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Samsung is now rolling out the One UI 5 Watch update to the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 in the US. The big new update appears to be limited to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth variants initially, but the company will soon push it to LTE models as well. A global rollout for both lineups should follow in the coming days.
Based on Wear OS 4, One UI 5 Watch is the latest version of Samsung’s custom software experience for Galaxy watches. The new version debuted with the Galaxy Watch 6 series in late July. Yesterday, the Korean firm pushed it to the Galaxy Watch 5 series in its home country South Korea. It has now released the update for the Galaxy Watch 4 series as well, while also expanding the availability to the US.
The big platform update for the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes with the firmware build number R9**XXU1BWH3. That for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is R8**USQU1ZWF1 (via SamMobile). The OTA (over-the-air) package weighs about 1.7GB for both lineups. You can check for the update on your watch from the Settings app. You can also use the Galaxy Wearable app on your connected smartphone to download the update.
One UI 5 Watch brings plenty of new features to Galaxy Watch 4 and 5
The One UI 5 Watch update is a massive one for Samsung’s Wear OS-powered smartwatches. It brings plenty of new features and functional improvements to the wrist wearables. For starters, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 are getting a bunch of new watch faces and tiles. Among them is a Battery tile that lets you quickly check the battery level of your watch, phone, and Galaxy Buds. The Buds controller now lets you turn on/off 360 audio using a tile too.
Improved call controls allow you to adjust the call volume, mute sound, and use the keypad directly from your watch. If paired with the latest Galaxy foldables, your Galaxy Watch will also be able to detect Flex Mode and provide you with a camera shortcut. The Home button now works as a voice input key when using the Samsung Keyboard. You can press the button to instantly switch to voice input. Bixby can read notifications for you if you’re using earphones.
The Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 are also getting Samsung Health improvements with the One UI 5 Watch update. Samsung has improved the sleep coaching feature to give you better insights into your sleeping habits and improve them. It has also added support for automatic recording of cycling workouts. One UI 5 Watch lets you create custom exercises as well. You can find the full One UI 5 Watch changelog here. Note that some features don’t work with non-Samsung smartphones.