How to control music on your iPhone from an Apple Watch

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

The watch is a remote control for whatever is playing on your iPhone, HomePod or Apple TV, in any audio app, including Spotify, YouTube Music and podcast apps. The phone can stay in a bag, on a charger or in another room.

These steps are for recent versions of watchOS.

Step by step

1. Open Now Playing

   Press the Digital Crown and tap Now Playing. While audio is playing, it also appears at the top of the Smart Stack and as a small icon at the top of the watch face, which you can tap.

   Done

2. Play, pause and skip

   Tap the play or pause button in the middle and the backward and forward buttons beside it. In podcast apps these jump by a number of seconds.

   Done

3. Change the volume

   Turn the Digital Crown. The volume changes on the device that is playing, including AirPods connected to the iPhone.

   Done

4. Choose the device

   If more than one device is playing, an icon for the device appears at the top right. Tap it and choose the iPhone, HomePod or Apple TV you want to control.

   Done

5. Send the sound somewhere else

   While controlling an AirPlay device such as a HomePod, tap the selector at the top right and tap AirPlay. Tap the More Options button to add or remove speakers.

   Done

6. Stop it opening by itself

   If Now Playing takes over the watch face every time you start music, open the Settings app on the watch, tap General, then Auto-Launch, and switch off the option for audio apps.

   Done

Good to know

To play music from the watch itself, without the iPhone, add it to the watch and connect headphones: how to add music to an Apple Watch and how to connect Bluetooth headphones to an Apple Watch.

With the double tap gesture on recent models, tapping thumb and finger together pauses and resumes without touching the screen: how to use double tap on an Apple Watch.

Siri works as well: raise your wrist and say next song, or play some jazz.

The watch warns when the sound is too loud for too long: how to get noise warnings on an Apple Watch.

In short: Now Playing app, tap play, pause, back and forward, Digital Crown for volume, device button at the top right to switch. Auto-Launch under Settings, General.