As long as you have a WiFi or data connection, you won’t need your phone close by.
Next time you go for a run or to the gym, you might be able to leave your phone behind but still listen to whatever music you want on the fly if you’re a Pandora premium subscriber. The Apple Watch app no longer needs to be tethered to an iPhone to stream music or podcasts, so as long as you’ve got a WiFi or data connection, you can do just that.
The Pandora Watch app is now completely standalone. Previously, you could download music to the wearable through Pandora, but being able to stream whatever you want without having your phone close by is a neat update.
With this move, Pandora’s setting itself apart from a lot of the competition. Apple, of course, allows direct streaming to Apple Watch with Music and Podcasts. The likes of Spotify and Deezer still need an iPhone connection, effectively making their Watch interfaces remotes for their iPhone apps. YouTube Music and Tidal don’t support Apple Watch at all.
Given that Apple is selling several million watches every quarter, Pandora has a sizable market to tap into for people who want an alternative to Apple Music. Most people seem to still use their Apple Watch in conjunction with their iPhone, rather than leaving their phone behind. So while direct music streaming to the Watch is still a bit of a niche use case, Pandora is setting itself apart a bit from many competitors in the music and podcast department with this move.
