Improve Apple Music audio quality on Apple Watch

Question

Improve Apple Music audio quality on Apple Watch

I have recently purchased an Apple Watch 11 to partner my iPhone 17. My wireless headphones used to connect to the phone but that is not possible because the pairing is now used by the watch. The codecs and streaming on the watch make the sound terrible compared to the phone. What are my options? Is there some way to improve streaming audio quality of Apple Music on the watch that I am not aware of? Or do I just unpair the watch from the phone when I want better sound while on the move? I am using Soundpeats H3 ANC headphones and have no interest in buying anything else to replace them.

iPhone 17

Posted on Feb 15, 2026 7:04 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 17, 2026 1:15 AM in response to virtuallyjohnny

The audio quality drop you are hearing is normal. The Apple Watch uses more aggressive compression to manage battery life and heat, which becomes very obvious with decent headphones like the H3s.

Sticking to the iPhone is the best solution for quality. If you ever have to use the Watch directly, downloading the music to the Watch storage first (rather than streaming) can sometimes sound a bit better, but it still won't match the iPhone's output.

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Answer 2

Feb 16, 2026 7:46 PM in response to virtuallyjohnny

It turns out that the iPhone has simultaneous pairing and I just needed to be a bit more persistent with connecting my wireless headphones! My ears are happy again :-)

Although it would be nice if the Apple Watch had better audio codecs.

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Answer 3

Feb 16, 2026 10:47 PM in response to virtuallyjohnny

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I was referring to the Soundpeats H3 ANC headphones and the option to control the sound, using an app.

Glad that the sound quality improved after paring the headphones correctly.

You can tell Apple Techs directly about your wishes for future watchOS updates by using the Feedback link:

This is the only way to reach them, as Apple does not follow theses user to user communities.

Feedback - Apple Watch - Apple

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Answer 4

Feb 16, 2026 2:11 AM in response to virtuallyjohnny

Does the manufacturer support streaming music from the Apple Watch? Is there an app for the watch as it is for the iPhone?

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Answer 5

Feb 16, 2026 7:44 PM in response to Ingo2711

What do you mean by the manufacturer? Both devices are made by Apple. And the app is Apple Music which is installed on both devices.

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Improve Apple Music audio quality on Apple Watch

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