Just hours before stage lights hit Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung pushed out a significant overhaul of the Galaxy Wearable app — the control hub for its smartwatches. The timing is deliberate: it gives current Galaxy Watch owners a preview of the One UI 9 Watch experience that will ship on the upcoming Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, and it addresses long-standing complaints about the app’s cramped, all-black design.
A Fresh Coat of One UI Paint
The new interface sheds the previous utilitarian darkness for a lighter, more layered look. Subtle gradients and floating cards replace flat black backgrounds, aligning with Samsung’s modern One UI design language. Navigation is now distilled into three clear tabs, always visible at the top:
- Watch Faces — browse and apply new faces
- Home — device overview and quick settings
- Settings — full watch configuration
This tab structure cuts down on hunting through menus and makes swapping between personalization and core settings feel natural on a phone screen.
The Home Tab Finally Does More
Historically, the old Home screen was little more than a launchpad into sub-menus. The redesign turns it into a genuine dashboard. At a glance, you now see:
- The connected Galaxy Watch model and its current battery percentage
- Estimated remaining battery life, so you’re never caught off guard
- Quick shortcuts to frequently used items like notifications, Tiles, apps, and the quick panel
This surface-level view removes extra taps and puts essential information front and center — a small but meaningful workflow improvement for daily use.
Watch Face Browsing Gets a Makeover
The curated face gallery is another winner. Instead of tiny, often misleading thumbnails, each design now renders as a full watch preview — showing exactly how the face will look on your wrist before you commit. It’s a visual-first approach that encourages experimentation and reduces frustration with mismatched expectations.
The update is rolling out broadly before Unpacked wraps, which suggests Samsung wants existing users to feel the upgrade right away — even if they don’t buy new hardware. It also signals that the One UI 9 Watch software layer is more than a skin-deep refresh; it’s a rethink of how users interact with their watches from the phone side. For anyone with a current Galaxy Watch, the app update is worth pulling down immediately.
Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Samsung has started rolling out a redesigned Galaxy Wearable app just hours before Galaxy Unpacked.
The update introduces a cleaner interface, a revamped Home screen, improved navigation, and a redesigned watch face browser.