Google Assistant will not be rolling out to the Galaxy Watch 4 right now

There was one notable omission when the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 lineup launched final yr: Google Assistant. As for when it could arrive, Google and Samsung have averted giving agency dates, however there was cause to hope the digital assistant may arrive earlier than anticipated. Earlier right now, Verizon replace logs for each the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic indicated Google had arrived in an replace. However, Google has informed The Verge that this isn’t the case.

“To confirm, Assistant is not rolling out to Galaxy Watch 4 and we don’t have an update on timing,” Google spokesperson Ivy Hunt informed The Verge in an e mail.

The Verizon replace logs, which have been first spotted by 9to5Google, discuss with a software program replace launched right now. As for Google Assistant, the logs say, “If you have Google Assistant downloaded, it will show up in the settings menu under ‘Google Accounts.’” There’s additionally a grainy screenshot displaying which you can head to Settings > Google > Google Assistant to entry setting toggles for the wake phrase and speech output.

Despite the report, The Verge was unable to substantiate the replace ourselves. We checked our Bluetooth and Wi-Fi assessment items, and no Google Assistant replace had arrived. We additionally checked the Google Play Store. Nothing there, both. Given Google’s remark, it seems this complete factor could have been an enormous ole error.

We’ve reached out to Verizon and Samsung for additional clarification however didn’t instantly obtain a response.

The capability to decide on between purposes was a key spotlight when Google and Samsung introduced their Wear OS partnership final yr. Previous variations of the Galaxy Watch ran on Samsung’s proprietary Tizen working system. That meant customers have been shoehorned into utilizing Samsung-specific options like Samsung Pay and… Bixby. For Samsung, switching over to Wear OS was meant to broaden entry to third-party apps — a significant weak level of its Tizen smartwatches. Case in level, Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic house owners preferring Google Pay can now decide to make use of that as an alternative of Samsung Pay.

The Galaxy Watch 4 lineup nonetheless comes preinstalled with Bixby, Samsung’s personal digital assistant. Bixby is… Bixby. While some Samsung customers don’t thoughts Bixby, others have loudly expressed their distaste. Regardless of your emotions, Bixby is nowhere close to as well-liked as Amazon Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. Meanwhile, Google Assistant has lengthy been some of the helpful Wear OS options.

These are main explanation why Google Assistant’s arrival on Wear OS 3 is among the most anticipated updates for the platform. While it’s not coming right now, there’s an opportunity we’d hear one thing at subsequent month’s Google I/O. That stated, Samsung was purposefully obscure when it reassured customers in February that Google Assistant can be out there “in the coming months.” At least that half doesn’t appear to have modified.