By default, the screen with music controls is shown on your Apple Watch as soon as you play music on your iPhone. This also works with other audio apps. Read here how to use or disable it.
You can use the Apple Watch to control music playing on your iPhone or HomePod. Your Apple Watch then becomes a kind of remote control for controlling your music. As soon as you lift your wrist and activate the screen, the buttons will automatically appear on your Apple Watch. That can be useful, but not everyone wants to use this feature. We explain how it works and how you can disable it.
Automatic music control on Apple Watch
The music controls on the Apple Watch work as follows: when music is played on your iPhone, the control buttons are automatically displayed on your Apple Watch. If an iPhone app that is used for music also has a corresponding Apple Watch app (such as Spotify), this app will automatically open instead of the standard Music or Current app. And it also works with the HomePod: if your iPhone is near a HomePod that plays audio, the control buttons will appear on your iPhone (and therefore also on the Apple Watch). The feature is enabled by default, but you can also disable it:
- On your iPhone, go to the Watch app.
- Tap General > Activate screen.
- Turn the switch on Automatically launch audio apps on or off.
If you have the setting on, the Music app on the Apple Watch with music controls will be started when playing music via the standard Music app on the iPhone. The same screen appears as soon as you use other audio apps that do not have their own Apple Watch app. If there is an Apple Watch version, it will open immediately, as shown below with the Spotify app. If you turn off the function, the watch face of your Apple Watch will remain visible. You can then still go to the music controls via the Apple Watch Dock, where the active app is automatically at the top.
Read more about listening to music on the Apple Watch in our separate article. You can also listen to radio on the Apple Watch with the separate Radio app.
See also 
Listening to music on the Apple Watch: this is how it works
Want to listen to music on the Apple Watch? You can listen to music via wireless earbuds or headphones, without needing the iPhone. In this tip you can read everything about putting and playing music on the Apple Watch and streaming music to your Apple Watch.