When Samsung announced that their Galaxy Watch 4 devices will be running on the Wear OS platform in partnership with Google, owners of the Galaxy smartwatches on Tizen were a bit worried. Of course, the focus will be on the shiny, new thing but will there still be attention given to the older wearables. Well, the newest update to the smartwatches brings some features from the Galaxy Watch 4 devices to the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Watch Active2, and Galaxy Watch3.
Fall Detection is a feature already available for the Galaxy Active Watch2 and Galaxy Watch3 and now both devices are getting its advanced features. You will now be able to choose a higher sensitivity, depending on your needs and situation. You can choose to detect a fall even when you’re standing still if you adjust the sensitivity to high. When the device detects a fall, those you pre-selected as your contacts will receive an SOS notification.
The Updated Group Challenge lets you add friends or family members to a challenge that you want to take on. You can keep track of your own place of course and you can also see how you are all performing as a team. The Samsung Health Monitor app is also updated to get more accurate data from your Blood Pressure (BP)4 and Electrocardiogram (ECG)5 monitoring as well as other sensors, trackers, and advanced health features. They are market-dependent though as some of the features need approval from the FDA.
The update also brings 10 additional watchfaces that were only previously available with the Galaxy Watch4. This includes the Big Number, Active, the more minimalistic Classic, and Cute Character watchfaaces. The Animal watchface lets you choose from a monkey, rabbit, sheep or cat. They can be both fun and functional, depending on what you’re in the mood for. There are also some deeper customization options like changing the background or text colors.
The update is rolling out to users of the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Watch Active2, and Galaxy Watch3 in the U.S and South Korea first but eventually will be available in the other markets. Some of the features particularly with the health monitoring vary per market though.
