The announcement was made on Spotify’s official blog, and detailed what users can expect with the new feature and instructions on how to utilize offline playback. According to The Verge, Spotify Premium users will be able to download their favorite albums, playlists, and podcasts with this feature. Free users only will be able to download podcasts, and they’ll have to stream music in Shuffle Mode via Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Upcoming smartwatches, like the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, will have the newest version of Wear OS installed and have offline playback enabled. In the blog post, Spotify also urged its customers to keep an eye on smartwatches made by electronic companies Mobvoi and Suunto and fashion company Fossil Group, as they will have products running offline Wear OS, as well. Spotify has been rolling out offline listening to a wide range of products for months now. In May, Spotify added offline playlists to Apple Watches, and previously worked with Samsung to offer offline downloads to Tizen smartwatches. Since Wear OS 2.0 will be able to run offline playback, more products will have access to this feature, which originally was exclusive to Wear OS 3 watches. This means users with older or third-party smartwatches won’t have to wait until mid-2022 for Wear OS 3 and offline playback.
