(Feb 8, 11:45 a.m. ET) Updated to include more information about Google Assistant and YouTube Music updates.
What you need to know
- Samsung is pushing out a new update to the Galaxy Watch 4 soon with new watch faces and an improved setup experience.
- Updated health features include more comprehensive body composition insights and a sleep coaching program.
- Features coming soon include Google Assistant and Wi-Fi or LTE streaming for the YouTube Music app.
Samsung is announcing a new update for the Galaxy Watch 4, giving owners new health features, watch faces, and an improved setup process. Plus, Samsung provides an update on the availability of Google Assistant, which it teased following the watch's launch.
With this new update, Samsung is partnering with Chris Hemsworth's Centr fitness program to provide deeper insights into one's body composition. These insights will be available in the Samsung Health app and powered by Centr, while Samsung is also giving users a free 30-day trial to the full Centr app. Additionally, the Galaxy Watch 4 is receiving new interval target training which is ideal for runners and cyclists.
Samsung is also promoting better sleep with a new sleep coaching program that will rate your sleep over the course of a week and assign you with a sleep symbol animal based on your patterns. From there, the app will coach you on ways to improve your sleeping habits, and your Galaxy Watch 4 will be able to automatically turn off SmartThings-controlled lights if it detects you've fallen asleep.
Samsung is also launching new watch faces and watch bands so owners can gain new ways to customize their watches. The bands will be available for purchase in late February.
When it comes to setting up your new Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung is streamlining the process a bit by allowing you to select which apps to install, similar to the setup process on many of the best Android phones.
However, the most exciting news is that soon, Galaxy Watch 4 owners will be able to download Google Assistant from the Play Store. According to Google, this will incorporate a new design akin to how it appears on smartphones, and should provide faster responses. This is good news for those that prefer Google's virtual assistant over Bixby. Samsung teased its availability following the Galaxy Watch 4 launch, but months later, we still have yet to see it. However, Samsung says that it will be available "in the coming months," so we will have to wait a bit longer.
Lastly, another update arriving soon will allow users on Wear OS 2 and Wear OS 3 to stream YouTube Music over Wi-Fi and LTE. Currently, the Wear OS app can only stream content that has been downloaded for offline listening, so this should give anyone on the best Wear OS watches a bit more flexibility when leaving their phones at home.
Source: Google
Galaxy Watch 4 owners will receive the health-focused new software update on February 9, the same day as the Galaxy Unpacked event.
The best gets even better
As the sole Wear OS 3 smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4 is one of the best wearables you can buy. It's fast, comes with a bevy of health and fitness tracking features, and it works seemlesly with a Galaxy smartphone.
