Your Samsung Galaxy Watch is about to get a big upgrade for free – try 4 cool new features now

It won’t be long before Samsung unveils its new lineup of Galaxy Watches at its July Unpacked event. Until then, the Korean tech giant is giving us some hints at what’s to come on these new smartwatches with its One UI 8 Watch updates. 

From a running coach feature that appears to take notes from Apple Watch’s “Workout Buddy” to a bedtime suggestion feature that calibrates your optimized sleep time based on activity and historical rest, here are some of the features Samsung will roll out on its next smartwatch. 

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For those interested in trying out these new features ahead of Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch later this summer, they can access them through Samsung’s beta program, which is available to users with the Galaxy Watch5 series or later.

Running Coach 

AI-powered health coaches are trending across wearables, from Whoop and Oura to Apple Watch’s new Workout Buddy. Samsung is jumping on the trend with its AI-powered Running Coach, designed to help runners optimize their training program. 

Made for beginners, Running Coach fine-tunes its suggested intensity, providing motivation, guidance, and personalized training programs that incorporate a user’s fitness data to help them reach their exercise goals. Whether they’re training for a 5K or a full marathon, the feature provides a unique plan to get them across the finish line. 

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Users can activate Running Coach by wearing their Galaxy Watch on a 12-minute or longer run outside. Running Coach will analyze their pace and performance to deliver a score from one to ten. Then, they’ll receive a personalized training plan geared toward their goal of completing a 5K, 10K, half, or full marathon. 

The feature resembles Apple Watch’s Workout Buddy, which Apple released last week during its annual developers conference. Workout Buddy provides encouragement and aggregates fitness data before, during, and after a user’s exercise session. 

Bedtime Guidance 

Your Galaxy Watch is now going to tell you when it’s time to go to bed. Bedtime Guidance analyzes your past three days of sleep to determine the best time to go to sleep every night. It takes into account “need for sleep pressure” and circadian rhythm to create a sleep schedule that works for the Galaxy Watch wearer. 

Samsung says this feature is great for those with irregular sleep patterns. 

Vascular Load

How stressed is your heart while you sleep? Samsung’s Vascular Load feature will tell you. 

Several factors impact a heart’s ability to dip during the night and initiate recovery. Stress, that is, a higher heart rate, should decrease during sleep, and a higher heart rate throughout the night could signal overall poorer cardiovascular health, Samsung says in the press release. 

Vascular Load measures a user’s heart rate throughout the night and uses the insights it gains through exercise and stress data during the day to encourage healthier habits and lifestyle changes. 

Antioxidant Index 

Certain activities and behaviors can inhibit recovery and fitness progress. Alcohol, smoking, UV exposure, stress, and poor sleep are a few of the factors that Samsung claims accelerate aging and increase free radicals. The solution? Antioxidants, Samsung says. 

Samsung’s Antioxidant Index measures antioxidants found in green and orange fruits and vegetables (known as carotenoids). The brand says that these carotenoids promote healthy aging. 

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The feature is activated when a user places the center of their finger on the Galaxy Watch’s light-activated BioActive sensor, which can take the Antioxidant Index within five seconds. Samsung recommends using a thumb on the sensor for the most accurate results. 

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