Samsung drops key charging feature in new Galaxy Watches – channelnews

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On Wednesday, Samsung attracted attention with its Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris where it launched a new generation of foldable and wearable devices.

New additions include the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, which are now up for pre-orders in Australia.

Behind the headlines, Samsung has quietly ditched one of its key charging technologies that was available on the previous generation of Galaxy Watches.

The Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra do not have Wireless PowerShare. This feature allowed users to wirelessly charge their Galaxy Watch on the back of their phone.

The charging function could probably have been sacrificed due to the watches’ new BioActive sensor array. The new design of this sensor required Samsung to change the shape of the watches’ back glass.

This also increased the distance between the watch’s internal wireless charging coil and the wireless charger. The distance increased to the point where it’s no longer possible to charge the watch wirelessly by placing it on the back of your phone.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (Image: Provided by Samsung)

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (Image: Provided by Samsung)

The new generation of watches can still be charged wirelessly, even if they are not placed on the back of a smartphone. They can charge on a traditional wireless charging pad, but due to the increased distance between the coil and the glass, this charging capability will be slow and will also generate heat. Samsung therefore suggests that users only use the wireless charger that comes with the watch.

Samsung highlighted that the new sensor lineup features improved accuracy over previous models, allowing you to “assess health-related data points that were not previously supported as well as take more reliable measurements during prolonged or specialized exercise.”

To support these sensors in the Watch7 and Watch Ultra, there’s a significantly faster processor, the Exynos W1000 chip, manufactured using Samsung Foundry’s 3nm process and offering 30% improved power efficiency.

According to Samsung, the high-performance Cortex-A78 CPU core and four Cortex-A55 CPU cores give the Galaxy Watch7 2.7x faster app launches, 3.4x faster single-core performance, and 3.7x faster multi-core performance compared to its predecessor.

In Australia, the 40mm Galaxy Watch7 retails for AU$549 for the Bluetooth version and AU$649 for the LTE variant, while the 44mm Watch7 costs AU$599 for the Bluetooth version and AU$699 for the LTE variant. The Ultra, meanwhile, which is only available in an LTE variant and a single 47mm size, retails for AU$1,299.

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