Samsung has teased the software that will power its next smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4.
The company showed off a demo of the One UI software, its tailored version of Google’s newly rebooted Wear OS smartwatch system.
It made no specific reference to the Galaxy Watch 4 or the Watch 4 Active, expected to launch either on July 28 or August 11. But these previews offer a better look into how the watches will feel than the recently leaked renders of the Galaxy Watch 4.
Samsung paints a picture of a watch that has fairly deep links with your phone. “When you install a watch-equipped app on your Galaxy smartphone, it will automatically download right onto your watch as well,” reads the narration from one of the promo videos.
Other elements like blocked callers and the time zones you display on your phone’s clock will also migrate to the Galaxy Watch 4. This is not surprising stuff, given One UI is at heart a customized Google piece of software.
You can also expect more apps than are currently available for a Tizen-based watch like the Galaxy Watch 3.
Titles already teased include Spotify, YouTube Music, Google Maps, Calm, Strava, Adidas Running and Google Messages.
Samsung will also offer a watch face designer, although this is intended for developers rather than end users.
This deeper partnership between Samsung’s and Google’s wearables teams reads as a joining of forces to try to erode the dominance of the Apple Watch at the higher end of the smartwatch market.
The appeal of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 will also depend on how long it lasts between charges, as the Apple Watch app ecosystem is still far more of a draw than the app improvements Samsung has previewed here.
Samsung promises longer battery life for its next wearables, but whether it will be better measured in hours or days it not yet known. The earliest we are likely to see the Galaxy Watch 4 announced is on July 28, when its Unpacked launch event may take place according to recent reports.
