Smart Lock

Ever wished your smartphone could automatically unlock itself when you carry it around? With the Smart Lock¹ feature, which was first made available with Android 5 in 2014, you can unlock your smartphone in situations and locations you feel secure in without entering a password or scanning your fingerprint.

The feature lets you keep your Galaxy smartphone unlocked when it’s connected to your Galaxy smartwatch or when you have your phone on you. To give you more ways to quickly access the apps you need, you can also choose to automatically unlock your smartphone in a safe location of your choice – like your home.

Buds Together

Music sounds better when you listen to it with friends. First introduced with Galaxy Buds Live, Buds Together² makes it easy for you to share your favorite songs with others while enjoying the best sound quality.

To enable the feature, all you need to do is tap on the Music Share icon in your phone’s Quick Panel and select the earbuds you want to share with. Once the invitation is accepted on your friend’s device, you can listen to the same tune together on two separate pairs of Galaxy earbuds.

Auto Switch

Many of us use just one pair of earbuds with multiple devices. When you switch device, it’s often a hassle to disconnect and reconnect the Bluetooth connection. Wouldn’t it be great if your earbuds can do the switch automatically when you need them to?

Introduced with Galaxy Buds Pro, the Auto Switch feature³ seamlessly takes care of your Galaxy Buds Pro’s connection when you switch between devices. Let’s say you get a call on your Galaxy smartphone while you’re watching a movie on your Galaxy tablet. Instead of having to manually disconnect your earbuds from the tablet and pair them with your phone, the feature will automatically switch the Bluetooth connection over to your phone when you pick up the call.

Hand Wash

Personal hygiene is more important now than ever, especially when it comes to hand washing. But maintaining a regular handwashing routine can be challenging as we go about our daily lives.

Shortly following the rapid changes around the world last year, Samsung introduced the Hand Wash app on Galaxy smartwatches. The app provides a practical yet simple way to help you keep up with your handwashing routine. You can get started by setting up alarms in the app and receive reminders to wash your hands at regular intervals. Now with the latest update⁴, once you start washing your hands, your Galaxy smartwatch will automatically start a 25-second countdown, which is the World Health Organization’s recommended handwashing time. On the app’s dashboard, you can also keep track of how many times you have washed your hands during the day as well as review your handwashing habits on a weekly basis.

1 Available on Galaxy smartphones or tablets running Android 5 or above. 

2 Available on Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Buds+, Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Pro. The scanning feature is available on all devices supporting One UI 2.5 or later; the sharing feature is available on all devices supporting One UI 2.1 or later.

3 Available on Galaxy smartphones or tablets with One UI 3.1 or above, which can be turned on and off in the Bluetooth® setting. Requires the same Samsung account to be registered on the devices. Availability may vary by app.

4 Availability may vary by market, carrier or device. Requires the latest version of the Hand Wash app and the watch software, which will be progressively released to Galaxy Watch Active2 and Galaxy Watch3.

It is a common adage that it takes 30 days to make a habit, and at a time when personal hygiene is more important than ever, best-practice hygiene should form part of everyone’s daily habits.

According to the research conducted by the University of New South Wales and published in 2015 by the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), people touch their face 23 times an hour on average, of which 10 touches are to the eyes, nose or mouth – the main pathways that can lead to bacterial or viral infection. This connection between our hands and our faces makes hand washing the most basic step in personal hygiene; the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even calls it a “do-it-yourself” vaccine, and the United Nations (UN) has, since 2008, designated October 15 as Global Handwashing Day.

In order to help people get into the habit of properly washing their hands, Samsung has, on April, launched a Hand Wash application for wearable users. The app is available for download on the Galaxy Store for Gear S3, Gear Sports, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Watch Active2¹ users. Read on to learn how the app can help you engage in best-practice hand hygiene throughout the day.

Setting the Standard for Hand Washing

While awareness has increased the importance of washing one’s hands frequently and thoroughly, opinions can differ on what ‘frequently and thoroughly’ actually means in practice. This is why Samsung has developed an app to provide a clear guide on how, and how regularly, users should be washing their hands. The Hand Wash app, discoverable by searching ‘Hand Wash’ in the Watch section of the Galaxy Store, helps users to remember to wash their hands at regularly scheduled intervals throughout the day.

Establishing Your Routine

So, how frequently should we be washing our hands? A 2020 study by University College London (UCL) found that handwashing 6-10 times a day was linked to a lowered infection risk. But as we go about our busy days, it is not always easy to remind ourselves to keep up with this regular washing routine.

To help you engage in regular handwashing, the Hand Wash app includes an alarm function; users can select the Reminders button to add or modify the timings of their alarms. For example, users can set an alarm that will notify them every two hours so that they can be sure to wash their hands at regular intervals. The number of alarms each user sets will then correspond to a target number on the app’s dashboard.

Washing Your Hands Thoroughly & Properly

It takes longer than you may think to wash your hands thoroughly. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends washing your hands for at least 20 seconds – roughly the time it takes to sing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song twice. But of course, singing or humming along every time you go to wash your hands is not always practical.

This is where the countdown function of the Hand Wash comes in useful. The countdown is 25 seconds long, including 5 seconds for applying soap and 20 seconds for scrubbing. Once you receive the alarm notification that it is time to wash your hands, you can easily tap and swipe your Watch to start the counter, which will provide haptic feedback as well graphics once the timer starts. Furthermore, all Galaxy Watches are waterproof, so there is no need to remove the watch once you go to wash your hands.

Keeping Track of Your Personal Hygiene

While setting regular alarms is a good way to maintain your handwashing habit, of course there could be times between these intervals where other instances arise that require you to keep your hands hygienic, such as visiting the bathroom, preparing food and having a meal.

On the Hand Wash app’s dashboard, users can easily keep track of how long it has been since they last washed their hands, as well as review their daily handwashing target number and how many times they have washed their hands so far in a day. If users find themselves washing their hands before their next scheduled reminder alarm, users can just tap the ‘Wash now’ button before washing their hands to disable the upcoming alarm.

Monitoring Progress on a Weekly Basis

Maintaining a habit means committing to it over time – and committing to wash your hands at least 6-10 times a day is no exception.

To help build their handwashing habit, users can utilize the Hand Wash Trend Tracking function of the app, which logs each day’s handwashing occurrences and provides a weekly average.

Follow the 6 Steps of Handwashing

To effectively prevent the spread of germs, the way you wash your hands is just as important as the frequency of doing so. When washing your hands, you should not only scrub your palms, but also the areas in between the fingers and the backs of the hands. The following 6 steps are a best-practice guide to ensure that you clean your hands properly and thoroughly.

¹ Users are required to download the latest Watch software in order to use the Hand Wash app.