The Galaxy Watch 3 has received its highly-anticipated ECG feature in the USA through a new firmware update. At the same time, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in the USA is now catching up with the rest of the world. As you may recall, the Watch Active 2 was updated with new Galaxy Watch 3 features a couple of weeks ago, but the initial rollout had a limited reach and wasn’t available in every market. The good news for Galaxy Watch Active 2 owners in the USA is that Tizen 5.5 is now available for download.
The latest update for the Galaxy Watch 3 weighs around 47MB and carries firmware version R840XXU1BTHA. Meanwhile, the new Galaxy Watch Active 2 firmware update carries version R820XXU1CTH8 and weighs 290MB. As always, you can check if the update is available for your smartwatch from the Galaxy Wearable app on your connected smartphone.
Here’s what’s new with the latest firmware updates
The changelog for the Galaxy Watch 3 firmware update is scarce but that doesn’t make it less important. Samsung’s new smartwatch was released with ECG hardware but the feature was disabled at launch, so the latest update greatly improves the wearable’s functionality. It’s worth noting that the ECG feature is available only when the smartwatch is connected to Galaxy smartphones running Android 7.0 or later.
As for the Galaxy Watch Active 2 update, it’s Tizen 5.5 so it brings a lot of new features over from the Galaxy Watch 3. The update introduces VO2max readings, advanced running analysis, the long-awaited Fall Detection feature, better notifications, and AR Emoji/Bitmoji support.
Thanks for the tip, @albert_ribas_!
SamsungGalaxy Watch 3 (45mm)