Samsung’s Galaxy Watches are getting a major update that adds a slew of health-related features later this year. Announced today, One UI 5 Watch will be launching with a focus on helping Galaxy Watch owners understand more about their personal wellness, specifically by offering new insights into a user’s sleep habits and sleep health.
The One UI 5 Watch update is broken into three main categories: sleep health, general health, and always-on safety features. And, yes, many of them are taken right from the Apple Watch.
The sleep features are housed under a new umbrella called “Sleep Insights UI” and will help users track their sleeping patterns and gain insights into how they can build healthier sleep habits. Similar to features found in Fitbit trackers and Apple Watches, Sleep Insights will score a person’s sleep and give them coaching on how to improve each night so that they wake feeling rested and refreshed. Additionally, when a Galaxy Watch detects that its wearer is sleeping, it has the ability to automatically mute certain notifications in order to make a more “conducive environment for rest.”
New generalized health features are also being added to allow Galaxy Watch owners to see personalized running analytics and view individualized interval training programs to better help users create effective workouts for themselves. Galaxy Watch 5 Pro owners will be getting additional wellness features, such as an expanded version of Route Workout — a feature that helps track running, walking, hiking, and cycling routes.
Perhaps the most important additions coming with One UI 5 Watch are the emergency safety features. Fall detection is now enabled by default, and emergency SOS allows users to add personal medical information that first responders can access in an emergency. These features have been incorporated into Apple Watches for a while now, and there are seemingly countless stories of them helping people. As such, the enhanced versions coming to Galaxy Watches are extremely welcome.
One UI 5 Watch will be available later this year for Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 owners, with a beta program going live later this month. Those looking to register for the beta can do so by logging into the Samsung Members app.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.