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

Part 1. Does Garmin Support Apple Music?

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, including the Fenix, Forerunner, Venu, and Vivoactive series, each offering something unique.

However, Garmin watches don't directly and natively have Apple Music. While Garmin supports several music streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio, Apple Music is not one of the integrated options. That's to say, Garmin Watch can't play Apple Music directly. This limitation is due to the digital rights management (DRM) protection that Apple uses on its music, which restricts playback on non-Apple devices.

If you'd like to make Garmin Watch work with Apple Music, it's necessary to use third-party tools like DRmare Apple Music Converter. It can convert protected Apple Music tracks into MP3, and other Garmin-compatible formats (such as AAC, M4A, or WAV). This tool allows you to get your Apple Music songs on the Garmin Watch via Garmin Express for offline playback.

Part 2. How to Put Apple Music on Garmin Watch - Tool Required

Garmin Watches support local music file uploads, but the Apple Music tracks you download are protected by DRM, which prevents them from being played on non-Apple devices like Garmin. You have to use DRmare Apple Music Converter to remove the DRM from Apple Music and convert your tracks into formats like MP3 or M4A, which Garmin supports.

This tool retains the original Apple Music quality and ID3 tags, allowing you to enjoy your music on Garmin losslessly. 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.

DRmare Apple Music Converter

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• Convert Apple Music to MP3, AIFF, FLAC, etc., with high quality
• Allow customization of output settings such as bit rate and sample rate
• Save full ID3 tags while working at a faster speed
• Listen to Apple Music on Apple Watch, Garmin Watch, etc. offline

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

Now that you have the Apple Music tracks as local 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 1Add Converted Apple Music to iTunes Library

Open the iTunes app or Music app on your computer and then click the 'File' and 'Add File to Library' or 'Add Folder to Library' to select and upload all unprotected Apple Music files to this app.

Step 2Share iTunes Library XML with Garmin Express

Go to the menu bar, select 'Edit' from the top menu bar, and then choose the 'Preferences' and 'Advanced' tab. Check the box that says 'Share iTunes Library XML with other applications'. Save the changes by clicking 'OK'.

Step 3Connect Garmin Watch to Garmin Express

Use a USB cable to connect your Garmin watch to your computer. Download and install Garmin Express if you haven't already. Open the app, choose 'Get Started', and then 'Add a Device' to select your Garmin watch from the connected devices.

Step 4Add Apple Music to Garmin Watch

Go to the 'Music' section in Garmin Express, and choose 'iTunes'. You can also manually select your favorite Apple Music songs to sync. Hit on the 'Send to Device' option, and Garmin Express will sync them to the Garmin device.

Step 5Listen to Apple Music on Garmin Watch

Once the files are transferred, you can 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 4. 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 5. In Conclusion

While Garmin Apple Music integration is not yet available, there is still a way to play your favorite Apple Music on Garmin Watches, like Fenix 8, Forerunner, Venu, and Vivoactive. With the help of DRmare Apple Music Converter and Garmin Express, you can use Apple Music on Garmin Watch during your workouts without hassle.