Tidal for iOS has been updated in the App Store with a brand-new watchOS app that features support for both streaming and offline playback on your Apple Watch.
Tidal for Apple Watch Does Offline Listening
Tidal for Apple Watch is available free of charge in the App Store. The software requires an Apple Watch Series 3 model or later, powered by the watchOS 7.1 update or newer.
Tidal for Apple Watch is a native watchOS app that can function independently of Tidal for iPhone. In other words, Tidal fans can now stream music as well as take advantage of offline functionality in the new Apple Watch app to leave their iPhones behind. This is convenient if you tend to work out or go for a run just with the watch and no iPhone on you.
Your Apple Watch may be offline because there’s no Wi-Fi around you or your particular model may lack cellular connectivity. Either way, Tidal now makes it a cinch to download your favorite playlists to listen offline on your wrist—no internet connectivity required.
The Apple Watch app has been delivered as a version 2.26.0 update to Tidal’s existing iPhone and iPad app. Getting it to work on your wrist is a three-step process.
How to Install Tidal for Apple Watch
First, you must update your installed copy of Tidal for iPhone and iPad in the App Store to at least version 2.26.0, according to instructions on the Tidal website.
With Tidal for Apple Watch installed, launch the app on your watch. After that, visit the website link.tidal.com on your iPhone and input a code displayed in Tidal on your wrist.
With the linking process done, you can start using Tidal on your Apple Watch.
According to release notes accompanying the download, the ability to download music on your Apple Watch instead of streaming requires a Tidal subscription. Tidal offers several subscription plans, including a $10/month tier with 320 Kbps sound quality.
Tidal Reacts to Intensified Competition
Tidal’s move can be viewed as reacting to competitors in this space.
For example, the leading music-streaming service Spotify just updated its Apple Watch app with offline playback. Aside from Spotify, Apple’s wearable devices platform offers other music-streaming apps in the App Store, like Pandora.
And with Google now bringing YouTube Music to its Wear smartwatch platform, Tidal could also release an app for Wear devices in the future. Tidal will need to move more swiftly, however, because Apple just recently announced plans to upgrade the Apple Music catalog to lossless audio and Dolby Atmos spatial audio at no extra cost.
A Norwegian subscription service, Tidal launched in 2014 and now offers music, podcasts, audio, and music videos with exclusive content and features like high-fidelity streaming.