Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is missing this killer feature at launch
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4’s only voice assistant at launch is Bixby, and that’s a big letdown — even if it’s a just temporary one.
After I set up the Galaxy Watch 4 unit Samsung loaned me to review, I realized Google Assistant was nowhere to be found within Wear OS’s new app cloud. Itching to try this rumored upgrade, I checked Twitter to see if any fellow early testers noticed the assistant’s absence.
Sure enough, Samsung had confirmed to my friends over at Android Central that Google Assistant is not on the Galaxy Watch 4 series right now. Apparently the assistant will make it to the new smartwatches eventually, but no word yet on when that might be.
I really have no interest in Bixby on my wrist. As much as I’m enjoying the merged Tizen-Wear OS experience so far, there are parts from Google’s side of the software I prefer. The Galaxy Watch 4 I’m testing still benefits from popular programs like Google Maps and Google Pay, but Google Assistant would’ve propelled the new smartwatch further out of the gate.
On-board, Google Assistant has improved several sub-par Wear OS watches. And while Samsung proved it didn’t need the assistant or the rest of Google’s services to make some of the best smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, the addition injects plenty more possibilities than users have had in the past.
With Google’s voice butler built into the Galaxy Watch 4, users would gain access to the best Google Assistant commands, including control of the best Google Home compatible devices in your smart home and all the other perks that come with knowing how to use Google Assistant.
