Breaking: Galaxy Watch 4 gets One UI 8 Watch update!

Samsung has finally released the update Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic owners have eagerly been waiting for. The 2021 Galaxy Watch lineup is now receiving the One UI 8 Watch update. The rollout commenced in South Korea earlier today, and should reach more markets in the coming days and weeks.

The update comes with firmware version R870XXU1JYK4 for the Galaxy Watch 4 (Wi-Fi-only) and R880XXU1JYK4 for the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (Wi-Fi-only). It should have a download size of over 1GB. It isn't clear if the update has been released for the cellular variants of these smartwatches.

If you have any of these smartwatches and live in South Korea, you should check for the update for it right away. To do that, open the Galaxy Wearable app on your Android phone and navigate to Watch settings > Watch software update and tap Download and install. Once the update is downloaded, tap the Install now button to initiate the installation process. Your smartwatch will then restart after a few minutes.

Make sure your smartwatch has 50% or more battery charged before you initiate the installation process.

The Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic were Samsung's first ever Wear OS-based smartwatches. They launched in mid-2021 with Wear OS 4-based One UI 5 Watch software. Since then, they have received four major software updates, including Wear OS 5 and Wear OS 6.

The One UI 8 Watch update brings a major UI redesign, featuring Tiles pages that can be populated with multiple widgets, new watch faces and complications, and Now Bar. It also brings more Double Pinch gestures. There is a Now Bar to display ongoing activities such as music playback and workouts.

The update also brings new battery charging effects, improved notifications view (with stacked notifications), and newer and easier way to find watch faces. Samsung Health brings new features as well. The app drawer now has a list view with alphabetical sorting and a new grid-based layout.

You can check the complete One UI 8 Watch changelog here.