Samsung has paused the update for the Galaxy Watch 4 following user complaints about battery drain and malfunctioning sensors.
The troubled rollout of One UI 8 Watch for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic underscores the challenges posed by significant updates on older hardware, highlighting the importance of Samsung's response for the future support of wearables.
Samsung's recent firmware update for these smartwatches aimed to introduce One UI 8 Watch (built on Wear OS 6), but it encountered severe issues soon after its release in early to mid-December. Users reported problems such as rapid battery drain and faulty sensors.
An update with promise that went wrong
Reports from multiple users (via 9To5Google) indicate that heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and step counting functionality were disrupted or completely ceased following the latest update. The battery life, a sensitive concern for older smartwatches, took a considerable downturn, with many devices failing to last a full day after the update was applied. As the number of complaints grew, Samsung seemingly paused the update rollout without announcement.
The Galaxy Watch 4 holds significant importance within Samsung's wearable lineup as the first smartwatch to fully adopt Wear OS and tout long-term software support as a major advantage. However, a problematic update that affects daily functions undermines this assurance.
Moreover, the halt in the update indicates that the reported issues aren’t mere isolated incidents. For Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic owners, these problems directly impair their user experience; a smartwatch unable to monitor heart rate or that runs out of battery mid-day quickly becomes an expensive, ineffective accessory.
If you haven't yet updated, it may be wise to hold off, as this is one of the rare instances where proceeding with the installation could lead to complications.
For those who have already updated, there are some temporary fixes such as clearing the cache, restarting the smartwatch, or performing a factory reset, though these may not completely resolve the issues.
Samsung is anticipated to issue a follow-up firmware update to remedy these problems, although no official timeline has been provided.
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Samsung has paused the update for the Galaxy Watch 4 following user complaints about battery drain and malfunctioning sensors.
The recent update for Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 was expected to introduce new features; however, those who updated early experienced problems with battery performance and faulty sensors instead.
