Galaxy Watch 4 update adds watch faces, better heart rate tracking, and more
It’s rolling out now
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If you own aSamsung Galaxy Watch 4or aSamsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, we’d recommend checking for a software upgrade at your earliest opportunity, as a fairly significant new update is now rolling out to the wearables.
AsSamsung notes(via9to5Google), the updated software brings with it a variety of new watch faces – including ones with augmented reality and GIF capabilities – so you’ll get more options when it comes to giving your smartwatch a new look.
There’s also better “measurement accuracy” when it comes to heart rate monitoring, which is something that both the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can do. The data that the smartwatches log should now be more reliable than ever.
Better than ever
We’ve got other improvements too: the fall detection feature, which can alert your emergency contacts if you have a tumble, now comes with a sensitivity option, so you can adjust the level of movement that triggers it in the future.
In addition, the usual “system stability and reliability” upgrades are mentioned. It should also now be easier to switch betweenSamsungwearables, because the software will remember your watch face configurations and settings when you run a backup.
The latest software patch doesn’t cost anything to install or use, and it should be showing up automatically on your wrist in the near future. You can check for an update manually through the settings page of the Galaxy Wearables app on your smartphone as well.
Opinion: Samsung needs to stay committed to Wear OS
It’s been a big year for Wear OS: Samsung has helpedGooglewith a much-publicizedrevamp and relaunchof the smartwatch software, and it’s good to see that software updates and new features are being pushed out for these Galaxy Watch devices so soon after they launched.
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Remember that Samsung and Google are up against theApple Watch, a hugely popular smartwatch that gets a significant pile of new features every year. The recently launchedwatchOS 8brings with it a new Mindfulness app, better sleep tracking, and more.
And these updates are important for a security and stability point of view as well. Buyers need to be confident that the devices that they strap to their wrists are still going to be working and running smoothly several years down the line.
With all of that in mind, it’s crucial that Samsung keeps the updates coming in the future, and that Google continues to build on Wear OS, rather than letting it gather dust and grow old. More and more smartwatches are hitting the market all the time – and we might, before too long, see thePixel Watchtoo.
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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