Newsletter
Although Samsung officially enabled Google Assistant support for the Galaxy Watch 4 last week, things haven’t quite gone according to plan so far. Some users couldn’t install or activate Assistant, while others who could install it are now facing stability-related issues.
The Google Assistant update for the Galaxy Watch 4 is reportedly causing battery drain
Users on Reddit (via Android Police) are voicing their concerns about battery drain following the Google Assistant update for the wearable. Some customers are also facing issues with the “OK, Google” hotword detection. Additionally, a few users report that the Galaxy Watch 4 automatically unpairs itself from the paired phone, and any attempts to pair the two again are unsuccessful.
But there’s some good news too. A handful of customers found that the issue was fixed after performing a hard reset of the Galaxy Watch 4. But performing a hard reset also means that all unsynced data on the smartwatch is completely erased. This seems like a heavy price to pay for activating Google Assistant on the Galaxy Watch 4.
Users have also raised performance-related concerns after enabling Assistant on the wearable. Some claim the Assistant experience on the Galaxy Watch 4 is not smoother or faster than on smartwatches running the older Wear OS 2 operating system. With these concerns gaining more attention, it’s likely that Samsung and Google are already working on a fix.
One UI Watch Beta will make its way to the Galaxy Watch 4 in June
The Galaxy Watch 4 and the Watch 4 Classic are the only wearables to feature the unified Wear OS 3 operating system. And starting next month, the South Korean manufacturer will launch the One UI Watch beta for the two wearables, a first for its flagship smartwatches. The update should be available in Samsung’s home region starting June 2. But it could soon expand to the U.S., Europe, and other Asian markets.
Samsung is also allowing customers in the U.S. to sign up for the beta via the Samsung Members app. However, signing up does not guarantee a place in the beta program. In any case, Samsung will inform interested beta testers if they did or didn’t make the cut.