Galaxy Watch Owners, It’s Time to Join the One UI 5 Beta

Samsung officially opened up the One UI 5 beta for the Galaxy Watch lineups this week. Available for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 family of watches, users can get first access to features like new controller tiles, quick timer access, and improvements to Samsung Health.

To get the beta onto your supported Samsung smartwatch, you’ll need to ensure you have the latest version of the Samsung Members app, enroll yourself in the beta (there should be two dedicated sections, one for Watch 4 users and one for Watch 5 users), and then download a special version of Watch Manager and Samsung Health. Both items you’ll need are listed in the beta pages, so don’t worry about getting lost. Once done with all of that, the beta will begin rolling out to your device for testing.

Looking over the fine print, it appears that Samsung isn’t allowing rollback after entering the beta, so be please be aware of that before installation. In its words, “Reinstallation (rollback) is not supported. You have to use the currently available version till the official version comes up and please install the final official version when it comes.”

Feast your eyes on the One UI 5 beta changelog for Galaxy Watches.

One UI 5 Changelog

Watch faces and tiles

Add watch faces and tiles more easily

• A new vertical layout makes it easier to find the watch faces and tiles that are right for you.

Improved Buds controller tile

• You can now turn 360 audio on and off from the Buds controller tile if your Buds support 360 audio.

Quick access to timers

• You can start timers from the new Timer tile without opening the Timer app.

Set an album or story as your watch face

• Instead of just one picture, you can now make your watch face cycle between pictures in an album or story that you select. Your watch face will change to a different picture each time you turn on the watch screen.

Samsung Health

Automatically record cycling workouts

• Samsung Health can now detect when you start cycling and record your workout automatically. You can also set whether to automatically map your cycling routes.

Get heart rate guidance during running workouts

• Your watch can provide personalized heart rate zones while you run to help you manage your exercise intensity.

Backup and restore

Keep your watch data safe

• Files and data from your watch are periodically backed up to your phone when it’s connected to your watch. You can also save backups to Samsung Cloud. Your phone needs the latest version of the Smart Switch app to use this feature.

Control your phone

More call controls

• You now have more control over calls without touching your phone. You can adjust the call volume, mute sound, and press buttons on the keypad, all from your watch.

Additional changes

Dictate text with the Home button

• Just press and hold the Home button any time you’re entering text with Samsung Keyboard to instantly switch to voice input.

Use multiple timers at once

• You can now have up to 20 timers running at the same time to help keep track of all your tasks.

Share your medical info in an emergency

• A button to access your medical info will appear automatically when a hard fall is detected or when you press the Home button 5 times to start the Emergency SOS feature.

Device care

• Check the status of your watch’s battery, storage, and memory and immediately fix any problems to extend battery life and keep your watch running smoothly.

Control your watch without touching it

• Universal gestures let you control your watch without touching the screen or pressing a button. You can assign various actions to gestures such as shaking your wrist, making a fist, or pinching your fingers.

Organize apps in folders

• Create folders to keep your apps organized so you can find the apps you need quickly with less scrolling.

// Samsung