Newsletter
Today Samsung is officially announcing One UI Watch 4.5 for the Galaxy Watch 4 and upcoming Galaxy Watch devices. The software has been available in a beta format for a little while, with the most recent release of it having gone out for some users around July 4.
Most of what the official release offers is what users may already know about thanks to a leak earlier this month. Back on July 1, screenshots of One UI Watch 4.5/ Wear OS 3.5 leaked online. Showcasing some of the design changes to the software.
Samsung it seemed, was poised to be adding in a handful of convenience and accessibility features. Making the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic that much easier and enjoyable to use. And now it’s confirmed that those features are coming per Samsung’s official announcement today.
One UI Watch 4.5 is all about convenience and accessibility
The latest software update for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is all about convenience and accessibility. Though, Samsung refers to it as more of a “complete watch experience.” And we’re inclined to agree.
Users can expect to see everything from the leak available in the upcoming update. Including a full QWERTY keyboard, which is probably one of the better additions. Typing on the Galaxy Watch 4 right now is an awful experience thanks to the T9 setup Samsung is currently using.
It was fine back in the early 2000s before smartphones and full keyboards were a prominent thing. Because, well that’s all there was. And even though you may not be using your watch to type out long messages, any short responses like see you soon, or even the occasional Play Store search becomes an arduous chore.
More accessible for everyone
For accessibility functionality, Samsung is adding in a list of visual and auditory assistance features. Like the ability to adjust the hues and contrasts on the display to make it easier to read.
Samsung is also putting in some changes to transparency and blur effects. Specifically, users will able to reduce these effects which Samsung says will help in making things easier to see. Samsung is also adding the ability to remove animations.
For users that are hard of hearing, it’ll be possible to balance out the levels of sound from the left and right audio output on connected Bluetooth earpieces. All from the watch.
Say hello to Dual SIM support
In addition to the QWERTY keyboard and accessibility features, One UI Watch 4.5 will also introduce Dual SIM support. However, you will need the watch to be connected to a Galaxy phone to make use of it.
If you do have a Galaxy phone as your connected watch device, then you’ll be able to set which SIM you prefer to use. Once you configure this on the phone, it’ll automatically update on the watch, so you won’t have to do anything else.
From there, anytime you use the voice call feature on the watch, it’ll display which SIM is in use. Samsung also made it possible to change the SIM you want to use from the watch, while the preference stays the same on your phone.
Samsung says the update will be available for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, and new Galaxy Watch devices. The update will be pushed out to users in Q3 of this year.