The Samsung Gear S2 is getting a bit long in the tooth, having launched two and a half years ago. If you're still rocking the Tizen smartwatch on a daily basis, though, you'll be happy to know that it's getting some new features.
Samsung has announced a new update for the Gear S2. This update will introduce a clearer user interface that optimizes the icons and widgets for the Gear S2's round display and unifies the appearance of each screen, making the content easier to read.
Samsung has also added an Apps Shortcut widget to display your most recently used apps and your manually selected favorites, and a Quick Panel that'll let you easily toggle settings like display brightness and volume. The Quick Panel can be accessed by swiping down from all screens.
Another notable change of this update is to Samsung Health. Info like pace count and heart rate are easier to read at a glance, and a new Multi-workout widget will let you set your preferred workouts as presets. More inactivity alerts are being added, too, and a Weight Management feature will show your daily exercise and caloric intake. You'll be able to control exercise video content on your Samsung TV or phone with your Gear S2 as well.
This update will enable you to control more devices with your Gear S2 smartwatch. The Gear VR Controller app will let you control your Gear VR headset with your Gear S2 smartwatch, and the PPT Controller app will let you control PowerPoint slides, including a timer.
Finally, the Gear S2 can offer weather forecasts with daily high and low temperatures, wind chill, sunrise and sunset times, UV index, and more.
If you've got a Gear S2, you can download this update using the Samsung Gear app. This sounds like a significant update for the Gear S2, and it's awesome to see Samsung continue to update the device with new features and usability improvements more than two years into its life.
