2025-06-15
howto

Using the Apple Watch as a Soundboard

I initially got a smartwatch to have automation and scripting available without the need for a phone in my hand - partially due to the hassle of and the risk with whipping out my phone on my commute.

As a way to justify the existence of my smartwatch beyond being a glorified alarm clock, I looked for a way to use it as a soundboard. I needed the implementation to have the following requirements:

  • Must be done natively. I’m trying to avoid bloat and installing a dedicated app for a bit doesn’t make too much sense to me.
  • Must be available on-demand. This means that it should be available offline and with as little delay as possible from initiation.

After months of having the Apple Watch with the above requirements in mind, I finally got around to doing it with the help of Shortcuts.

tl;dr steps

This solution is the best among the two approaches that I tried - less lead time from the activation of the Shortcut, doesn’t require an active internet connection, and shouldn’t need a phone nearby.

  1. Grab the .mp3 file you want to play and base64 encode it. Take note of the output string. Sample audio file was taken from file-examples.com.

    $ cat file_example_MP3_700KB.mp3 | base64

  2. Create the Shortcut.

    1. add the Text block, placing the base64 encoded string of the sound clip
    2. add the Decode with base64 block, taking the previous Text as input
    3. feed the decoded output to the Play Sound block

deploying on the apple watch

To make the shortcut available on the Apple Watch, make sure to tick the Show on Apple Watch checkbox on the Shortcut Info screen.

alternative approach w/caveats

There was a previous iteration that was somewhat successful. It doesnt require as much terminal-fu but it did have a significant delay (sometimes as bad as 10 seconds) and requires internet connectivity. Given that the use of a soundboard is well-timed audio cues this kind of defeats the purpose.

Just in case that instant playback isn’t a requirement or if working on the terminal is a bit intimidating then this approach may be more appropriate.

  1. Save the .mp3 file in any iCloud folder.

  2. Create the Shortcut.

    1. add the File function and link the uploaded file
    2. add the Play sound which should use the previous block as its input