Samsung holds the second-largest share in the world's smartwatch market, followed by Apple. In 2021, the Korean giant switched over from its proprietary Tizen OS for its Galaxy Watch lineup to Google's Wear OS with a custom One UI Watch interface, making it the largest smartwatch brand backing Google's ecosystem. The decision helped it entice more app developers and brought the Wear OS ecosystem some respite from being dwarfed by the Apple Watch's popularity.
Today, Samsung is announcing the new One UI 5 Watch update for its Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch4 series smartwatches. The update is presumably based on Wear OS 4, which has yet to be announced by Google. It will soon initiate beta trials for the upcoming software version through the Samsung Members app in select regions, and we can expect a wider rollout with the Galaxy Watch6 series.
Samsung highlights the features that One UI 5 Watch brings to the Galaxy Watch4 and Watch5 smartwatches.
One UI 5 Watch features for Galaxy Watch4 and Watch5
Foremost, One UI 5 Watch improves sleep tracking on Galaxy Watch devices. The update brings an enhanced "Sleep Insight" interface, making more information available on the users' wrists.
Further, Samsung's Sleep coaching feature will have additional controls, allowing users to build habits for a sounder night's sleep. This includes reminders about meditating before going to bed, avoiding caffeine late in the night, and alerts to avoid naps during the day.
These tips for better sleep will also be accessible and controllable directly on the smartwatch so users can avoid looking at the phone's screen around bedtime.
For fitness, the One UI 5 Watch update brings more personalized training routines. Users will now be able to specify the intensity of the exercise by selecting the highest heart rate zone they want to stick to. This may be useful if a person wants to achieve specific fitness goals or want to prevent themselves from inadvertently working out too much, which may have health implications.
Samsung is also adding the GPX (GPS Exchange Format) route guidance for walking and running alongside previously supported fitness activities such as hiking and cycling. This will enable users to export and track their routes later through different apps.
The update also improves safety features on the Wear OS smartwatches in the Galaxy Watch lineup. The Detect fall feature will now also notify emergency services besides calling emergency contacts.
Additionally, for situations when the user is unconscious, their medical details, including blood group, medications, allergies, and underlying conditions, will also be accessible to the personnel attending to them.
Lastly, Samsung does not explicitly mention the Wear OS version on which this update is based. However, Google's recent commitment to update the version of the watch operating system every year (via WIRED) suggests we can expect a version upgrade from Wear OS 3.5, which was launched in 2022. Thus, Wear OS 4 seems to be the natural candidate for the update, and we can expect to hear more from Google on the topic at Google I/O next week.
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