From CNET: Samsung's Galaxy Watch line is getting a handful of sleep, fitness and wellness updates, hinting that the tech giant will continue to lean into health as the main focus for its future smartwatches. The One UI 5 Watch update will arrive on Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Watches later this year. Current Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 owners in the US and Korea can register for the update's beta program this month.
The focus on sleep, health and wellness upholds a trend that's been present throughout the wearables industry for several years but became particularly prominent throughout 2022 and 2023. Both Apple and Samsung's latest smartwatches gained temperature sensors in 2022, and smart ring maker Oura just announced a suite of new sleep-related features. Google's Fitbit added the ability to continuously monitor for potential signs of stress on its Sense 2 smartwatch last year too.
Samsung's new software will display the sleep score more prominently on the watch's sleep insights screen and will make sleep coaching available on the wrist. Sleep coaching measures a wearer's sleep trends and assigns an animal mascot based on the resulting patterns. Until the update arrives, this feature is accessible only through a user's phone.
The change is part of Samsung's goal to surface sleep data more easily, said Hon Pak, head of the digital health team for Samsung's mobile experience business.
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