Galaxy Watch Active 2 Update Turns Touch Bezel On By Default

Samsung seems to be on a trajectory that will see its iconic rotating bezel disappear from its smartwatches. For the second time in a row, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 sported no such control, replacing it with thin, classy-looking borders instead. Samsung did make one compromise and made those bezels touch-sensitive. Strangely, it shipped the smartwatches with that feature disabled out of the box and it is now pushing out an update that flips the switch for everyone.

It's still puzzling that Samsung would ship the Galaxy Watch Active 2 with one of its key features disabled. Then again, there are also other key features that won't be enabled until next year. Still, for something simple and almost iconic, it may have disappointed some users to have dig in through the settings to turn it on.

The latest update to the smartwatch fixes that but may also be a two-edged sword. Specifically, it will surprise users who installed the update without reading the changes and may cause them to panic a bit. An onboarding screen after the update, asking users whether they want to enable the feature or not, is a gentler way to inform them of that change.

The update has more than the touch bezel activation in store for owners of the Galaxy Watch Active 2. There are bug fixes and improvements for the GPS as well as a promise of a more accurate battery meter on watch faces.

What the update doesn't bring yet, of course, is the ECG and Fall Detection features, clearly "inspired by" the Apple Watch Series 4. Those will require a different set of certifications Samsung has not yet received from the FDA and is still scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2020.