What you need to know
- Samsung Wallet comes to the Galaxy Watch series with features like storing IDs, tickets, and boarding passes.
- The new Thermo Check app allows users to measure the temperature around their surroundings.
- WhatsApp for Wear OS comes to Galaxy Watches, letting users reply to messages by voice.
Samsung Wallet made its way to Galaxy smartphones last year by combining the benefits of Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass into a single app. The app is all set to enter the Galaxy Watch series, too, the company announced.
The new ability came in as part of a new range of apps released for the Galaxy Watch series, including the Samsung Wallet app, Thermo Check, and WhatsApp for Wear OS for the first time.
The Samsung Wallet app on the Galaxy Watch series aims to be an all-in-one app wherein users would be able to make payments, store IDs, and have the convenience of showcasing tickets and boarding passes right from their wrist when needed. Samsung says the availability of the Wallet app may vary by market. However, users running Android 9 and above should be able to pair with their Galaxy Watches to use the wallet app.
The Thermo Check "allows users to easily measure the temperature of their surroundings, from meals they are about to eat to water they are about to swim in, all without any physical contact required," Samsung notes in an accompanying blog post.
It will further utilize Samsung's Privileged Health SDK's new Skin Temperature API coupled with Galaxy Watch's infrared technology to measure the relevant temperatures. The Thermo Check app will debut with the upcoming Galaxy Watch 6 series, and it will be followed by the Galaxy Watch 5 series later this year.
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg has just announced the WhatsApp app for Wear OS watches, Wear OS 3 in particular. This makes the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series and above eligible to get one of the best messaging platforms on their wrists. It now allows users to have conversations; they can reply to messages by voice and answer calls right on their wrists.
Compatible Galaxy Watch users interested in using the Thermo Check app and WhatsApp for Wear OS app can head over to the Google Play Store to install the respective apps once they're available on their devices.
