How to Play Apple Music on Garmin Watch (Fenix 8)

Part 1. Does Garmin Watch Work with Apple Music? (Integration Explained)

Garmin watches are designed to cater to athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and those looking to improve their overall well-being. Garmin offers a wide range of flagship models that blend advanced fitness tracking with everyday functionality. Popular Garmin music-enabled watches include:

• Garmin Fenix 8 / Fenix 7 series
• Garmin Forerunner 165 Music, 265, 970, 570, 955, 170 Music, 55, 70, and 965
• Garmin Venu 2 / Venu 3 /Venu 4 series
• Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Vivoactive 5

However, Garmin watches do not offer built-in Apple Music integration because Garmin has not added an official Apple Music support. Currently, Garmin natively integrates with several popular music streaming services, including Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio. Apple Music cannot be downloaded directly through the Garmin Connect IQ ecosystem.

Part 2. Why Can't You Transfer Apple Music Downloads to Garmin Watch?

A common misunderstanding is that downloading songs from Apple Music creates normal music files that can be copied anywhere. It does not. Apple Music songs are protected by Apple's FairPlay DRM technology. These files are only accessible through authorized Apple devices and applications.

Currently, Garmin Watches can read standard audio formats such as MP3, M4A, WAV, M4B, and AAC. Obviously, these protected Apple Music downloads are not regular audio files that Garmin devices can recognize and play.

To bypass this restriction and make Apple Music compatible with your Garmin device, you need to convert the protected Apple Music tracks into MP3, or other supported format via DRmare Apple Music Converter or directly purchase unprotected iTunes songs.

Part 3. How to Put Apple Music on Garmin Watch

To prepare your Apple Music playlists for offline listening on your wrist, you have to use DRmare Apple Music Converter. It can directly convert your Apple Music tracks into formats like MP3 or M4A, which Garmin supports.

This tool retains the original Apple Music quality and ID3 tags so your Garmin watch displays your Apple Music correctly. In addition, you can choose to modify the output audio parameters of Apple Music for Garmin Watch, like the bit rate, sample rate, volume, etc. according to your needs. This smart tool can work at 30X conversion speed to save your time.

How to Convert Apple Music for Garmin Fenix 8/Forerunner/Venu/Vivoactive

Now, you may wonder how DRmare Apple Music Converter works. Please keep reading. In this part, we will show you the steps on how to convert Apple Music for Garmin Watches, including Garmin Fenix 8, Garmin Forerunner, Garmin Venu, and Garmin Vivoactive with DRmare Apple Music Converter.

Step 1Load Apple Music songs to DRmare program

First, please install the DRmare Apple Music Converter program on your computer. Then launch it and you will see the main screen of DRmare program with integrated Apple Music Web Player. Next, click the 'Sign In' button to authorize your account and browse your library. Find your favorite Apple Music tracks, click the '+' button to load and pick Apple Music songs you like to get on Garmin Watch, and click the 'Add to List' button to load them to the conversion queue.

Step 2Set Apple Music output format for Garmin Watch

Once all the Apple Music songs are added successfully to the 'Converting' tab, then you can hit on the 'menu' icon to choose the 'Preferences' > 'Conversion' option. Choose an Apple Muisc output format compatible with Garmin (MP3 or M4A is recommended). You can also adjust settings such as codec, channel, bit rate, and sample rate to meet your preferences. Click 'OK' to save the settings.

Step 3Download Apple Music to Garmin Watch-compatible Files

Click on the 'Convert' button and DRmare Apple Music Converter will begin the conversion process. When it is finished, the converted Apple Music files will be saved on your computer. Then you can check them on the target folder on your computer via the 'Converted' button.

Part 4. How to Use Apple Music on Garmin Watch (Fenix 8)

Now that your tracks are saved locally as unprotected files. You can connect your Garmin watch to your computer and manually connect Apple Music to your Garmin Watch using Garmin Express for offline playback. Please check out the simple and step-by-step tutorial below.

How to Play Apple Music on Garmin Watch

Step 1Prepare Garmin Express

Download and install the Garmin Express application on your computer if you haven't already. Use your original USB charging cable to connect your Garmin watch to your PC or Mac.

Step 2Connect Garmin Watch to Garmin Express

Open Garmin Express, choose 'Get Started', and then 'Add a Device'. Follow the on-screen prompts to register and connect your specific smartwatch model (e.g., Fenix 8).

Step 3Add Apple Music to Garmin Watch

Go to the 'Music' section within Garmin Express. Here, you can browse your computer's folders. Point the application to the specific output folder where your converted Apple Music MP3s are stored. Select the tracks, albums, or playlists you want, and click 'Send to Device' option. Garmin Express will sync them to the Garmin device.

Step 4Listen to Apple Music on Garmin Watch

Once the files are transferred, disconnect your watch. Pair your Bluetooth headphones with your watch by clicking the 'Settings' > 'Music' > 'Headphones' > 'Add New'. On your watch, you can access the Music Controls, choose the 'Source' > 'My Music' to select the Apple Music album or playlist you just added, and start playing!

Part 5. Further Reading: Garmin Fenix vs Forerunner vs Venu vs Vivoactive

Here's a comparison table to showcase the key differences between Garmin's popular watch series: Fenix, Forerunner, Venu, and Vivoactive.

Part 6. FAQs About Playing Apple Music on Garmin Watch

Part 7. In Conclusion

Garmin watches currently do not support Apple Music natively, but that does not mean Apple Music users cannot enjoy offline listening during workouts. You can convert Apple Music tracks into Garmin-compatible formats. After that, you can use Garmin smartwatch (like the Fenix 8, Forerunner 955, or Venu 4) to track your workouts and stream Apple Music directly from your wrist leaving your phone behind.