Samsung is not shy about loading its products with useful software features. Many of them are obvious, but there are some hidden gems buried in the menus as well. Since they run the same software, you can use the same tricks on theGalaxy Watch 6andWatch 6 Classic. So if you have one of those wearables – or an older model running Samsung’s latest software – there’s plenty to discover.
1Control your Samsung phone camera
With theright Samsung phone connected– essentially anyGalaxy S series,Galaxy Z FliporZ Foldfrom the past few years – you can use the Galaxy Watch to remotely trigger the camera on your handset.
It’s simple enough to do, so just make sure your phone and watch are connected by opening the Galaxy Wearable app and checking the home screen. Now, on the watch, find the camera control app, which looks like a red circle with a white camera icon. When you tap it, the app will connect and launch the camera on your phone.
Tap the shutter button to snap a photo, or swipe across to the video camera to shoot a video. If you want to disable the timer, you may do that by tapping the timer at the top of the screen. If you want to switch cameras, you’ll need to do that on the phone itself.
2Turn on fall detection
Thanks to the Galaxy Watch 6’s host of precision motion sensors, it can tell if you’ve had a hard fall and might be in some danger. Whether it’s because you’re generally a little unsteady on your feet, or you’re navigating difficult terrain, the Galaxy Watch’s fall detection could be something that keeps you safe. To activate the feature:
TapHard fall detectionagain to see all available customization options. For instance, you can configure your Galaxy Watch to perform a countdown and play a warning sound before calling 9-1-1. At the very bottom, there’s an option to share your status with emergency contacts. When enabled, the Galaxy Watch will send your location and an SOS message to friends and family members when it detects you’ve suffered a hard fall. Go ahead and sift through the options on your Galaxy Watch 6 to configure it to your needs.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review: More of the same
With its larger screen, more durable build, enhanced fitness features and faster processing, is this finally the perfect Wear OS watch?
3Replace Bixby with Google Assistant
Samsung’sBixby assistantisn’t the most useful voice assistant on the planet. Thankfully, the Galaxy Watch 6 comes preloaded withWear OS 4andGoogle Assistant. You just need to tick a few settings to make it the default voice assistant on your watch. First, open Google Assistant on your watch and go through the setup process. Now you need to assign Google Assistant to a button press on your watch. Here’s how to do that:
From now on, when you long press the home (top) button, Google Assistant will activate. Of course, this also helps if you don’t want a virtual assistant on your watch at all. Repeat the above process and select a different option other than Assistant or Bixby to disable the shortcut entirely.
4Quickly launch apps with a button press
In the same menu as mentioned above, you’ll find an option to assign a function to a double press of the home button. By default, that shortcut launches the most recent app you used. It can be handy if you’ve got a workout running, and you accidentally navigate to your home screen. You can double-press to go back.
However, if you’d rather use that shortcut to launch a specific app, you can do that too. Here’s how:
Once done, all you have to do is double tap the home button and your favorite app will open.
5Quick torch with a hand gesture
In a similar vein, there’s an option to quickly launch any app using a hand gesture. In fact, the Galaxy Watch 6 has several different gestures to learn, if you want to enable them. To find gestures,
Once you activate gesture control, the Wearable app will display a tutorial (see above photo) on how to use the feature. It’s essentially a knock-like gesture, but only from the wrist. Do not use your whole arm. Do it twice and whatever feature you configured the gesture to launch will activate. We suggest the torch because who doesn’t need a flashlight on tap?
6Accept or decline calls with a gesture
Similar to the last tip, you can accept or reject calls and silence alerts with a hand gesture.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs Google Pixel Watch: Which is best?
If you’re an Android phone user you might be wondering which you should get: Google’s home-made watch or Samsung’s?
Both options are fairly self-explanatory. One answers phone calls and the other dismisses alerts and declines voice calls. To answer a phone call, move your arm up and down twice. Meanwhile, to dismiss a call, rotate your wrist twice, so your watch is facing away. Like the Quick Launch feature, you can tap the names of each gesture in the settings menu to see a tutorial for how to do it.
7Power off/shut down the watch
This one’s pretty easy, once you know where to find the power button.
8Edit your quick settings tiles
Like an Android phone, you can customize which quick access settings toggles appear when you swipe down from the top of your watch screen. Here’s how:
9Change font style, size and weight
Because this is Samsung we’re talking about, the Galaxy Watch 6 offers a wealth of customization options. Among them is the option to change the device’s system font.
There are six styles to choose from, including the default style.
Once you’ve chosen your preferred style, you can go back to the display menu and togglebold fonton if you want characters to feature a thicker weight. You can also make text bigger or smaller by selectingfont sizeand tapping ‘+‘or ‘-’ until writing is at a size you find easy to read.
10Add Snore Detection to sleep tracking
The Galaxy Watch 6 has a great, in-depth sleep tracking and coaching feature. If you want, you can set it up to monitor your snoring, and even record it when detected.
Once you enable snore detection, you’re able to configure your watch to track your snoring every night or just once. It’s also possible to enable the recording audio function to record snippets of your snoring; there’s even an option that allows you to decide how long your device retains those recordings before automatically deleting them. Once active though, if your phone is by your bedside while you’re asleep at night, it’ll listen out for snoring and add it to your sleep analysis.
