Samsung has announced a new Galaxy Watch 4 update that brings a handful of new features and upgraded health monitoring. The Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic were revealed in 2021 and mark the manufacturer’s return to Wear OS after ditching it years ago, back when it was still called Android Wear, in favor of its own operating system, Tizen.
The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic launched with Wear OS 3 and are still the only smartwatches running this revamped version of the operating system. However, it has been confirmed that smartwatches powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100/4100+ such as the Skagen Falster Gen 6 will be updated to Wear OS 3 this year.
Thanks to a partnership with Centr, the Galaxy Watch 4 series will provide more insight via the body composition feature. This fitness program is curated by the actor Chris Hemsworth. Galaxy Watch owners will also get a free 30-day trial to Centr. In addition, Samsung revealed in the press release the new features coming to the smartwatches that runners and cyclists will benefit from. It’s a new feature called interval target. The feature allows users to pre-set the duration, distance, and the number of sets for a workout. The smartwatch guides users through a customized training session that combines high- and low-intensity exercises.
New Watch Faces, Straps & Google Assistant
One of the Galaxy Watch 4 series features is sleep tracking, and to make it more functional, Samsung is adding a sleep coach to help users develop better sleeping habits. Users will get assigned a sleep symbol animal that denotes their sleep type after a week of sleep tracking and completion of two sleep-related surveys. There is also month-long coaching that involves goals, sleep-related articles, and a meditation guide to help the user improve their sleep quality. Still talking about sleep, the Galaxy Watch 4 will now automatically turn off all SmartThings connected lights when a user falls asleep.
What appears to be the most significant announcement of all is that the Google Assistant will be available on the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic. The smartwatches come with Samsung’s Bixby assistant, but many users have been pleading for Google’s voice assistant to be added. Samsung has heard their pleas and will provide it as an option for users. Unfortunately, this feature will not be bundled with the new update but will be available in the coming months.
Samsung has also announced six new straps with matching watch faces. The straps include two sports bands in burgundy and cream, blue and red fabric bands, and silver and gray/black link bracelets. Samsung didn’t disclose the prices of the new straps but said they would be available by late February. The software update for the watches will begin to roll out this week.
Source: Samsung
