Garmin has expanded the music offerings on its fitness watches to include Amazon Music, marking the first time the streaming music service has debuted on a wearable device. Unlike previous music app launches that were limited in scope, Garmin’s rollout of the Amazon music app extends across several product lines. Not only is Amazon Music available on the luxurious MARQ watches and the D2 Delta aviation watches, but it also lands on the outdoorsy Fenix 5 Plus series. Several Forerunner models and the consumer-focused Vivoactive 3 Music get some Amazon Music love as well.
Amazon Music debuted in 2008 as Amazon MP3, becoming one of the first online music stores to sell music with built-in digital rights management (DRM). The service initially only offered music downloads, but eventually expanded in 2014 to include an unlimited music streaming service just for Prime customers. In 2016, Amazon unveiled Music Unlimited, a full-catalog, paid streaming music for everyone. Now with the debut of the Garmin Connect app, the music service is now available on its first smartwatch platform.
Garmin watch owners can download the Amazon Music app from the Connect IQ store. Once it’s installed on a Garmin fitness watch, users can sync to Amazon Music and download their favorite songs and playlists via Wi-Fi. Subscribers can access more than 2 million tracks from Amazon Music with a Prime subscription or the service’s full library of 50 million songs with an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.
Garmin already supports Deezer, iHeartRadio, and Spotify on its music-capable watches. The addition of Amazon Music puts the company far ahead of competitors like Fitbit, which has yet to ink a deal with Amazon or Spotify, the online music streaming leader. Fitbit still only offers Deezer and the sideloading of music files, which is a cumbersome process.
The Amazon Music app is available now from the Garmin Connect IQ store for the MARQ series, D2 Series, Fenix 5 Plus, Forerunner 245 Music, Forerunner 645 Music and Forerunner 945 watches. Amazon Music requires a monthly or yearly subscription and is available for both Prime and non-Prime members. Amazon Prime Music is available for free as part of a Prime membership. Amazon Music Unlimited is available to Prime members for $8/month or $79/year. Non-prime members can access the Unlimited service for $10/month.
