Buying a smartwatch with almost infinite customization out of the box is great, especially with the Samsung Galaxy Watch series. It’s built around Wear OS, the same operating system found in the Pixel Watch, but with more features thanks to additional sensors for a healthier lifestyle. Specifically, the latest Galaxy watches can measure body composition, circulatory health, and even antioxidant levels. These settings and sensors are great, but they can also be intimidating to smartwatch newcomers or those used to other brands that don’t go as far.
Five Galaxy Watch settings are worth changing immediately on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Ultra lines. Personally, I own a Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and a Google Pixel Watch 3, so I know a thing or two about how to tame smartwatches and make them work for personal use cases in and out of the gym. The steps we present here are based on using a Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 or Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and later, but should apply to any Galaxy Watch, although some steps may differ on older models. So where do users start with this digital minefield?
Optimization of the dial
There are thousands of watch faces to choose from, and users can also use their own photos as backgrounds. Long press the watch face to open the face gallery and switch watch faces, then long press the active watch face and tap the gear and pencil icon, then choose a custom image or a photo from the connected phone’s photo gallery.
A cool watch face is the daily dashboard face. It slowly changes background color throughout the day and supports up to eight complications. First select the daily dashboard face, long press to edit it, tap each complication location and assign a feature from the list. Complications aren’t limited to this list either, and more will appear automatically as a user installs supported apps.
Watch faces and watch face settings can drain battery life. More active watch faces, as well as AOD (always-on display) and auto-brightness, can drain a Galaxy Watch’s battery. Disabling AOD and Adaptive Brightness is a great way to save battery; You can do this by turning off the watch face outline icon in the quick menu (swipe down from the top of the Galaxy Watch). If the icon is gray or dark, it means it is turned off. For automatic brightness, tap the settings icon, then go to display and turn off adaptive brightness. Then adjust the brightness level between 25% and 40%. Enabling raise-to-wake also keeps the watch face off until a user raises their wrist.
Hardware gestures and buttons
The double pinch gesture, performed with your thumb and index finger, answers calls, dismisses alarms, takes photos and much more. This is a really “handy” feature to enable (not sorry). To set it up, go to the list of gestures under Settings, then Buttons & Gestures, then simply pinch your thumb and index finger twice near the watch. Likewise, you can enable the wrist shake gesture to reject a call, dismiss alerts, and return the Galaxy Watch to the watch face. There is also a gesture to open an app, but I didn’t find it very reliable.
A unique feature of the Galaxy Watch is Universal Gestures, which you can find in the Accessibility settings. It allows users to use gestures instead of touching the watch to use most functions, but this won’t work when a security lock pattern is enabled.
There are also physical buttons for those who need a tactile touch. The center quick button can launch an app or exercise with a short or double press. The top button can open any app or utility with a double press, with a long press bringing up Gemini, Bixby, or turning off the Galaxy Watch. A quick tap on the top takes users back to the watch face. A short press of the bottom button goes back or shows recent apps, while a long press opens Samsung Wallet. You can customize most button functions by going to Settings, then Buttons & Gestures.
Stackable tiles and app launcher
Material Expressive tiles work great on Pixel Watches, but Samsung’s stackable tiles are much more useful in my experience. They allow users to stack up to 11 widgets in a single tile. Go to the Galaxy Wearable app on the paired phone, open the tile settings, then add up to 11 widgets to it.
Then go to the Galaxy Watch and swipe up or down on a stacked tile to view the apps stacked inside. Some app tile options only support one widget per tile, so experiment. The Galaxy Wearable app previews how the tile and widgets will look on the Galaxy Watch before syncing, which I thought was a nice touch and removes unnecessary friction when customizing.
It also allows users to organize their Galaxy Watch app by grid or list, with a convenient toggle to place the most used apps at the top of the list. Grid mode works the same way Android smartphones manage apps; simply drag one app on top of another to create a new folder. I like to group my apps based on what I use the most. So I will have a folder for tracking shipping costs, one for social media, another for games, etc.
Focus on exercise
The Galaxy Watch tracks more than 90 sports and activities, so finding the right tracker can be a pain and you can’t rearrange the entire list. However, there is a shortcut to favorites. Samsung Health allows users to pin up to three exercises to get the blood pumping faster; simply open the Samsung Health app on the connected Android phone, search for an exercise and tap the star icon to favorite it. Users can also rearrange these three favorite locations in the same order as their workout.
Gym managers can also hide exercises they don’t bother with and add their own under favorites, including personalized routines, which they can organize based on how they actually train. All of these customizations automatically sync with the Galaxy Watch, so users don’t need to keep their phone within reach when they start a workout.
Personally, I focused on the mindfulness tracking features, particularly the Stress Timeline, and used Samsung Health’s breathing exercises and meditation to stay calm. It has really helped me manage my anxiety spikes and become a calmer parent, so I urge everyone to try it. Being healthy isn’t just about fitness, and mindfulness exercises take place in short bursts that suit busy lifestyles like mine.
Modes and battery life
Modes set the conditions on a Galaxy Watch for different times of the day, such as commuting, work and relaxation, volume adjustment, display settings, and more. to prevent the Galaxy Watch from interfering at certain times.
They sync between the paired smartphone and watch, and users can customize and create their own modes. Start by opening Modes & Routines in the Galaxy Wearables app on the paired phone, tap the Modes & Routines hyperlink at the bottom to open the utility, then change an existing mode such as Sleep, Theater, etc. A custom mode sets startup conditions and then automatically executes actions.
Battery life is arguably the most important factor when talking about smartwatches, and the always-on display feature is one of the worst battery drains. In my time using a Samsung Galaxy Watch, I’ve found that turning off AOD, auto-brightness, GPS, NFC, syncing frequently in Samsung Health, and enabling LTE or WiFi only when needed really extends battery life. Of course, the Galaxy Watch needs some of these features to be useful, so it’s a case of living with a new Galaxy Watch for a few days to see what you use it for most.
