Samsung Gear S3
Samsung Gear S3 smartwatches are getting new features thanks to a software update. Reuters/Steve Marcus

Samsung is rolling out a software update to its Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier smartwatches. The update comes with new features that enhance the way owners interact with their wearables.

Samsung released the hefty update to U.S. consumers Tuesday. The update reportedly changes the Tizen OS version to 2.3.2.3 from 2.3.2.0, Tizen Experts reported. Since the South Korean giant has just started rolling out the update, it would take a couple of days until it reaches all models released in the U.S. For users who want to know if the update has already reached their high-tech timepieces, they may manually check the availability of the software.

To upgrade a Gear S3 classic or a Gear S3 frontier, launch the Gear application on a paired smartphone. In the app, navigate the Settings panel to see About Gear. Then tap Update Gear Software. If the update is already available, the user can proceed right away by pressing the Download Updates Manually option. Owners of the two Samsung smartwatches are advised to connect their devices to Wi-Fi when downloading the update.

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The release note for the Gear software update is quite long, which explains its hefty size. The slew of new features includes support for BMW Connected, Nest and Spotify. The first one provides users the capacity to connect to a BMW’s ConnectedDrive service. The second enables any of the two smartwatches to serve as the Nest Thermostat controller. The third one is obviously support for the Swedish music streaming service.

The update also brings a lot of changes. For instance, users can now add new Date and Music to certain Watch faces of the Gear S3 smartwatches. News Briefing’s user interface is getting some tweaks as well. With the new interface, users will find it easy to read the news through the widget. Finally, the update also makes the Gear S3 compatible with Google’s recently launched Find My Device platform, SamMobile said.

Check out the full release note of the newest software update below:

1. Watch face – You can now add new Date and Music applications to selected watch faces.
2. Alti-Barometer – An altitude auto refresh feature has been added.
3. Samsung Health – Customizable pace-coaching feature and HR Zone information for Running have been added.
4. S Voice – You can now set a date and time when creating a Reminder.
5. News Briefing – With the improved UI, you can read the news more conveniently via the widget.
6. Settings – A TTS option as been added to the input menu. Additional languages are available to download.
7. Find My Device – A new feature to display your contact information on your Gear if it gets lost has been added.
8. Accessibility – New features have been added to Direct access menu, including Screen Reader, Accessibility, Dark Skin, Gray Scale and Negative colors.
9. iOS Support – UX enhancements and bug fixes (S Voice recognition rate, Connection Stability and Music Transfer (from PC).
10. Samsung Gear - An Auto Switch feature has been added that supports Gear S3, S2 and Fit2, which automatically connects the Gear device being worn to the paired smartphone.
11. Stop Watch – Max time increased to 3 hours.
12. Updated application: DirecTV
13. New partner Apps available for download in Galaxy App Store.

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