Tag Archives: Galaxy Watch

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Google Just Revealed the Name of Their New Wearable Platform

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Nope, it is nothing revolutionary new. They call it the Wear OS 3, and nothing more. The name of the upcoming update to Google’s Wear OS is less revealing of the updates that is coming for Google’s wearable platform though.

Google Wear OS 3 can be seen as the biggest overhaul to the platform since its introduction. It started out, at least for us, when Google and Samsung announced their collaboration and commitment to smartwatches in the 2021 edition of Google I/O. The announcement from Samsung only means that the South Korean electronics giant is abandoning Tizen OS that they have developed and nursed over the years over Google’s Wear OS.

To be fair, while that is a huge commitment from Samsung, it is also a sensible move for them. It means that Samsung gets to merge their existing developer base to Google Wear OS’ larger developer base. It only means that they get more content and potentially more features for their Samsung Galaxy Watch platform too.

Source; Google

For Google, having a partner that is considered the best in the business with plenty more accolades than themselves means a lot more than just getting a helping hand. Sure, the extra hand in developing Wear OS is great. It is also a great way to understand how Samsung made the Galaxy Watch brand the brand that it is. Their partnership with Samsung is also quite natural in a lot of ways, since Samsung has been one of Google’s strongest partner brands in the Android smartphone world. Partly, it also means that Google have one less thing spend resources for development.

Samsung announced a few weeks ago that their upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, suspected to be launching in the August 11th Galaxy Unpacked event, will be the first in their line-up and the probably the world to be running this new mash up of Google’s Wear OS and Tizen OS. They called it their One UI; of course. But One UI is just an overlay of the Operating System (OS) that is the Wear OS. At that point, it was nameless.

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Source: Samsung

Google sort of announced Wear OS 3 about 15 hours ago. While it was not a revolutionary name, it is a significant update over the older Wear OS. They have started detailing which devices will get the update, for example. Most of the older generation hardware will not be getting Wear OS 3, unfortunately. In that case, if you are running a Wear device that has existed in the market for more than a year, you might want to consider retiring it and getting a new one. Of course, we will tell you to wait for the first Google Wear OS 3 devices to hit the market first before deciding.

One of Google’s biggest Wear OS device partners, Fossil has confirmed that they will be updating some of their latest generation smartwatches to Google Wear OS 3 in the coming months. They are also promising new generation wearables later on after the launch of Wear OS 3. While not officially available in Malaysia, you might want to consider looking at Mobvoi’s latest generation smartwatches if you want something that can be updated to Wear OS 3. Of course, if you can wait until September 2021, why not just get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4?

The next big update to Wear OS, the Wear OS 3 is expected to come to watches launching in this half of the year onward. You can expect Samsung to also be among the first manufacturers to boast Google Wear OS 3, albeit in their own One UI skin. Updates to current generation smartwatches to Wear OS 3 is expected to come in in the mid of 2022 onward.

Android, Mobile, News

[MWC 2021] Samsung Shows Off One UI Watch for Upcoming Galaxy Watch 4

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It has been nearly a month since Google’s I/O keynote. In that same time, we were reeling back from the shock we got from the keynote itself about Google and Samsung joining hands to co-develop Android Wear moving forward. That announcement also means that Samsung is abandoning their Tizen OS for future Galaxy Watches. It also seems like Samsung might give up on the idea of their own unique looking UI on their smart watches with the announcement. Now, it does not seem so.

They call it the One UI, and yes, it is based on Google’s Android Wear UI. At least according to Samsung, One UI is developed and built jointly with Google for the Galaxy Watch platform. It is meant to be a unified platform that combines the best of both Google’s wearable platform and Samsung’s Watch platform.

All this is meant to create a Galaxy Watch experience that is familiar but somewhat new to users. But at the same time, the new One UI platform is designed to be more integrated with your Android smartphones as well. That also means that you get a more unified experience between your smartphone and your Galaxy Watch.

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Source: Samsung

With the new One UI, the Galaxy Watch responds almost simultaneously with your Android smartphone. For example, if you change the information you want on your clock app on your smartphone, the changes will be reflected on your Watch as well. When you download apps with a complementing app for the Watch, your Watch downloads and installs the complementing apps at the same time too. When you block calls or messages from your smartphone, that gets directly translated on your Watch as well.

The biggest difference between the older Tizen OS powered Galaxy Watch and the new upcoming One UI powered Galaxy Watch is where you get your apps. One UI gets all its apps from Google’s trusty Play store. That should be good news to Galaxy Watch users though. It means you get access to popular apps like Google Maps, and YouTube music, finally.

Samsung is not the only one that gets the benefits of this partnership though. Samsung is bringing their clever watch face design tool for developers into the Android Wear ecosystem. That also means that designing watch faces for Android Wear is even easier now. More watch faces is always better, especially if you can get great looking watch faces from the Galaxy Watch ecosystem.

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Source: Samsung

Of course, the new One Ui unified platform from the Samsung and Google partnership will be featured in the new upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch device. The full functionalities of One UI will also be announced and showcased in the upcoming Samsung Unpacked event. There are already leaks of how the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 floating around on the internet, and all of those gets us more excited about Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 that is coming soon.

Accessories, Editorial, Health, Lifestyle, News

[Google I/O 2021] Google & Samsung Take Wear OS to the Next Level

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Android Wear or Wear OS as it was renamed a few years ago has been a little anaemic when it comes to updates; that is until NOW. Google took the stage at I/O 2021 to announce what could be the biggest and most important update to Wear OS: Google and Samsung are partnering to push Wear OS to the next level. The announcement confirms rumours which have been making their rounds for months.

Source: Google

The new partnership sees Samsung bring their know-how, expertise and features from their successful Tizen OS to Wear OS. As the companies put it, they are bringing “the best of their platforms together into one unified experience”. So what does this mean exactly? Well, the biggest change is that Samsung’s next Galaxy Watch will be shipping with Wear OS instead of Tizen OS. While this might seems like Samsung will be leaving their older watches behind, the company reassures its users that Galaxy Watch and other Tizen OS powered wearables will be receiving updates and support for at least 3 years after their launch.

Improvements Under the Hood

That aside, the new collaborative Wear OS approach also brings a slew of improvements that will not only be improving the user experience but also making developing for Wear OS a lot easier. The collaboration’s biggest improvement comes in its improved load time. Google is touting a whopping 30% improvement in app load times. In addition, Samsung and Google have made improvements to the lower layer of Wear OS to improve battery life. If you’ve used Wear OS smartwatches, you’d know that battery life can be an issue with them.

Source: Google

Google and Samsung have optimised background processes, making them more efficient and less intensive on the processors. In fact, processor-intensive processes like continuous heart rate monitoring have been optimised to use lower power cores to conserve power. This also opens the doors to more power-efficient features for wearable devices. Samsung has also helped with power efficiency with its bundled sensors which allow them to include more than one sensor in a single module.

More Diverse User Experience

Aside from improvements under the hood, the improvements are also creating a more diverse user experience. Manufacturers are now allowed to skin the operating system to have a more unified look across their devices. This also means that we might see slightly different experiences from manufacturers like Tag Heuer, Fossil and even Samsung will have their own design language when it comes to the user interface for their wearables. Google is expecting that the new customizability will result in a more diverse Wear OS ecosystem.

Google is also opening up more features in the OS to developers. Developers will be able to bring features like tiles to their apps. They have also integrated development for Wear OS into Android’s Development Studio. They are creating a more unified development experience across Android and Wear OS with a single touchpoint for development. Development is also made easier with Google’s Jetpack development suite which allows developers to call and implement API more readily. In addition, they are bringing Kotlin APIs to Wear OS.

Wear OS is also getting more focused on health with help from Samsung. Developers will be able to create new apps and improve their current apps with a more streamlined and simplified work flow. This comes thanks to the new Health Services platform which allows developers to retrieve data without building from scratch. Developers are able to take advantage of continuous data from the sensors and other contextual metrics without impacting the battery life of the device too much.

New Apps, Better Experience

Finally, these improvements directly impact how the OS performs and how accessible apps will be for the platform. The most direct improvements that users will be benefiting from is improved navigation on wearables. Google is bringing simple improvements like a double-tap to jump to your most recent app and even simpler swiping gestures to access your information.

Source: Google / Double Tap for Recent App
Source: Google / Tiles

Google is starting the ball rolling with updates coming to its core apps like Google Maps, Google Pay, Google Assistant and YouTube Music. The first change that will be coming to these apps is the adoption of the new “Material You” design. In addition, Google Maps will be getting better, more visible turn by turn navigation to help with using the app on the go. There are plans to take Google Maps offline. The same applies to YouTube Music as well. Google Assistant and Google Pay will be getting improvements as well. The latter will be making its way to 26 countries in the next few months while the former will become more user friendly on Wear.

It isn’t just Google that is improving its offerings. Spotify has revamped its experience on wearables; allowing users to seamlessly move on the go. The simplified interface allows users to not only control their music but also seamlessly switch between speakers and their Wear OS device. Other companies like Nike, Calm and Adidas have been working on revamping their experiences on OS. Fitbit will also join the Wear OS family. Wear OS apps will also be more visible on the Play Store with a dedicated section and recommendations.

The new Wear OS will be making its way to the market in the coming year. Current Wear OS devices find out if they are getting the big update in the coming months.

Accessories, Android, Mobile, News

Samsung Smartwatches Joining the Wear OS Family?

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Samsung’s wearables have been one of the company’s many boons when it comes to software and functionality. If you’ve been following the wearables market, Samsung’s Tizen OS has quickly become one of the more functionally stable operating systems in the market. However, there’s always been a looming cloud over Tizen as Samsung’s own Galaxy devices come equipped with Google’s Android OS.

Twitter user and prolific leaker, @UniverseIce tweeted on Friday that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch would be replacing its well thought out Tizen OS with Google’s Wear OS. If true, the switch would seem to benefit Google’s floundering Wear OS more than Samsung’s Galaxy Wearables lineup. It would also make Samsung one of the biggest names behind the OS aside from FOSSIL, Casio, and Skagen.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series has seen much success in previous years thanks to its design and impressively thought-out software. This change seems to be rather uncharacteristic for Samsung given the popularity of the devices and also the company’s recent thrust for its SmartThings platform. That said, Samsung’s move to embrace Google’s services isn’t anything new. We’ve seen it in recent years with Bixby slowly taking a backseat to Google Assistant in the company’s OneUI.

That said, Samsung could very well be looking at offering a whole new series of smartwatches built for Wear OS. The other possibility is the company introducing a Wear OS version of the upcoming Galaxy Watch. This would bolster the number of the devices in Samsung’s Galaxy Ecosystem and create a new offering for those who have shied away from Samsung’s wearables for so long.

While highly unlikely, this could be an indication that Wear OS has finally reached a point where Samsung is comfortable putting it on their devices. There have been many limitations when it came to both Tizen and Wear OS. However, the former has consistently been able to keep up with new features and better customizability.

Editorial, Health, News

Samsung’s Next Galaxy Watch & the Next Apple Watch Could Change Things for Diabetic Health

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We’ve long held the impression that wearables could change the health landscape. In fact, some companies like Fitbit have built businesses focusing on this promise. However, over the past decade, while we’ve seen numerous wearables drive an increased awareness of the importance of health and deliver tonnes of data to the consumer, we haven’t seen that dramatic shift that has been promised. That may change with the upcoming entries to the Samsung Galaxy Watch line up.

Rumours coming from Korean news outlet ET News are pointing to the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch Active 3 and Apple Watch having a glucose monitor. This could revolutionize how the medical community looks to monitor and treat patients with diabetes. According to the report, the Galaxy Watch 4 will come with an optical sensor that will be able to detect the glucose levels in the user’s blood. This is done without the need to break the skin and by using a technique called Raman’s spectroscopy.

How Will It Work?

Let’s take a look at how this would work. We’re all used to the myriad of sensors on the back of a wearable now. We have one that measures the users heart rate, blood oxygenation and stress levels; and in newer wearables like the Fitbit Sense, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and Apple Watch Series 6, we also have sensors for an ECG. In addition to this, the new watch would include an additional sensor that would be able to detect the sugars in the blood vessels.

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Photo by Torsten Dettlaff on Pexels.com

It achieves this by using a precise spectrum of light and sends it into the vessels where it comes into contact with glucose molecules. These molecules then produce a scatter which is unique to glucose which is then read by the sensor. This information is used in tandem with other relevant molecular concentrations in the blood will be able to give you a reading on the glucose levels in blood.

Why is Glucose Monitoring in Wearables Important?

So, it’s just another sensor – you might be saying. Yes, it’s another sensor in a piece of tech that seems filled to the brim with sensors. However, the fact that it allows a crucial bit of information to be available to patients is how it will revolutionize diabetic healthcare.

At the current time, the only way feasible way for diabetics to get glucose readings is by pricking themselves on a daily basis. This comes on top of the multiple pricks they have to endure to administer insulin subcutaneously. An average diabetic patient on insulin would need to prick themselves at least twice a day for glucose monitoring and administration of insulin. However, with this technology, they would only need to prick themselves once. This not only improves their quality of life; it makes sure that they aren’t needlessly building up scar tissue.

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Photo by PhotoMIX Company on Pexels.com

Another big jump in management comes with the fact that this technology also allows patients to monitor their blood sugar levels continuously. The only way this is feasible currently is if patients opt for a continuous glucose monitor. Using this will entail placing a probe under the skin. This is usually a plastic needle which takes blood samples at regular intervals. While this seems harmless, it presents its own set of challenges when it comes to maintenance and sterility. In fact, these probes can be the source of infections if not maintained well. What’s more, this method of monitoring isn’t widely adopted.

The fact that the new line up of Galaxy Watches could make continuous glucose monitoring more readily accessible will ensure diabetic patients have more granular information. Using this information, both doctors and patients will have more granular insights into the glucose tolerance of different types of foods by patients. This could lead to better diabetic management and even reversal in some cases.

Start of a New Wave of Health-centric Wearbles with Medically Actionable Insights

The new wave of wearbles starting with the next generation Samsung Galaxy Watches and Apple Watch could finally be medically relevant. The new features that will come in these wearables will allow access to more actionable insights when it comes to managing disease.

In fact, with more countries approving the ECG function in the Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch Active 2, the wearable category may become a requirement instead of an option for more chronically afflicted patients – fulfilling a promise that was made at the inception of the category.