Samsung has confirmed it will be releasing a software update for its Galaxy Gear smartwatch in the U.S. this week to improve core functionality and more.
The company launched its first smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, back in October, alongside the Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy Gear only worked with the Galaxy Note 3 at first, but Samsung has been releasing software updates to allow some of its other popular Galaxy smartphones to work with the smartwatch.
Recent reports have suggested that the Galaxy Gear is facing high return rates in the U.S., with many customers complaining about short battery life and buggy software. Samsung has obviosuly heard the complaints and has announced that it will be releasing a software update for U.S. Galaxy Gear smartwatches some time this week.
Engadget is reporting that Samsung said it will be releasing a software update for U.S. versions of the Galaxy Gear. The update will reportedly include enhanced support for notifications, which will allow third-party applications to display more information. Apps such as Facebook, Messenger, Gmail, Hangouts, Twitter, and Foursquare are all supported, instead of just Samsung apps.
The Smart Relay function will also be updated and the company says it will help users "perform actions seamlessly" from their Gear to their smartphone. There will also be improvements to some gesture driven tasks, such as the lift-and-pause gesture that is used to activate the Galaxy Gear's clock. The update will also include various bug fixes and optimizations.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear features a 1.63-inch 320 x 320 Super AMOLED display. It is powered by an 800MHz single-core Exynos processor and 512MB of RAM. The device runs a modified version of Android 4.3 and includes 4GB of internal storage. Samsung has packed a 1.9-megapixel camera with autofocus and the ability to record HD video into the Galaxy Gear's wrist strap. In terms of wireless options you'll find Bluetooth 4.3 LE and NFC, and the smartwatch also has a gyroscope, pedometer, and accelerometer. It ships with a 315 mAh battery that provides up to a full day of "regular use", but battery life should improve as well after this update.
Samsung hasn't provided an exact date for the release, only saying it will be released this week. We'll be sure to update you as soon as we get more information.
