Samsung has started to roll out a new update to Galaxy Watch Active 2 owners that brings another feature from its successor, the Galaxy Watch 3. This really differentiates Samsung from its closest competitors, including Apple and Fitbit. Both of these companies tend to keep features exclusive to help differentiate between variants (and help drive customers to upgrade to the latest model). Meanwhile, Samsung seems quite happy to bring a number of features we had assumed would be exclusive to the latest hardware during the initial announcement – to previous models.
Samsung has already brought a number of features announced alongside the Galaxy Watch 3 to its predecessor, including the running coach feature, running analysis, VO2 measurements, and automatic fall detection to alert friends and family if you’ve taken a tumble.
And now, with the arrival of a new update, a number of features have been improved. The update, which first started to land on devices in South Korean at the tail-end of last month should now be available to Galaxy Watch Active 2 owners in different countries too.
Weighing in at 60MB, the latest software update should boost voice guidance when exercising using a pair of wireless earbuds. When out and about exercising, the Galaxy Watch will chime-in with some helpful tips to improve your form. Likewise, voice guidance has also been added for the accumulated distance and heart rate when recording running or biking exercise.
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This should save you from having to check your wrist to get the latest statistics from your run. The voice guidance means you’ll be able to stay focused on the road ahead. While that’s a small help when running, it’s transformative when on a bike – where you’re much less likely to want to keep looking down at your wrist.
The latest update brings in a user interface change too. As reported by Samsung-focused blog SamMobile, the second hand will no longer be shown on the watch face when the Always-On Display is set. That should improve battery life. It also makes the Galaxy Watch Active 3 and Galaxy Watch 3 much more visibly similar.
Aside from the new features and tweaks, the update contains all of the usual housekeeping to improve stability and performance throughout the Galaxy Watch.
If you’re looking to buy a Samsung wearable to help with your exercise regime, the latest updates should give you confidence that opting for the older model shouldn’t mean you lose out on some of the latest innovations.