Galaxy Watch
One UI Watch 4.5 Officially Announced With New Features, Availability & Supported Smartwatches
Samsung has announced the future arrival of One UI Watch 4.5 for select Galaxy Watch range smartwatches. This is a very important update that, as Samsung itself underlines in its official press release, aims to guarantee an even more complete user experience for users who choose Galaxy Watch smartwatches.
With the new One UI Watch 4.5, Samsung aims to make life easier for users by ensuring a simpler system for calls and the ability to access a full keyboard, ideal for quickly responding to messages from your smartwatch. Complementing the update will be several new accessibility features.
Full-size QWERTY keyboard
One of the main features of the new One UI Watch update concerns the keyboard and the ability to access and manage completely different input methods. In fact, users will be able to access a full-size QWERTY keyboard with a swipe. It should also be noted that users can easily switch to other entry systems.
One UI Watch 4.5 will allow a smooth and simplified transition from the keyboard to dictation mode or freehand writing through the new interface. The switch between the various methods can occur immediately, without wasting time and, above all, without any obstacles. It will be possible to switch from one method to another while creating a single message. You can then start “writing” by dictation, switch to the QWERTY keyboard, and complete the message to be sent.
Dual SIM Option
Samsung also promises better call handling with One UI Watch 4.5. With the update, there will be the introduction of Dual SIM support. Users can then set a preferred SIM on their smartphone and automatically synchronize it with the Galaxy Watch with One UI Watch 4.5. The Watch interface will always clearly show which SIM is currently in use.
It should also be noted that you can also take advantage of the “Always ask” option (if already set on the phone paired with the Watch) to choose, from time to time, which SIM to use to make a call. The interface, in this case, will show the double option when starting the call, as shown in the images below. The user can then set, from time to time, the SIM to use for calling.
The Dual-SIM support allows you to use the two SIMs of your smartphone in an even easier way. This is a feature that should not be underestimated. Those who have two SIMs (one personal and one work or one Italian and one foreign etc.) will be able to manage calls very easily with One UI Watch 4.5, simplifying the use of the Galaxy Watch as an alternative to the smartphone.
New Watch Faces
Among the new features coming with One UI Watch 4.5, there will also be a greater possibility of customizing the dial. The goal of the update is to make the Galaxy Watch even more customizable and in line with the needs and tastes of the user. Samsung has anticipated the possibility of accessing all your favourite watch faces even more easily and managing the colour variations in the smallest details.
As noted earlier, accessibility will play a certain role with the One UI Watch 4.5 update. For users who have difficulty distinguishing colours, Samsung has confirmed the possibility of adjusting the display with the right shade, increasing the contrast if necessary, to simplify the correct reading of all the characters displayed on the screen.
Others
Among the new options available to users, for greater accessibility, there is the possibility of removing animations and adjusting the gradient effects. There will also be greater control of the audio to make it easier to use the contents, with the possibility of adjusting the audio output from both the left and right headphones connected via Bluetooth.
In terms of accessibility, moreover, the function that extends the touch duration is introduced, and the possibility to disable repeated touch inputs to ignore involuntary repeated touches of the display. New accessibility features also include adjusting the duration time of temporary functions and setting the Home button to activate the most used function.
Thanks to One UI Watch 4.5, therefore, various features related to accessibility are introduced on various levels to make the smartwatch even more usable. All the news will be included in the appropriate settings menu with the user, who can then adjust the operation of the device.
Availability and supported models
For the moment, Samsung hasn’t released precise timing for the release of the new update that will introduce the One UI Watch 4.5. However, the company has confirmed that this update will be available for the Galaxy Watch4 and the Galaxy Watch4 Classic. The new models of the Galaxy Watch range arriving in the coming months will also be supported. The update will come with the latest version of Wear OS Powered by Samsung (based on Wear OS 3.5).
Samsung has rolled out the April 2024 security patch update to several units of the Galaxy Tab S9 in many countries, and now the fan edition devices have also started getting the same update and were initially spotted in the US.
Notably, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is getting updates for both WiFi and 5G variants. More specifically, the 5G variant of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is receiving the update with the firmware version X518USQS3BXD2. It is spotted on several networks, including Verizon, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and US Cellular. Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi variants of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ are grabbing the update with the firmware version numbers X510XXS3BXD6 and X518USQS3BXD2, respectively.
The latest update for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE will be the April 2024 security patch, which doesn’t bring any significant changes but will provide some security-related changes that will enhance the overall security mechanism of the devices, so if you are concerned about your device’s security, you should keep your device up-to-date with the latest security patch.
Moreover, the latest update for the device may also bring some more improvements that could enhance the overall performance and stability of the devices. If you faced any issues in the last update, then you should also go for the update; it may fix that issue.
If you are using the Galaxy Tab S9 FE in the US, now you can check the latest update for the device by simply following these steps: Go to the system settings, then select software update. Here, tap on the download and install option and wait until it finishes searching to see if the update is available, then tap on the download button.
Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy Watch 7 is in an actively developing phase and is expected to introduce a new naming system for Galaxy smartwatch processors.
Initially, Samsung switched to WearOS with the Galaxy Watch 4, powered by the Exynos W920 chip. Since then, the giant has also changed the naming scheme for their smartwatch processors. The same chipset, ‘Exynos W920, carried over to the next Galaxy Watch 5 lineup.
The current Galaxy Watch 6 is powered by an upgraded chipset named the Exynos W930, and it is expected that this will carry over to the next-generation Galaxy Watch 7 series as well. Recent reports suggest that an Exynos chip, likely to be named W1000, will power the Galaxy Watch 7. Although this naming scheme could be suitable, the key point is that it would better convince consumers that the new chip is a major upgrade as compared to the previous chip.
Although the model number for this new iteration is yet to come into existence, and usually the simple word is just not a part of the Korean giant, it will be interesting to see what turn this report will take in the future..
On the other hand, previous leaks already revealed the forthcoming Galaxy Watch 7 could offer three variants, including standard, classic, and pro, with hints at monster battery life and more. It is also supposed to be launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event in early July 2024.
Île-de-France Mobilités is in the phase of modernizing transport tickets and is stepping up its efforts to dematerialize them.
This includes new ticket options, pricing, effortless ways to buy tickets online or directly by phone, and updating station equipment to make using these new options smoother. Île-de-France Mobilités dematerialized ticketing solutions are used more and more every month and are now the majority in use.
The aim behind this is just the dematerialization of ticketing and the generalization of this use, which has less environmental impact as compared to magnetic tickets.
Regarding this president of Île-de-France Mobilités and the Île-de-France Region, Valérie Pécresse stated, “The generalization of this service, in partnership with Samsung, is in line with our dematerialization policy initiated in 2016: making the lives of Ile-de-France users simpler, more practical, and more in tune with our times. We will continue to invest and increase our efforts in this direction.”
Back in November 2023, a few testers were able, during a developing phase, to use their Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 lineup as well as newer models to validate their transport tickets. The feedback was positive, highlighting simplicity, fluidity, and the speed of using the service.
Although, since 2019, the Korean giant has been a partner of Île-de-France Mobilités to provide solutions for dematerializing transport tickets to all Ile-de-France residents on their smartphones. Now users can use their Galaxy smartphone for public transport in Île-de-France; this includes validating tickets on a terminal and buying or even reloading them with Samsung Pay.
The two players are going further with this new deployment, which will permit you to buy tickets from a smartphone and validate them just with a flick of the wrist with a connected watch, even in the scenario where it is turned off. This step appears as a move forward to the modernization of Ile-de-France ticketing in a simple way, especially for scenarios when you get late.