Older Samsung Galaxy smartwatches get newer features with the latest update
There’s life in the old wearables yet
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Good news if you own aGalaxy Watchor aGalaxy Watch Active:Samsungis pushing out a software update for the older smartwatches that deliver some of the newer features already available on theGalaxy Watch 3and theGalaxy Watch Active 2.
As reported byTizenHelp, the update is rolling out now and brings a number of improvements with it, which might mean you don’t have to think about upgrading your Samsung smartwatch quite so soon.
For a start, incoming messages in apps such asWhatsAppcan now display images right on the watches themselves, so you can see at a glance whether the pictures your friends and relatives are sending your way are worth getting your phone out for.
Then there’s support for Bitmoji and Samsung’s own AR Emoji right on the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Watch Active, giving you more options for adding some variety to your instant messaging conversations when words just aren’t enough.
Keeping you updated
When it comes to the fitness features on these smartwatches, voice guidance over Bluetooth is being added so you can hear how far you’ve traveled and what your heart rate is during a run, walk, cycle or other workout.
There’s now a scrolling screenshot capture mode on the wearables, should you need it, and Samsung has apparently added a bunch of stability and performance improvements to the Tizen software too. The update is said to weigh in at 292MB.
With the original Samsung Galaxy Watch launching in August 2018 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active follow-up appearing in March 2019, it’s encouraging to see Samsung still updating these devices even though newer models are now available.
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The newer models have been getting their own updates in recent days too: blood pressure monitoring functionalityhas just been addedto the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 via a software update.
ViaXDA Developers
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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