The latest Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 update includes a bunch of cool new health features
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Samsung may or may not load its in-house Tizen platform onto its next-gen Galaxy Watches, but either way, owners of the company's existing wearable devices should rest assured knowing their software support will remain nothing short of stellar for quite some time to come.
The latest (and arguably greatest) Apple Watch alternative from the world's second-largest smartwatch vendor, for instance, has received more updates than a human can count on the fingers of one hand during its brief existence of less than eight months so far, and yes, you've guessed it, we're here today to report on and celebrate yet another sweet goodie pack delivered over-the-air to the powerful Galaxy Watch 3.
This time around, we're talking specifically about Verizon's LTE-enabled variant, which seems to be scoring a similar but not identical OS promotion to the one rolled out for Bluetooth-only models in a number of different countries starting early last month. Interestingly, Big Red appears to have added the SmartThings Find functionality in a previous update, focusing primarily on "Samsung Health improvements" as part of its newest OTA rollout.
An aptly named and eerily familiar "Sleep score" feature undoubtedly headlines the carrier's "System Update 4" changelog, expanding on the general (and rather generic) monitoring of your sleep patterns to help you better understand all that contributes to a good night's rest. The reason this technology might sound familiar is that Samsung advertised it back when unveiling the Galaxy Watch 3... while Fitbit's devices have offered an identically named feature for a pretty long time now.
Of course, the update is about more than just your sleep, making it easier for Verizon subscribers to track their workouts by reducing the auto workout recognition time from 10 to 3 minutes for several different types of activities and adding a "Together" section to the aforementioned Samsung Health app to (virtually) walk alongside up to 9 friends and compare your progress in real time.
Meanwhile, the "Fitness" section of the same app includes a "variety" of programs to help you get in shape, lose weight, or simply stay fit, with the Always On Display functionality ready for a small but notable change of its own as well and a Hand Wash app now available for download from the official Galaxy Store to not only detect and monitor said action but also provide reminders throughout the day to maintain and improve your hygiene and thus keep a dreaded COVID-19 infection at bay.
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