy devices have Garmin Venu and Venu 2/2S to lean on. Both watches offer music storage and streaming options from the wrist. Lastly, those looking for a full-fledged sports watch with Amazon Music support, Garmin Fenix 6 is the best choice.
Kevin is a Tech journalist for over a decade. He writes on Wearables, Headphones, and Laptops. When he is not glued to his laptop, You will find him working on exciting projects that include Unboxing new Gadgets, comparing them, and tweaking their hardware.