Got a Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 5 smartwatch on your wrist? You'll be pleased to learn that Samsung has officially opened up the One UI 5 Beta program for its Watch 4 and Watch 5 smartwatches in the US. The beta brings new features such as improvements to Samsung Health, receiving heart rate guidance during workouts, and making it easier to find watch faces and tiles.
As is customary, you'll first need to open up the Samsung Members app and sign up for the One UI 5 Watch Beta program. Once you've enrolled into the beta program, the first beta update should be ready to download when entering the Galaxy Wearable app on your companion smartphone. If it isn't, just give it a while and check back at a later time.
Bear in mind that the beta build weighs in at around 1.5GB so unless you have a big data allowance on your carrier plan it's probably best to download via a stable WiFi connection. Your Galaxy Watch 4/5 will also need to be charged up to at least 30% in order for the update to begin. You can check out the complete changelog of the One UI 5 Watch Beta just below:
Watch Faces and Tiles
- Add watch faces and tiles more easily: A new vertical layout makes it easier to find the watch faces and tiles that are right for you.
- Improved Buds controller tile: You can now turn 360 audio on and off from the Buds controller tile if your Buds support 360 audio.
- Quick access to timers: You can start timers from the new Timer tile without opening the Timer app.
- Set an album or story as your watch face: Instead of just one picture, you can now make your watch face cycle between pictures in an album or story that you select. Your watch face will change to a different picture each time you turn on the watch screen.
Samsung Health
- Automatically record cycling workouts: Samsung Health can now detect when you start cycling and record your workout automatically. You can also set whether to automatically map your cycling routes.
- Get heart rate guidance during running workouts: Your watch can provide personalized heart rate zones while you run to help you manage your exercise intensity.
Backup and restore
- Keep your watch data safe: Files and data from your watch are periodically backed up to your phone when it's connected to your watch. You can also save backups to Samsung Cloud. Your phone needs the latest version of the Smart Switch app to use this feature.
Control your phone
- More call controls: You now have more control over calls without touching your phone. You can adjust the call volume, mute sound, and press buttons on the keypad, all from your watch.
Additional changes
- Dictate text with the Home button: Just press and hold the Home button any time you're entering text with Samsung Keyboard to instantly switch to voice input.
- Use multiple timers at once: You can now have up to 20 timers running at the same time to help keep track of all your tasks.
- Share your medical info in an emergency: A button to access your medical info will appear automatically when a hard fall is detected or when you press the Home button 5 times to start the Emergency SOS feature.
- Device care: Check the status of your watch's battery, storage, and memory and immediately fix any problems to extend battery life and keep your watch running smoothly.
- Control your watch without touching it: Universal gestures let you control your watch without touching the screen or pressing a button. You can assign various actions to gestures such as shaking your wrist, making a fist, or pinching your fingers.
- Organize apps in folders: Create folders to keep your apps organized so you can find the apps you need quickly with less scrolling.
