Tag: Galaxy Watch 4

Come Watch Samsung Show Off the Future of Wear OS

For now, the two areas of interest for us in the 2021 Android space are Google’s upcoming Pixel 6 and the new Wear platform that they co-developed with Samsung. Since the Pixel 6 likely won’t be here for a couple of months, we turn almost all of our attention to Samsung’s MWC event today where they’ll show us more of that new Wear platform that will be behind the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 line.

Through a live event that you can watch with us (10:15AM Pacific, 1:15PM Eastern), Samsung plans to unveil “its vision for the future of smartwatches” with new opportunities to help “deliver a new era of smartwatch experiences.” We expect it to be quite fun, even if they don’t fully announce new watches yet.

Samsung is really labeling this as a “session,” so my guess is that it will be a look at One UI on top of the new Wear platform and general talk about what their partnership with Google on watches can bring to the industry. Will they show off the Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch Active 4? I kind of doubt it, as I assume they’ll save those for a bigger Unpacked event in a month or so.

Still, this should be a good watch if you care at all about the future of smartwatches on Android.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfSZvIqYDSM

June 28, 2021
Here’s the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

It was only earlier this week when we got our first potential look at the upcoming Galaxy Watch Active 4. However, those renders appeared to be slightly inaccurate, as they actually detailed the standard Galaxy Watch 4 and not the Active 4, at least, according to 91mobiles. Now, we’re getting an even better look at the Galaxy Watch 4, which should come equipped with the unified wearable platform between Samsung and Google.

From what these marketing renders detail, we can expect a healthy assortment of color options, plus what appears to be a slim metallic body and colorful display. For colors, we can see white, green, blue, red, and yellow options. We’re only missing pink and black for the ultimate OG Power Rangers lineup.

Once all launched, there should be a total of four new Galaxy Watch models for buyers to choose from. There should be two size options for the Watch 4, plus two size options for the Watch Active 4. This means no matter who you are, there should be a Watch 4 for you, meaning we can all have fun with the new Wear platform.

This thing looks good.

// 91mobiles

June 25, 2021
This Could be a Galaxy Watch Active 4 First Look

For the rest of this year, there are two products I’m looking forward to. The Pixel 6 from Google is obviously one, but the other happens to be a damn smartwatch. Yes, the next two Galaxy Watch products from Samsung are in the top two because they are going to be the first to show us what Google’s new Wear platform has to offer and will help us decide in a hurry if Android smartwatches are officially dead or have a new opportunity to shine.

Today, one of Samsung’s watches has supposedly surfaced in the form of 3D renders. What we’re looking at here is the Galaxy Watch Active 4.

The renders arrive via @OnLeaks, who likely turned product schematics into 3D CAD renders like he always does. These are rarely wrong, so if we’re being told this is the Galaxy Watch Active 4, it probably is.

According to a report alongside the renders, the Galaxy Watch Active 4 sports an aluminum frame and comes in 40mm or 44mm sizes. For owners of the Galaxy Watch Active 2, my previous favorite smartwatch, you may notice the flatter case and buttons, though it does look very similar. We’re told that it could arrive in black, silver, green, and gold colorways.

And that’s about it for details here. Clearly, this is a smartwatch with a clean round design and should offer a sporty fit, but all we really care about at this point is what Samsung has done with the new Wear, what that experience is like, especially if they put One UI on top, and how much this bad boy will cost. We might know more next week.

June 23, 2021
Galaxy Watch 4 Stops by the FCC (Updated)
With rumored launch date for the Galaxy Watch 4 now floating about, we’re looking for any signs to indicate they may be correct. Whether that’s through a retailer slipping up weeks early or the watch stopping through somewhere for certification, we’re keeping our eye on everything. Today, the Galaxy Watch 4 made its way to the FCC.

Two devices labeled as “smart wearable” arrived this morning under Samsung’s FCC ID with the model numbers SM-R880 and SM-R885. For those following rumors of the Galaxy Watch 4, you should know that SM-R880 is thought to be the smaller 42mm model. SM-R885, on the other hand, is the LTE version of the same watch.

The FCC didn’t slip up and give us images of the watch or anything, but they did tell us one of the batteries is EB-BR880ABY, which weighs in at around 240mAh. They also told us the watch charges using EP-OR825. That’s the same wireless charger Samsung has used with other Galaxy Watch models.

We also know that the Galaxy Watch 4 sports WiFi, Bluetooth, and NFC, as expected. The LTE model has bands that cover all of the major carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

We looked for the bigger Galaxy Watch 4 model (46mm), but that listing has not gone live yet. That watch should carry model numbers of SM-R890 and SM-R895. The Galaxy Watch Active 4 is likely to launch alongside the regular Galaxy Watch 4 with model numbers SM-R860 and SM-R870. We think they could arrive as early as August 11.
- UPDATE 6/15: At the end of yesterday, the rest of the watches showed up at the FCC too, including SM-R870, SM-R875, and SM-R890.
- UPDATE 6/17: The whole crew has now made its way through the FCC, including SM-R860 (link), SM-R865 (link), and SM-R895 (link) today. As I mentioned above, these model numbers refer to the Galaxy Watch Active 4 in both Bluetooth (860) and LTE (865) variants, as well as the bigger Galaxy Watch 4 LTE (895)
June 17, 2021
Supposed Launch Dates for Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Z Fold 3 Detailed

We’re uncharacteristically excited for the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4, thanks to the team up between Samsung and Google for the new unified wearable platform that should be launching alongside the device. It’s basically the rebirth of wearables for Android users, so why not get stoked for it? And of course, everyone should know how much we’re pumped for the Galaxy Z Fold 3, a follow-up to the world’s ultimate couch phone.

I mention all of this because according to a source of Front Page Tech, we now have a couple of dates we can mark on the calendar for when we’ll be able to get hands-on with these devices. As detailed, the Galaxy Watch 4 will begin to ship on August 11, while both the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be available on August 27. To be clear, these are launch dates, not the announcement date which will definitely be ahead of the aforementioned dates.

Like I said, the Galaxy Watch 4 should be on everybody’s radar. We’re expecting to catch our first good look at the new platform later this month, and should all go well, folks will be lining up to try out the upgraded Wear OS on Samsung’s new hardware. As for the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, there isn’t too much to say besides that Samsung continues to improve designs and hopefully bring down prices. If the big price drop for Samsung foldables is accurate, that’s important for getting more folks into the foldable life.

August 11 and August 27. Mark your calendars.

// Front Page Tech [2]

June 14, 2021
Samsung Could Show Off the Galaxy Watch 4 and New Wear OS Later This Month

The folks in Barcelona are hosting their big MWC conference at the end of this month for the first time in over a year as both an in-person and virtual event. Most of the big companies already (smartly) bailed on it, but organizers appear to have talked some, like Samsung, into hosting a virtual event or two to keep people paying attention. Often times, virtual events are pretty meh and tough to get excited about unless the tease for it says all of the right things. Samsung certainly said the right things for an upcoming event where they are likely to give us a first taste of their upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 device.

An event listing for Monday, June 28 from Samsung says to expect talk of the Galaxy Ecosystem, Mobile Security, and a “New Watch Experience.” The description then suggests Samsung will dive into how they are “reimagining smartwatches” and creating new opportunities for developers and consumers.

Since Samsung mostly left all of the new Wear OS and platform talk to Google during I/O, when their partnership for wearables was revealed, this could be the first big opportunity for Samsung to show off what they’ve done with the new Wear. Since the new Wear is built to be customized by watchmakers, I’d imagine Samsung will show us what their One UI skin looks like when adapted to the new Wear and a watch for the first time.

We don’t necessarily expect Samsung to reveal all of the details about the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 (and Galaxy Watch Active 4) at this event. After all, this is simply a virtual session at an online MWC. Rumors have already suggested that Samsung has a big Unpacked event for August where they should make their big new Wear watches official.

June 9, 2021
Report: Samsung Will Slap One UI on Its New Wear OS Watches

Alright, we have another Samsung-is-switching-to-Wear-OS report this morning, only this one adds some new juice. You ready for it? When the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 get here later this year, we not only think they’ll run Google’s Wear OS, but Samsung is reportedly going to put One UI on top of it. Whoa.

The folks at SamMobile dropped the news on us, saying that the skin will be One UI 3.x and entirely unique to wearables. They also mentioned familiar codenames for the watches of Wise, Fresh, and Lucky, with Wise being the regular Galaxy Watch 4 with rotating bezel.

Adding One UI on top of Wear OS makes a lot of sense. Google’s Wear OS, unless Google decides to care about it one day, is a pretty bare bones operating system that has only seen improvements from the companies making Wear OS watches. We’re talking about companies like Fossil and Suunto who have added battery modes or additional fitness and sleep tracking to bring the software to a competitive level, since Google won’t.

Samsung’s One UI could look and work great on wearables. It’s built for modern touch experiences with touch points and layouts that make sense for easy interaction. A wearable, with its small screen, needs to be efficient at just those types of things, and so if Samsung can manipulate One UI’s ideas for the wrist, I could see it fitting in well. Plus, it would add a good amount of flavor to Google’s rarely improved Wear OS.

But the other side of this is that switching to Wear OS gives Samsung access to Google Play and all of the apps it has. The Tizen OS that all of Samsung’s watches currently run wasn’t able to attract developers like they had hoped and hasn’t seen its app ecosystem grow much. By going with One UI, Samsung gets to switch to a bigger app pool and also show the custom look that we have all adopted from Samsung’s popular phones.

I love this move.

May 17, 2021
A Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Running Wear OS, They Keep Saying

Hey, did you hear that Samsung is going to switch back to Wear OS and release the Galaxy Watch 4, as well as a Galaxy Watch Active 4? Of course you have heard that – it’s all the smartwatch world can talk about because it would be huge news.

Today, another report out of Korea is suggesting the same while pointing out the move could be because Tizen has proven difficult to develop for and the platform still lacks a decent 3rd party app ecosystem after all these years. By switching back to Wear OS, the app selection is much larger to begin with and could motivate developers to dive back into wearables with Samsung back on board.

The report hints at Samsung launching both the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch Active 4 at the rumored August event where we should see the next Galaxy Z Fold 3 device. That would make a lot of sense, even if rumors have tossed around the idea that Samsung’s new watches could be here at any moment. If anything, we could get the watches just prior to that event, as we have in the past, because Samsung’s next Unpacked could be too packed.

Other recent rumors have tossed out model numbers of SM-R880 (42MM) and SM-R890 (46MM) for the Galaxy Watch 4, along with SM-R860 (40MM) and SM-R870 (42MM) for the Galaxy Watch Active 4. If you like to watch Google Search results for retailer slip-ups, keep those numbers in mind for the next several weeks.

I know I just spent the morning being mad about exactly 1 watch running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 since it was announced, but this move by Samsung would be really huge for Wear OS and is quite exciting.

May 12, 2021