Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 series were the first smartwatches to launch with Google’s new Wear OS 3.0 in August last year. The partnership with Google allowed Samsung to offer more integration than what was available then. Despite that, when the watches launched they lacked Google Assistant support. Buyers still had to put up with Bixby.
Well, that’s going to change soon, or “in the coming months”, according to Samsung. Along with Google Assistant support, users will also get a few updates with a focus on health monitoring. The strangest of which is sleep coaching. It will assign you a “sleep animal” based on data the watch collects while you sleep to build a sleep profile.
Samsung casts Distract with Sleep Animals. It’s not very effective
These updates will arrive on the 9th, which is also the day of Samsung’s next Unpacked event. We’re covering them now because let’s face it, the devices are far more exciting. That being said, the sleep animals have us intrigued.
After a week of data collection, you’ll be assigned an Unconcerned Lion, Sensitive Hedgehog, Nervous Penguin, Sun Averse Mole, Cautious Deer, Easygoing Walrus, Alligator On The Hunt, or an Exhausted Shark.
We’ll need to wait until the update drops to find out how it works exactly and if it’s any good. But Samsung says it will use surveys you’ll have to complete along with the sleep data it records to inform a “four- to five-week coaching program that includes missions, checklists, sleep-related articles, meditation guidance and regular reports to support users as they work towards improving their sleep quality.”
Other updates include body composition insights using Chris Hemsworth’s subscription-based fitness service, Centr. If you didn’t know, the Galaxy Watch 4’s body analysis sensor sends electrical signals through your body to measure things like bone density and body-fat composition.
But it can be a little confusing to decipher what the results mean. That’s where Thor’s app comes in. If this app can make us look like him (which we highly doubt), then sign us up. Oh, there’ll also be new watch faces to download and new straps to buy. Yay?
