4 new Google features coming to Samsung phones and watches - here's what you get
Galaxy Unpacked July 2024 delivered new Samsung Galaxy devices, including the Z Flip 6, Z Fold 6, Galaxy Buds 3, Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, Galaxy Watch 7, and the first Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch Ultra. These devices bring a host of new features, with Galaxy AI front and center.
Also: Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked Summer 2024
That's not the end of the AI story. Google AI features are also coming to the new Samsung devices, including a Gemini app that will allow you to see and discuss what's on the screen of your Z Flip 6 or Z Fold 6, and Circle to Search to find exactly what you need from a photo or a document.
4 new Google features coming to Samsung phones and watches
1. Circle to Search
Google first introduced Circle to Search for Android in January 2024, letting you select something on your screen that you're curious about and search for it without switching apps.
The new Circle to Search feature will be available in the new Galaxy Z Series, including the Flip 6 and Fold 6. It features translation capabilities and homework help, letting you take a photo of some text and circle the part you need help with.
This feature was first introduced on the Google Pixel 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup. Since then, Circle to Search has come to the Galaxy S23 Series, Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Google plans to add support for symbolic math, barcode lookup, and QR code scanning to Circle to Search later this month.
2. Gemini app with screen context
The Gemini app on Android gives you easy access to the AI chatbot to ask questions, generate text, and create images. Google is upgrading the Gemini app with the new Galaxy Z series, letting you access it from any app and get suggestions based on what's on your screen.
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You can activate Gemini by swiping the corner of your screen or saying "Hey Google" to your device, and you can then ask it about a photo or video on your screen to get more context or learn new information. Google hasn't said when this new onscreen context feature will be available with the Gemini app on Galaxy Z series smartphones.
3. Wear OS 5 on the Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra
Google's latest smartwatch operating system, Wear OS 5, will make its general debut with the new Samsung Galaxy Watches, announced today during Unpacked.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra will be the first smartwatches to run Wear OS 5, which brings new fitness tracking features, watch faces, and battery life improvements. Wear OS 5 will come to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5, and Galaxy Watch 6 in August, while the Google Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 are expected to get it in October.
4. Watch YouTube in multiview
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will support multiview for YouTube TV subscribers, enabling you to watch two to four streams simultaneously. During multiview, you can switch between audio sources and captions while keeping up to four livestreams on a single screen without switching channels. Multiview is available for YouTube TV on smart TVs, iPhone and iPad devices, and some Android phones and tablets.
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Multiple windows are rarely seen on smartphones, but foldable phones offer a level of real estate unavailable in standard smartphones, with multitasking support. Multiview is another way to display content, leveraging the Fold 6's larger screen.