Wearables
Google Keep app for Galaxy Watch 4/5 gets richer note feeds
In early December, Google updated its Google Keep for Wear OS customers to bring new features for notes and to-do lists such as the ability to view labels, collaborators, photos, custom backgrounds, and even drawings. Now, the company is again enhancing the Google Keep app through a new update that is compatible with Wear OS watches including Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5.
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The new update of Google Keep comes with new features for the Notes feed to provide a richer experience. Users of Wear OS 3 watches such as Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 can identify the latest version of Google Keep with version 5.22.482.00.97.
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Now you don’t have to get bored seeing only gray color because after installing the new Google Keep update you can see the background color or preset image on your watch which you set in your phone app.
Furthermore, the color card also shows the background and preset images you’ve used in the Phone app. Not only this, the text preview feature has also been enhanced in the update so that you can see three or four lines of a large paragraph of notes instead of one or two lines.
It is an initial rollout so it may take some time to reach all eligible devices through Google Play Store. Notably, some users are facing issues related to the preview of images but the company may fix this before rolling it out widely.
As Apple Pay went official in South Korea, Samsung is reportedly considering bringing the Samsung Pay payment service to Galaxy Watch users. Starting the original Galaxy Watch, the company launched new wearable devices without NFC-based Samsung Pay service in its home ground.
According to Korean media via (SamSWUpdate), Samsung started the review phase to launch the NFC-based Samsung Pay payment feature on the Galaxy Watch models in South Korea. Since all Galaxy Watch models are packed with NFC, there will be wider availability of this feature.
Exclusive: Galaxy Watch with NFC to support Samsung Pay in South Korea, software development is underway. Thanks #ApplePay 😉
— Samsung One UI Software Updates #SamsungUnpacked (@SamSWUpdate) March 28, 2023
The company is reportedly developing a new firmware update, which will enable the Samsung Pay feature on compatible Galaxy Watch models. The Gear S3 was the last wearable launched in Korea, which was equipped with MST (magnetic secure transport) to support Samsung Pay.
It’s worth mentioning that Samsung Pay is already available in various global markets, thanks to the widespread availability of NFC-based payment terminals. Meanwhile, the number of stores that accept NFC payment is very small in South Korea.
Since NFC-powered Apple Pay just entered the Korean market, Samsung believes that the use of NFC terminals will significantly increase in the country. That is why, the company is reportedly bringing back the Samsung Pay function to Galaxy Watch models.
As Apple Pay is expected to attract Galaxy users to switch to iPhones, Samsung needs to prevent Apple Pay by promoting convenience, and a simple payment function for wearables. However, a Samsung official reportedly denied commenting on the matter, saying:
“It is difficult to officially confirm” the plan to apply Samsung Pay, and “nothing has been decided yet.”
In terms of versatility, Samsung Pay is evaluated to be superior to Apple Pay in South Korea. Apple Pay uses the internationally accepted EMV (Euro Pay Master Card Visa) NFC method, but older NFC terminals do not recognize it, making it impossible to make payments through Apple Pay.
On the other hand, Samsung Pay adopts the MST (magnetic secure transport) method, which can be used at most stores in South Korea. Notably, Samsung Pay recently gained the ability to store digital student identity cards in select high schools, read more here.
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Google announced a big firmware update on the Wear OS 3.5 platform as part of its March 2023 Feature Drop. The Pixel Watch is getting benefited directly, and we hope, Samsung will also bring crucial bells and whistles to the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 series running Wear OS 3.5.
According to Google, the Pixel Watch’s March 2023 software update includes numerous bug fixes and improvements for users. However, the changelog lists various a handful of new features, and improvements for a better user experience on Wear OS 3.5 devices.
The March update brings new Watch Faces to the Wear OS 3.5. On the Pixel Watch, the new Digital Clock is available with a button press when the smartwatch is powered down. The time will now appear upon crown push, along with the red low battery indicator.
In addition to Pixel Watch-specific content, the March 2023 update changelog mentions crucial improvements for Wear OS 3.5. That said, Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 users may also get crucial improvements and optimization, thanks to the Wear OS 3.5 platform.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 lineups run Wear OS 3.5-based One UI Watch 4.5 operating system. The company rolls out Galaxy-exclusive firmware updates and features to consumers, and we expect a big yet feature-rich update in the coming weeks.
Wear OS 3.5 March update changelog
- Watch Faces
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- Digital Clock is now available with button press when the device is powered down. The time will now appear upon crown push, alongside the red low battery indicator.
- Display
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- In addition to tap, tilt, button press to wake the watch, you can now rotate the Crown to wake.
- Touch
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- Optimizations have been added to improve sensitivity of touch screen behavior.
- Settings
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- Battery saver enable/disable single tap support in QSS has been fully enabled in this release.
- Alarms
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- In the coming weeks, a fix will be rolled out via PlayStore to update the Clock app that addresses some alarms which have been having a delayed or false start.
- Ensure Auto-update apps is selected in Play Store > Settings on your watch and you will get this update once it’s available when your watch is on charger and connected to Wi-Fi.
As highlighted in the Google Pixel March Feature Drop post, these features are now also available with this software update:
- Settings
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- Mono-audio which limits the disorientation of split-audio
- New color-correction and greyscale modes that better optimize the display for a wider range of vision preferences.
- Fall Detection
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- Your Pixel Watch now has fall detection which can detect if you’ve taken a hard fall and connect you to emergency services. Once connected to emergency services, your Pixel Watch will play an automated message to request help to wherever you are.
- Device Applicability
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- Updates are available for all supported Pixel Watch devices.
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The Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic are reportedly readying to debut at the August 2023 Samsung Unpacked event. Ahead of the launch, the battery capacity of both the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic has been revealed, sharing the same specs.
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According to the info, Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic could come with the same battery capacity. Usually, the company brings the larger battery to the premium model, which might not be the same case with the next lineup.
Evidence from a Chinese regulatory board allegedly exposed the battery mAh of upcoming Samsung smartwatch models along with dial sizes. It’s worth mentioning that the Classic models may have larger dial sizes with the same battery as the smaller variants of Watch 6.
- Galaxy Watch 6 40mm: 300mAh
- Galaxy Watch 6 Classic 42mm: 300mAh
- Galaxy Watch 6 44mm: 425mAh
- Galaxy Watch 6 Classic 46mm: 425mAh
Compared to the last year’s Galaxy Watch 5, that’s an upgrade of approx 5% on each model. As compared to the Galaxy Watch 4, the upcoming models are likely to feature an upgrade of around 20%, which will make quite an impact on battery life.
With the Galaxy Watch 4, the South Korean tech giant stopped using its own developed Tizen OS and replaced it with Google’s Wear OS. Continuing this, the company will bring the next-generation smartwatches with the One UI Watch operating system, based on Wear OS.
Earlier, it was revealed that the Galaxy Watch 6 will have a curved glass display, similar to the Google Pixel Watch or Apple Watch series. In addition, the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro could be replaced with Classic branding and bring back the physical rotating bezel.