What you need to know
- Samsung’s One UI 5 Watch beta has opened for Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 owners.
- One UI 5 Watch will allow users to transfer from one phone to another without needing to reset their devices.
- Requiring a full reset has long been a complaint of Wear OS users.
- One UI 5 Watch is based on Wear OS 4, which is expected to arrive later this year.
The new One UI 5 Watch beta has a surprising new feature that will allow users to switch phones without needing to wipe their smartwatches.
The feature was spotted by 9to5Google in the changelog of the new One UI 5 Watch beta, which is based on Wear OS 4. According to the changelog, you’ll be able to “Transfer your watch without resetting.” The feature can be found in the Galaxy Wearable app’s General settings for the smartwatch and will let you switch devices “but keep your apps, watch faces, and more.”
On eligible watches like the Galaxy Watch 5, you’ll find the option to “Transfer watch to new phone,” which changed from the previous “Connect to new phone” option. Here, the watch will ask you to verify that the Google Account on both phones matches. It also informs that the Samsung account associated with the new phone will be used on the watch.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to get it to work, as the watch phone would attempt to pair, only to stop midway through preparing the watch. That said, it is a beta, so the feature may not be completely ready yet. Still, it’s very promising to know that this feature is coming.
