Galaxy Watch 3 update promises longer battery life, better tracking

Yet another update to the Galaxy Watch 3 started rolling out to the global variants of Samsung’s latest and greatest wearable earlier this month. Identified by model number R8x5FXXU1BTH4, it would appear Samsung is deploying this over-the-air release in a pretty deliberate manner, so try to remain patient because this may take a while. The initial release wave has so far only been spotted in Vietnam and is ostensibly focused on the LTE-enabled versions of the 41mm (SM-R855F) and 45mm (SM-R845F) Galaxy Watch 3.

As for the contents of this OTA package, the changelog accompanying it promises everything from battery life and stability improvements to enhancements targeting specific features. The list of those includes the gadget’s sleep score system, heart rate monitoring, stress levels analytics, and VO2max/SPO2 measurements. In other words, some of the fundamental tracking services composing the Galaxy Watch 3 experience are being improved here.

Better measurements, longer battery life, and fewer sleep analysis bugs

The new software version should also address inconsistencies in how the Galaxy Watch 3 stores sleeping data. I.e. up until now, the device sometimes saved abnormal sleeping patterns in the Android version of Samsung Health as soon as it was connected to a smartphone, as per previous user complaints. While you wait for this update to reach you, you can always try deleting your latest sleeping data if score history appears stuck, i.e. refuses to update. That quick workaround is said to work quite reliably, though the actual issues with sleeping metrics haven’t been that widespread outside of the Far East.

As for the promise of longer battery life, it’s still unclear how significant of an improvement the new update brings, but it isn’t like the Galaxy Watch 3 has been lacking in this department so far, despite what the fact that the raw numbers hardly flatter its battery potential.