Galaxy Watch
Samsung One UI Watch 5 (WearOS 4) Changelog and features
Samsung has recently introduced the One UI Watch beta program, specifically designed for Galaxy Watches. Now, the company is rolling out the highly anticipated One UI Watch 5 beta update based on the Wear OS 4 for Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 users.
With the arrival of the One UI Watch 5 update for Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5, users can expect an array of exciting new features and enhancements compared to the previous version. To enjoy these additions, users will need to download an extensive 1800MB package for the installation of this significant update onto their watches.
The latest One UI Watch 5 update, built on Google’s Wear OS 4 platform, brings forth an assortment of fresh watch faces, increased customization options, new clock faces, tiles, expanded Samsung Health features, as well as backup and restore functionalities. Moreover, it offers enhanced call control features, the ability to dictate text using the Home button, Device care, and much more. This update empowers users to switch between different communication styles to suit various occasions conveniently.
Samsung One UI Watch 5 & Wear OS 4 Changelog:
Watch faces and tiles
- Add watch faces and tiles easily
- A new vertical layout makes it easier to find the watch faces and tiles that are right for you.
- Improve Buds controller tile
- You can now turn 360 audio on and off from the Buds controller tile if your Buds support 360 audio.
- Quick access to timers
- You can start timers from the new Timer tile without opening the Timer app.
- Set an album or story as your watch face
- Instead of just one picture, you can now make your watch face cycle between pictures in an album or story that you select. Your watch face will change to a different picture each time you turn on the watch screen.
Samsung Health
- Automatically record cycling workouts
- Samsung Health can now detect when you start cycling and record your workout automatically. You can also set whether to automatically map your cycling routes.
- Get heart rate guidance while running
- Your watch can provide personalized heart rate zones while you run to help you manage your exercise intensity.
Backup and Restore
- Keep your watch data safe
- Files and data from your watch are periodically backed up to your phone when it’s connected to your watch. You can also save backups to Samsung Cloud. Your phone needs the latest version of the Smart Switch app to use this feature.
Control Your Phone
- More call controls
- You now have more control over calls without touching your phone. You can adjust the call volume, mute sound, and press buttons on the keypad, all from your watch.
Additional changes
- Dictate text with Home button
- Just press and hold the Home button any time you’re entering text with Samsung Keyboard to instantly switch to voice input.
- Using multiple timers at once
- You can now have up to 20 timers running at the same time to help keep track of all your tasks.
- Share medical information in an emergency
- A button to access your medical info will appear automatically when a hard fall is detected or when you press the Home button 5 times to start the Emergency SOS feature.
- Device Care
- Check the status of your watch’s battery, storage, and memory and immediately fix any problems to extend battery life and keep your watch running smoothly.
- Control your watch without touch
- Universal gestures let you control your watch without touching the screen or pressing a button. You can assign various actions to gestures such as shaking your wrist, making a fist, or pinching your fingers.
- Organize app in folder
- Create folders to keep your apps organized so you can find the apps you need quickly with less scrolling.
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.