Samsung Rolls Out One UI 8 Watch to Galaxy Watch 4 in South Korea

Samsung has begun rolling out its One UI 8 Watch update, based on Wear OS 6, to the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic smartwatches in South Korea, fulfilling a long-awaited software upgrade for the 2021 models. The update, which marks the final major operating system release for these devices, started appearing on WiFi-only variants this week, with firmware versions ending in JYK4 and a download size exceeding 1 gigabyte.

The rollout comes several months after Samsung deployed the same update to newer models, including the Galaxy Watch 7, Watch 6, and Watch Ultra series. Initially announced in June, One UI 8 Watch faced uncertainty for the older Watch 4 lineup due to the company's standard four-year support window, which technically expired this year following the watches' August 2021 launch. However, Samsung confirmed the eligibility earlier, extending the promised platform upgrades to include this Wear OS 6 iteration.

Users in South Korea can access the update through the Galaxy Wearable app on their paired smartphones by navigating to Watch settings and selecting Watch software update. The process requires at least 50 percent battery and a stable WiFi connection for...