[ad_1]
Garmin today announced a partnership that will excite its users who rely on Spotify for music. Those with a Garmin Fenix 5 Plus device can now download the new Spotify app from the Garmin Connect IQ app store. The application brings Spotify integration to the Fenix 5 Plus series, allowing users to download playlists to listen to offline.
The Fenix 5 Plus series contains the latest Fenix devices, which are among Garmin's most expensive technologies, starting at $ 549 for a Fenix 5. Storing music is a standard feature of all Fenix 5 Plus models, but users were previously limited to downloading personal tracks. or playlists of iHeartRadio or Deezer if they are paying subscribers.
Spotify now joins the music sources available on the Fenix 5 Plus series to its own mobile application. Once connected to Wi-Fi, Spotify Premium subscribers can download playlists to a Fenix 5 Plus watch to listen to music without their nearby smartphone. Unlike other smart watches such as the Apple Watch Series 4, Fenix 5 Plus devices do not have integrated LTE technology. Users will not be able to stream music from Spotify, but they will be able to download tracks for offline listening with the help of a Bluetooth headset connected to their smartwatch.
Spotify currently dominates the music industry; In June, Spotify had 83 million Premium subscribers and more than 180 million active users. Apple Music, by contrast, would count 40 million paying subscribers in April. But even Spotify Premium subscribers do not have much access to their wrist music. Until now, only Samsung Gear devices were supporting a Spotify app. This feature allowed these smart watches to stand out among the competition.
This is a big advantage for Garmin: the company makes all types of clothing, from simple tapes to smartwatches, all of which work on Android and iOS devices. A Spotify app can potentially attract many new users to the Garmin platform, especially its high-end devices supporting Connect IQ store applications.
At present, the Spotify application only works on Fenix 5 Plus devices, but I expect that its availability will impact in the future on other Garmin handheld devices. Storing music as a function had the same effect: it debuted on the Forerunner 645 Music at $ 449 earlier this year and made its way to the Fenix lineup and the Vivoactive 3 Music at 299 $ pretty quickly. It is possible that Garmin and Spotify want to test the water first with this initial deployment on the Fenix 5 Plus series before transferring the application to other Garmin devices.
Fenix 5 Plus users can download the Spotify application from the Connect IQ store today.
Source link