New Ways to Watch Your Wellness

Samsung Health on the Gear S3 and Gear Sport has been transformed, helping users to be smarter about their wellness.

The update features 20 indoor workouts, allowing the smartwatch to track 39 different types of exercise. Eight workouts are listed as a default and users are able to customize the list to display their exercises of choice. The devices can also record a series of exercises in succession and these back-to-back workouts are available to view at a glance immediately after a workout.

Sleep quality is just as important as its duration, and keeping tabs on both is easy. The update simplifies the sleep notifications that users receive when they wake up in the morning, allowing users to tap on “View Detail” for a more detailed breakdown of their sleep time, three movement states and weekly record. Sleep Widget is also supported, providing a brief log of the previous night’s sleep and offers more comprehensive sleep data when tapped.

Intuitive Navigation

The Quick Panel, which is accessed by swiping down on the devices’ screens, displays eight settings, modes or icons at a time, and can be customized according to user preferences. Users can now choose from even more items to display on the Quick Panel, including BT (Bluetooth) Headset and Find My Phone, facilitating more efficient device interactions.

To prevent disturbances during important events or sleep, two new advanced modes have also been added to the Quick Panel selection. Theater Mode keeps the watch silent and its screen off, muting all alerts, alarms and system sounds, ensuring users give their full attention to their surroundings. Goodnight Mode mutes all alerts – except for alarms and system sounds – and turns off Watch always on and Wake-up gesture, helping you to drift off in peace. The two modes can be controlled at the Settings.

An Enhanced Communication Experience

The update enriches communication, with new features for messaging and calls.

Users are able to save draft messages written on their device and return to them later to finish and send. Support for Multimedia Message (MMS) has also been enhanced, with MMS images displayed in notifications. The update also supports automatic playback for animated images in a message or conversation. To help users craft responses, previous messages in the conversation are shown to provide context and reply options are displayed directly below, streamlining the process with no need to tap again to reply. With up to 1500+ emojis, across nine categories, users can make their messages all the more personal. The device will also display the nine most recently-used emojis, so that users can respond to messages using their favorite emojis within moments.

For the Gear S3 only, which is equipped with the call function, the update also supports in-call multitasking. This allows users to navigate away from the call screen, use other features and open other apps – all while staying on the call.

New Partnership Possibilities

Alongside established partnerships with fitness and lifestyle applications, such as Under Armour and Smart Caddie, new partnerships are coming to the Gear S3 and Gear Sport. After partnering with Strava, the social fitness network for athletes, the devices now provide a standalone experience, tracking a range of outdoor and indoor activities on the wearable and syncing directly with the Strava app. Support for the TIDAL app* is also offered, allowing users to access their favorite tracks and playlists, as well as explore new music, directly from their device. With the C25K – Couch to 5K app, users can also improve their stamina and track their progress using a proven program. This program was designed for inexperienced runners who are just beginning to include exercise in their routine – so you can train to run 5K in just 8 weeks.

(From left) Strava, TIDAL and C25K apps are available for the Gear S3 and Gear Sport with the new update.

The Gear S3 Value Pack update is now available for download via the Samsung Galaxy Wearable app .

*Availability of TIDAL service may vary by region.

Packed with enhancements that augment the device’s utility and streamline users’ access to the information they rely on, the update transforms the Gear S3 into a controller, a tracker, a communicator and, of course, a watch – all in one device.

Workouts, Your Way

Exercising with the Gear S3 has been completely transformed, thanks to new features designed to make activity tracking more intuitive.*

Advanced, real-time heart rate monitoring with improved accuracy and detailed feedback lets users continuously monitor their heart rate activity – whether they’re enjoying a relaxing yoga session or an exhilarating kickboxing class. They can also control their weight more efficiently via the nutrition management feature, where they can easily add calories consumed, check their calorie balance and compare it to their daily target.

Fitness buffs looking to take their workout routine to the next level will appreciate the Samsung Health Fitness Program feature, which lets them watch exercise programs from their synced smartphone on a TV. Once connected, they can use their Gear S3 to control the displayed content, display their heart rates on the TV.

Centralized Communications, Right from Your Wrist

Despite its productivity and fitness features, the Gear S3 is not just a lifestyle device. In fact, it’s a communicator that makes getting in touch and staying on task easy and efficient.

In addition to searching contacts via the device, users can also now create new contacts right from the screen of the Gear S3. They can also create events along with related information such as date and time, reminder alerts, and location (text only) with a few simple taps and twists of the bezel.

Furthermore, rather than just checking reminders created on the Gear S3, users can also now view and edit checklist, video and web reminders created on their synced smartphone on the smartwatch. For instance, they can create a grocery list on their mobile device and tick items off right from their wrist as they add them to their shopping cart.**

A UX Optimized for the Way You Use Your Device

The Gear S3 sets users free from their phone; a turn of the device’s signature rotating bezel is all it takes to respond to calls, read messages or access an app. But with the latest updates, the device’s UX is even more seamless and user-friendly.

Widgets, for example, have been optimized to fit the newly enhanced circular display of the Gear S3 so that more information can be viewed at a glance. A band has been added around the perimeter of the screen along with widget-specific text such as contact names, detailed weather information and the remaining time before an alarm is set to go off.

By rotating the bezel at a faster or slower rate, users can view more or less information, respectively. For instance, if a user wants to change their device’s watch face, they can see more design options on the screen at once by turning the bezel at a faster speed.

Users can also use the bezel to naturally move from a text message notification to the reply input. Should they not have enough time to send a detailed reply, they can make use of even more default quick replies to express themselves in a snap. They can also create and edit their own quick replies directly on the smartwatch.

Gear S3 owners also now have the option to sort apps in the order in which they were most recently used in addition to being able to customize their location. The Moment Bar, which allows users to adjust the volume, check the battery level and more, is easily accessed with a swipe up or down from any screen.

To top things off, Samsung Gear, the app that Gear S3 owners use to sync their smartwatch with their smartphone, has been enhanced with a modern, image-focused design to better harmonize with the classic aesthetic of the device.

Enhanced Control for Ultimate Connectivity

With a focus on connectivity, Samsung’s ever-growing connected ecosystem brings about the need for more control. With its large touchscreen and rotating bezel, the Gear S3 is the perfect tool for controlling one’s devices, and is only enhanced with the new value pack update.

Users can now manage their compatible Samsung IoT-enabled devices right from their Gear S3 with Samsung Connect. The smartwatch also functions as a remote control for PowerPoint presentations and Samsung Gear VR, adding an element of convenience to both work and play.

The Gear S3 value pack update is now available for download via the Samsung Gear app.

* To activate these new features, the Samsung Health app must first be updated on the smartphone synced to the Gear S3.

** The Reminder function only works with the Gear S3 if the Reminder app is downloaded on the synced smartphone, which is limited to the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note8.

Speaking of lifting, exercising with the Gear S3’s Samsung Health app has also been enhanced, thanks to an improved user interface (UI) and new workout features. Now, when viewing workout results, users will be informed of how much time they spent in each heart rate zone via simple, color-classified graphs, and will also be kept abreast of their daily heart rate range. In addition, a newly added streamlined Stretching guide is activated after 50 minutes of inactivity and utilizes a counting sound to guide users through the activity.

Other Samsung Health enhancements include the abilities to auto-locate and record approximate location for detected running or walking, as well as sync pace-setter running targets from the Samsung Health app on your phone with the Gear S3.

Users who need a little reminder now and then to kick-start their workout routine can utilize the updated Reminder app, which now allows you to add specific dates for reminders delivered via S Voice.* This means that a command such as “Remind me to work out at 7:00pm this Sunday” will produce the desired alert on the desired day. The update also allows you to easily edit the titles of dictated reminders, and is compatible with the Gear S2.

The Gear S3’s Accessibility features have been enhanced to offer users more control over their device’s display. Now, after activating ‘Direct access’ in the Accessibility menu, users will be able to enable new, readability-focused screen options including ‘Dark screen’, ‘Greyscale’ and ‘Negative colors’.

Samsung has also made it easier for users to track down their Gear S3 in the event that it is misplaced. Now, under the Find My Gear section of the Gear Manager app, which allows users to lock their lost device remotely to prevent unauthorized use, users may add personal contact information, such as an email address or phone number, to display on the smartwatch’s lock screen.

Left: Accessibility, Right: Find My Gear

Other notable value pack additions include an auto-calibration option for the Alti/Barometer and a simplified Settings menu. Furthermore, with new complications for select watch faces**, users can control the music player (Play/ Pause) and check the date directly from the Gear S3’s watch face.

The News Briefing widget can also be more easily navigated, thanks to an enhanced up/down button interface. Finally, for added convenience, the Stopwatch counting time has been increased from one hour to three hours.

Left: News Briefing widget, Right: Stopwatch

Users may download the value pack update via the Samsung Gear app.***

* S voice supports the following languages: English (US), English (UK), Spanish (US), Spanish (ES), French (FR), Portuguese (BR), German, Italian, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Korean and Japanese.

**The new Music complication is available on the Minimal, Blue Pop and Gear Dashboard watch faces, while the new Date complication is available on the Gear Dashboard watch face.

*** The user’s Gear S3 and smartphone must be synced in order to download the value pack update.