Your Galaxy Watch might miss out on the latest huge free update from Samsung

Samsung has announced a slew of software updates coming to its Galaxy Watch range, but unlike previous free upgrades, the new batch of new tools looks like it's reserved for only the latest models. That means if you have a Galaxy Watch that’s just a couple of years old you could be missing out on the latest features Samsung has to offer.

Over the past few years, Samsung has been quite good at bringing new software perks to older Galaxy Watch models. But in a blog post announcing new features, it looks as though Samsung will only offer upgrades to owners of the Galaxy Watch 7 series, the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and future models yet to be released.

Newly announced features Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index will only come to “the Galaxy Watch Ultra or later released Galaxy Watch series”, while the new Running Coach will be available for “the Galaxy Watch 7 series or later released Galaxy Watch series”, according to Samsung.

This means if you have a Galaxy Watch 6 series or older, your device will not be getting these features. Rumours point to Samsung announcing the Galaxy Watch 8 at its next Unpacked launch event, where it’s also thought we’ll see the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 foldables unveiled.

One additional feature also announced called Bedtime Guidance looks like it’ll be available to all Galaxy Watch owners as Samsung only notes users need Android phones with Android 11 or later and v6.30.2 or later of the Samsung Health app.

To confuse things further, all these updates are only currently available to Galaxy Watch owners based in Kora or the US with a Galaxy Watch 5 or newer - even though the Galaxy Watch 5 can’t run most of the new perks.

“When it comes to health, small changes can make a big difference,” Samsung said in the blog post announcing the new One UI 8 features. “Every incremental improvement to daily habits contribute to a healthier whole, and the upcoming One UI 8 Watch is designed to help build these habits more effectively through a suite of new features that support sleep, heart health, fitness and nutrition.”

If you are hoping your Galaxy Watch can help you sleep more, it does seem that the Bedtime Guidance mode will be the most widely available new feature if and when it rolls out globally to all users.

Samsung says it will analyse sleep data from the last three days to suggest your optimal bedtime, similar to features seen on other smartwatches and trackers such as the Whoop band.

“Sleep remains a cornerstone of our approach to health as it influences physical and mental well-being, social relationships and even work performance,” said Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Health Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics. “Now, we envision the Galaxy Watch delivering holistic insights centered around sleep — insights that lead to meaningful changes in daily life. We believe this aligns with our vision of empowering people to lead healthier lives through proactive care and holistic health management.”

The Vascular Load update, only available for the Watch Ultra currently, measures “the amount of stress on the vascular system during sleep”, while the also Ultra-only Antioxidant Index claims to be able to measure “carotenoids — antioxidants found in green and orange fruits and vegetables — that are stored in the skin.”

If you can get the Running Coach update, it’ll act like similar features from rivals such as Garmin by analysing your running data to create personalised training programs.