Galaxy Watch
The first beta of the One UI Watch 5 & Wear OS 4 is coming soon
The realm of smartwatches is advancing steadily, with a growing emphasis on user health and well-being. Samsung, a prominent player in the industry, is gearing up to introduce a major upgrade known as One UI Watch 5 for its wearable devices powered by the Wear OS operating system. This forthcoming update is expected to introduce numerous noteworthy enhancements and innovative features, which we will delve into further in the following sections.
Samsung One UI Watch 5 (Wear OS 4) First Beta Update
The first smartwatch expected to feature the new software is likely to be the Galaxy Watch6. However, Samsung intends to offer users of older models, such as the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch5, an opportunity to preview the upcoming firmware. This initiative aligns with the company’s commitment to engaging users in the product development process and enhancing their experience by allowing them to test the firmware before its official release.
Rumors suggest that the official unveiling of the Galaxy Watch 6, accompanied by the introduction of the new One UI Watch 5 software, will potentially occur on July 26 at COEX in South Korea. Additionally, Samsung had previously announced their plan to launch a beta program for One UI Watch 5 on the existing Wear OS Galaxy smartwatches by the end of May.
Wear OS 4-based One UI Watch 5 Beta Program
While we approach the end of May, it is worth considering the possibility of a delay in the beta program launch. As observed last year with the first beta firmware release of One UI Watch 4.5 in early June, followed by the stable version about a month later, the timing can vary. Once the One UI Watch 5 beta becomes accessible, users of Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 can look forward to several notable improvements. These include advanced health features like more accurate sleep tracking, on-watch sleep coaching, enhanced connectivity with SmartThings-enabled devices, and upgraded fitness capabilities, such as personalized heart rate monitoring.
Notably, One UI Watch 5 introduces significant updates, particularly in the area of fall detection, which will be as active as it is on Garmin smartwatches, along with an updated SOS system. These additions highlight Samsung’s dedication to user safety, extending beyond conventional fitness and wellness functionalities. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the ECG function of One UI Watch 5 has received approval from the FDA, the U.S. government agency responsible for regulating food and pharmaceuticals. This recognition serves as a significant milestone for Samsung, affirming the quality and reliability of the ECG monitoring feature integrated into their new smartwatches.
At present, we have covered the available information on the upcoming smartwatch operating system; One UI Watch 5. To learn more details and receive updates on this highly anticipated release, we await official announcements from the Korean manufacturer. Stay tuned for future updates that are sure to follow.
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.
Samsung is actively working on expanding its wearable family as it gears up to launch the Galaxy Watch 7 series. Now, the battery for the Pro variant of the Watch 7 series has been spotted on the BIS certification.
The next-generation Galaxy Watch 7 series will be launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event, which is supposed to be held in early July 2024. Samsung could offer three variants of the Galaxy Watch 7 series rumored as standard and classic, and out of those, one could be a ‘Pro’ variant. Reports now indicate that the BIS certification has revealed the battery of the upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 Pro.
By the BIS spotting, it is expected that the Galaxy Watch 7 Pro will feature a 578 mAh battery, which could be advertised as a 600mAh battery. The battery has been spotted with the model number EB-705ABY. The existence spotted on BIS means Samsung is actively working to launch the smartwatch in India.
Another report is reporting that a model number of Samsung’s wearable has been spotted in the Bluetooth SIG database as SM-L305U, which is the Galaxy Watch 7 with a 40mm version and LTE connectivity for the US market. As per the certification, the upcoming Watch 7 will feature Bluetooth 5.3 with LE.
It is expected that Samsung will introduce the Galaxy Watch 7 powered by the Exynos W940 SoC, which will result in 50% more efficiency and 30% faster performance as compared to its predecessor generation at a Galaxy Unpacked event, along with the next-generation foldable devices Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6.
The Galaxy Watch 7 series is expected to run Wear OS 5. It could also feature a new 3nm chip, which is said to offer a 50% increase in power efficiency over the Galaxy Watch 6. This time, the giants could also increase the storage capacity of the Galaxy Watch 7 to 32GB.