Samsung Galaxy Watches Are About To Get 3 Great New Features With One UI 8 Update
The next Samsung Galaxy Watch OS update is set to introduce big features taken straight from Samsung phones, such as One UI 7's Now Bar and Now Brief. Gemini AI will also be onboard with the ability to move your calendar events, summarize emails, as well as other Google Assistant-like actions. Early reports point to Samsung skipping the next OS being called "One UI 7 Watch" for "One UI 8 Watch" instead, which some believe brings parity with One UI 8 on Samsung phones.
Samsung's next generation Galaxy Watch 8 is a couple of months away, possibly bringing with it a shakeup in the model lineup, while also introducing some Gemini AI smarts plus other useful features and tweaks. The latter information comes from leaked code from a One UI 8 Watch APK build this week, so let's dig into them a little more.
One of the big additions found in some string lines is for the "Now Bar" feature. This could be the same function found on Samsung phones, which allows you to display information such as live notifications, music, Now Brief, or modes and routines on the lock screen, but on the Galaxy Watch 8 could appear as either a complication on the watch's homescreen and/or always-on-display:
- <string name=”icon_only”>Icon only</string>
- <string name=”icon_with_text_while_screen_is_on”>Icon with text while screen is on</string>
- <string name=”double_pinch_taps_on_”>Double pinch to open the Now bar shown on your watch face.
- Turn on Secondary action to move through notifications or tiles when your Now bar is empty.</string>
- <string name=”nowbar_tips”>Check the information you need right now on your watch face.</string> <string name=”sports_on_google”>Sports on Google</string>
Watch UI 8 Watch may also see something called the "Shortcuts" tile. This allows users to create a set of 2 x 1 or 2 x 2 shortcuts of their most frequently-used apps:
- <string name=”shortcut_double_tile_default_title”>Select apps</string>
- <string name=”text_app_icon”>App Icon</string>
- <string name=”text_get_started”>Get started</string>
- <string name=”text_select_apps”>Select apps</string>
- <string name=”text_tap_to_add_apps”>Tap to add apps.</string>
Gemini is slated to appear in the Galaxy Watch 8 (along with the Pixel Watch) to replace Google Assistant as the default VA. There will be a feature called "Gemini Actions" that could do things like summarize your emails, snap a photo with your phone, adjusting calendar events, inform you of the weather, etc.
The APK breakdown also found a "Shuffle" feature which cycles through new watch faces every day, as well as "Battery Protection" feature that gives the user the option to stop charging at a specific level, thus reducing long-term battery wear.
