On Monday, Samsung held a virtual event for Mobile World Congress where it showed off an all-new smartwatch interface: One UI Watch. Built in partnership with Google, it creates a more unified experience between the company’s Galaxy smartwatches and Android phones.
One UI Watch comes only a short while after Google announced it was joining forces with Samsung and merging the two companies’ smartwatch operating systems — Wear OS and Tizen, respectively. While we have yet to see what the new operating system looks like, this new interface gives us somewhat of an idea.
Available on the next-generation Galaxy Watch, which Samsung confirmed will be available later this summer, the new UI allows for the watch to reflect what’s on your Android phone. Whenever you install apps on your phone, those apps will also automatically download to your smartwatch as well.
You know, similar to how the Apple Watch essentially acts like an iPhone on your wrist. The Apple Watch’s huge selection of third-party apps makes it very easy for users to recreate whats on their iPhone.
It’s Tizen’s lack of third-party apps that have always kept it from this type of a cohesive experience. But with Google and Samsung working together now, it’s more than likely that most of your Android apps will play nicely with the Galaxy watch.
While Samsung hasn’t confirmed the list, we can count on seeing Google’s suite of apps (like Google Maps, YouTube Music, Google Calendar, etc). Samsung also says other apps like Calm, Sleep Cycle, Strava, Adidas Running, and Spotify will be available.
One UI Watch offers a couple of other features, too. For instance, whenever you block specific contacts and text messages on your watch, the changes will also be made to your smartphone. Additionally, whenever you add new cities to the clock app on your phone, those locations will automatically sync to the watch.
And that’s really all there is to the new interface. I know, it sounds like a minor update but it’s a crucial one to the overall smartwatch experience — particularly because it’ll make the next Galaxy watch a lot easier to use.
As for what we can expect for Samsung’s new smartwatch and its new OS? That remains to be seen at the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event.
