The One UI Watch 4.5 beta firmware that went live for the Galaxy Watch 4 series earlier this week has revealed some interesting details about Samsung's upcoming smartwatch lineup.
As you may have read earlier today, there are no signs of a Galaxy Watch 5 Classic model mentioned in the beta firmware. But on a more positive note, a new report reveals that Samsung might plan to bring body temperature reading capabilities to the upcoming smartwatch series.
Galaxy Watch 5 to boast a body temperature sensor after all?
Let's start with a short history lesson. A couple of months ago, a report emerged to suggest that Samsung plans to add a body temperature sensor to the upcoming Galaxy Watch 5 series.
This report was followed by another one a few weeks later. It claimed that Samsung wants to add this technology to its wearables, but it's experiencing issues with the body temperature reading algorithm, so it may be forced to push back the feature to 2023.
History lesson over. Fast forward to the present day, and new evidence found in the One UI Watch 4.5 beta firmware indicates that Samsung might bring temperature reading capabilities to its Galaxy Watch 5, after all.
As seen in the screenshot below (via Reddit), beta testers now have a new “skin temperature during sleep” toggle inside the Samsung Health app.
The existing Galaxy Watch 4 series lacks the body temperature reading hardware, which means that Samsung is working on adding the software component required for body temperature readings to One UI 4.5 for future models. But whether or not the feature will be available on the Galaxy Watch 5 at launch is still unclear.
Samsung could launch the Galaxy Watch 5 series with a disabled body temperature sensor and enable the module later through a firmware update. Or perhaps Samsung is laying the groundwork for the feature on the software side of things for the 2023 smartwatch models, with no intentions to bring this feature to the Galaxy Watch 5.
Only time will tell, but one thing that's clear is that Samsung is indeed developing body temperature reading capabilities for its future smartwatches. Let's hope that the tech will be ready in time for the launch of the Galaxy Watch 5 lineup.
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