The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 & Watch 6 Classic get One UI 6.1.
If you currently own a Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 5, keep it, as Samsung isn’t done rolling out the AI-infused One UI 6 just yet.
The company announced earlier this week that it is expanding its Galaxy AI toolset to wearables, specifically its smartwatch range. “By combining powerful on-device AI with the comprehensive Samsung Health app, Samsung is on track to build some of the most personalized and secure health experiences yet,” the company explained in the announcement.
The features are divided into the Energy Score, which measures your daily energy level through sleep stats, the previous day’s activity, heart rate variability and more. There’s also a newly improved sleep AI algorithm, which includes measuring more in-depth sleep data such as movement during sleep, sleep latency, and your breathing rate as you drift off.
On the training side, a new Workout Routine tool will create personalized workouts with different exercises, while runners get detailed Aerobic Threshold stats and cyclists can quickly calculate their Functional Threshold Power with AI. The customized wellness tips tool provides insights on how to make progress with suggestions based on your metrics.
Samsung says these tools will make their way into the new Galaxy Watches that will likely be announced next month. In addition to the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic through a beta program starting in June.
With the announcement, it appears that the practice of condemning two-year-old gadgets to the dust heap appears to be coming to an end. Technology manufacturers are increasingly taking a longevity-oriented approach to device sales. The days of one Android update for $700 devices appear to be over.
For example, the Galaxy Watch 4 was released in 2021. A year before AI, as we understand it today, came onto the scene. See how four owners couldn’t imagine having a whole range of advanced skills years after purchase.
But there’s a catch: Samsung has reiterated that these AI tools will only be free until 2025. The company said this when it announced Galaxy AI in January and hasn’t expanded its plans since.
The reality is that there are costs associated with extending the life cycle of a device. Whether that is through software and security updates for eight years, or through new AI tools that cost millions to develop. Samsung may or may not charge for Galaxy AI features next year, but there’s a proven sales method often used in another industry to get people hooked on something for free first. We can hope for the best, but these language models from which AI functions emerge are not cheap to build or maintain.
With this announcement, I suspect that Samsung is laying the foundation for a health subscription. Of Apple, Google and Oura, it’s the only company that doesn’t currently have a premium level for its fitness platform: Samsung Health. The arrival of the Galaxy Ring will likely mean a monthly subscription to in-depth features, which is exactly what Oura is doing (rumors have also hinted at this).
I can’t think of a clearer example of premium features than those powered by AI. There is a clear path for the Korean company to introduce a new monthly payment plan due to its best health features.
The question then becomes: are they worth paying for? In the case of Oura, if you’ve already spent money on a smart ring, then yes. The same will likely apply to the Galaxy Ring. But based on the evidence we have about AI-powered features on Galaxy phones, I’m less convinced.
Google’s new One plan, which bundles Gemini Advanced with Nest Aware and Fitbit Premium, hasn’t been worth it for me. As good as Gemini and Fitbit Premium are, neither is attractive enough for me to add another monthly payment to my pile. However, if Gemini had full control over my smart home and could handle complex natural language requests while syncing with other Google products I use regularly, then yes, I would pay for that.
Likewise, if Samsung’s Galaxy AI on a smartwatch can provide insights into my health and create a truly personalized fitness plan based on the data collected, then I might be happy to hand over some cash. How Samsung differentiates between its AI and regular smartwatch features will be interesting, as the announced skills sound like standard Galaxy Watch experiences. If the Korean company expects you to pay for it next year, there should be clear, standout AI features that dramatically improve the Galaxy Watch experience.