Samsung has begun a wider rollout of the stable One UI 9 Watch (Wear OS 7) update for the Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic after an initial release in South Korea, with the update now arriving in the United States and expected to reach other countries over the next few days.
The update for non-cellular Galaxy Watch 8 Classic units enrolled in the beta program is 158.50MB and carries firmware version L500XXU2BZJ7. Other models receive a similarly sized package, with firmware versions ending in BZJ7.
You can check for and install One UI 9 Watch on a Galaxy Watch 8 series device via the Galaxy Wearable app: open the app, go to Watch settings > Watch software update > Download and install.
What’s new in One UI 9 Watch
Galaxy Wearable app and watch faces
– Redesigned layout and interface: The watch settings screen in the Galaxy Wearable app has been completely redesigned to make frequently used features easier to access, and it now displays the current watch face as a high-resolution image.
– New ways to discover watch faces: Watch faces are organized into categories with detailed descriptions. The watch face gallery is revamped with larger thumbnails for previewing designs, and users can swipe on a thumbnail to view color options and styles.
– Smart watch face recommendations: When viewing a specific watch face, the app suggests similar options and can recommend matches based on fashion photos or the design of the current watch face.
– Simplified watch face editing: The editor is streamlined into two tabs—Style for appearance adjustments and Complications for configuring features—making it easier to identify and customize elements.
Samsung Health improvements
– Enhanced design for health metrics: Key metrics such as sleep and heart health are presented with circular charts and a design optimized for the watch for cleaner at-a-glance readings.
– Color-coded health status: A standardized color-coding system indicates current health status and changes at a glance.
– Enhanced mobile app experience: The Samsung Health mobile app lets users customize the home screen by resizing cards and view categories like activity, sleep, mindfulness, and nutrition; charts now support zooming and overlaying data sets.
– More engaging measurement processes: Measurements for heart rate, stress, or body composition include vibrant graphics and dynamic animations to make the process more intuitive.
– Stronger workout features: Workouts can be paused or ended using the ‘back’ button without touching the screen; text and heart rate zone displays are larger and clearer.
– Daily cardio load tracking: The watch monitors exercise impact on the heart, suggests an optimal target load to reduce injury risk, and adjusts the target range daily based on recent activity and goals.
– Monitor vital signs during sleep: The watch can track heart rate, HRV, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen while sleeping and continues monitoring after establishing a baseline, alerting users to significant changes.
– Systematic heart health management: A daily heart health score is calculated from sleep, exercise, BMI, and vascular stress to summarize current heart health.
– New health shortcuts: Shortcut tiles now support more health features, including daily activity, sleep coaching, and daily cardio load.
Other enhancements
– Compass for safe outdoor activities: The watch can mark waypoints (for example, parked car or campsite), provide directional guidance, and use a ‘return to start’ backtrack feature to retrace a recorded path.
– Camera Controller updates: The Camera Controller gains new modes including Food, Portrait Video, Slow Motion, and Hyperlapse. Swiping up from the bottom of the screen opens settings to switch front/rear cameras and toggle options like Motion Photo and flash.
– Customizable text size for tiles: Text size for tiles can be customized.
The rollout will continue geographically over the coming days; users should check the Galaxy Wearable app to confirm availability for their device.
