Last year we were impressed with the Samsung Google partnership and Samsung’s efforts to integrate Wear OS into its smartwatches running its Samsung Exynos mobile processor. We then purchased and tested the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and deemed it a worthy competitor to the Apple Watch.
A few months ago Samsung released a major software update that improved health and wellness features, while also confirming to the public that Google Assistant was still in the works. That day is now here as Samsung announced that Google Assistant is now available for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic.
See also: The best smartwatches for Android users: Top Apple Watch alternatives
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 owners will now be able to access and use both Google Assistant and Bixby on their watches, giving them a robust assistant experience. In addition to Google Assistant, Galaxy Watch 4 users have support for YouTube Music, Google Messages, Google Pay, and Google Maps. This fall will be interesting as Google will be launching its own branded smartwatch with the Pixel Watch, but given its track record with smartphone hardware, I don’t think Samsung has anything to worry about for at least a couple of years. Samsung has been making smartwatches for many years and has refined its products to be high-quality, well-performing wearables.
While Google Assistant is now available for the Galaxy Watch 4, there are also lots of rumors about the Galaxy Watch 5. Samsung traditionally makes wearable announcements in August so stay tuned for a possible successor in just a few months. Rumors indicate the Watch 5 may have a larger capacity battery, more health and wellness functions, and possibly retirement of the physical rotating bezel that has been a staple of Samsung smartwatches for years.
Samsung revealed blood pressure monitoring a few years ago but has yet to be successful in bringing this vital health metric to the US. I personally would love to see this finally launch in the US, even if no other new features are added to the device. It’s a real shame that Samsung has not been able to deliver on its promise to bring blood pressure monitoring to a smartwatch for so many years.
