Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 series picks up camera zoom controls, but there’s a catch
Last week, Samsungreleased an update to the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Prothat made them more useful companions for your Galaxy phone’s camera with a new zoom option in the Camera Controller app. However, the capability remains inoperable until Samsung releases One UI 5.1. Ahead of this phone software release, the company is now pushing the same feature to theGalaxy Watch 4series, along with a handful of other improvements.
A Galaxy Watch 4 owner took to Reddit to share a screenshot confirming the new update for the smartwatch, noting that it’s rolling out to the Bluetooth variant for the time being (viaXDA Developers). This means the LTE model is likely to receive this new feature at a later date, based on comments from a few Watch 4 (LTE) owners in the sameReddit thread.
New Camera Controller feature added
- Change zoom on your phone camera remotely through pinching in or out on the screen, or through rotating the bezel.
- This feature is only supported on flagship models released after Samsung Galaxy S20 or Z Flip running at least One UI 5.1.
Samsung Members
A new “Connected device diagnostics” option has been added to check the proper performance of the Galaxy Watch’s battery status, touch screen function, etc. on the connected phone.
Please update Samsung Members and Galaxy Wearable app to the latest versions for using the ‘Connected device diagnostics’ feature.
Stability and reliability
- The stability has been improved.
The new update will allow you to remotely control your phone’s camera zoom level from your smartwatch by pinching in or out on the screen or rotating the bezel. However, as mentioned above, this only works on a Galaxy device running One UI 5.1, which likely won’t come out until after Samsung unveils theGalaxy S23series in February. As a result, the camera zoom controls are practically useless at the moment. If you’re already a fan of Wear OS’s feature that allows you to remotely take a selfie with your Galaxy Watch, the new capability will be an added convenience.
Along with the camera zoom controls, the new update includes a device diagnostics tool, which also previously landed on the Galaxy Watch 5 series. This allows you to check the battery status of your watch and run tests on touchscreen functions from your smartphone. It can be found in the Samsung Members app.
Battery life was one of the drawbacks of Samsung’s latestAndroid-compatible smartwatch, despite the company touting huge battery gains for the series. Our own Ara Wagoner noted in herGalaxy Watch 5review that the company’s battery claims didn’t hold up. At the very least, adding a tool that allows you to check your watch’s battery health from your phone will aid in the maintenance of the wearable device, though it is far from resolving the underlying issue.
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