Samsung fans are aware that the company has been testing the next major software update, Wear OS 4 and One UI Watch 5, for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 lineups for some time. And earlier this week, Samsung launched a One UI Watch 5 beta program that will allow some users to take the new software for a spin and provide feedback to help Samsung polish it up for the public global rollout later this year.
The One UI Watch 5 beta program is much like the one Samsung holds for new Android and One UI updates for its smartphones every year, and joining it and getting started with the first beta firmware is super easy. You just need to open the Samsung Members app on your phone, look for and tap the One UI Watch Beta banner, and hit the enroll button.
But there's one limitation to the One UI Watch 5 beta program that is, frankly, quite disappointing: Samsung has only announced it for the US and Korea and has not hinted that it will eventually expand its availability to other markets.
Samsung is allowing beta testing in just two of the world's 195 nations
Last year, One UI Watch 4.5 testing was similarly limited to Galaxy Watch 4 customers in the same two countries, so there's a good chance other countries won't get beta access to Wear OS 4 and One UI Watch 5. And that's a bummer, especially since from what we've noticed, Samsung fans are more interested in smartwatch updates than they are in updates for their Galaxy phones.
It's possible that Samsung doesn't feel the need to include more users in beta testing smartwatch updates because smartwatch software is not nearly as complex as software that runs on your smartphone and, therefore, doesn't require as much work. Still, that doesn't change the fact that most Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 owners are likely going to have to sit on the sidelines and wait for the final release to get all the new features that are included in Wear OS 4 and One UI Watch 5.
Hopefully, Samsung will switch it up for the next major Wear OS and One UI Watch firmware update and give as many users the chance to test things out as it can. Or, at the very least, try and release the stable update much sooner so that customers in the remaining 193 countries aren't left drooling for too long.
