Galaxy Watch Shake-Up, Apple’s Hidden Health Trick, and a $23 Smartwatch Steal – Today’s Gadget News Roundup July 16, 2025
Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 series embraces an Apple-style quick-release band connector instead of traditional spring bars, marking the end of a decade of standard watch pins. This “dynamic lug” system uses a button on the watch to release the strap, much like Apple and Google’s bands, allowing faster swaps. All new Watch 8 models share interchangeable bands under this system. Fans are also pleased to see Samsung bring back the beloved rotating bezel on the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic – a tactile navigation feature notably absent from last year’s lineup. In short, Samsung isn’t shying away from bold design changes to keep its wearables competitive. Beyond hardware tweaks, Samsung is rolling out major software updates that even benefit older watches. The new One UI 8 Watch debuted on the Watch 8 series and is packed with upgrades – from enhanced health and sleep tracking to on-device AI features. Initially, beta tests only included the Galaxy Watch 5 and newer models, leading to speculation that 2021’s Galaxy Watch 4 might be left behind. However, in a pleasant twist, Samsung confirmed the nearly four-year-old Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic will indeed get the One UI 8 Watch update androidcentral.com