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Samsung has released a new update for its Galaxy Watch 5 series smartwatches. The company is pushing the latest, December 2023 security patch to the wearables. The update also brings system stability and reliability improvements. There aren’t any new features or functional enhancements in tow.
The Galaxy Watch 5 series receives Samsung’s December update
Samsung’s December security update is rolling out to both Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. The new firmware build number for the devices is BWL1 (last four characters). As the official changelog reveals, it is a relatively small update with the latest security fixes and stability improvements. Samsung may have optimized the system software for a more reliable performance.
The Korean firm’s updated security bulletin for December 2023 mentions more than 60 vulnerability patches for the Galaxy family. At least seven of those are confirmed to be critical security issues. The vast majority of the remaining fixes concern high-severity flaws. Most of these issues likely don’t exist on the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, but a few surely do. Samsung’s latest update will safeguard the two watches against these vulnerabilities.
This is the first update for Samsung’s 2022 smartwatches since they picked up the One UI 5 Watch upgrade in August. Based on Wear OS 4, the previous update was a major one that brought tons of new features and functional improvements. From new watch faces and tiles to improvements for Samsung Health, call controls, camera controls, gestures, and more, the Galaxy Watch 5 duo received a lot of goodies. The latest update is all about security fixes.
If you are using either model, keep an eye on the Galaxy Wearable app on your connected smartphone. You should receive a notification from the app once the update reaches your unit. You can also manually check for updates from the app or the watch itself. Go to Watch settings (Settings app on watch) > Software update > Download and install. Note that OTA (over the air) updates are released in batches and may not be available to everyone at the same time.
Other Samsung smartwatches may also soon receive a new update
Samsung may soon push new updates to the Galaxy Watch 4 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series too. The former lineup received the One UI 5Watch upgrade in September and hasn’t received any update since. The Galaxy Watch 6 series, on the other hand, debuted with One UI 5 Watch and last received an update in early November. We will let you know when Samsung releases new updates for these watches.