GoKawiilPaul Jones / Android Authority
The Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch Ultra introduced a new design for Samsung watches that you either love or hate. I’m in the former camp, so when I got to try the new Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2, I was excited to see what refinements Samsung had made.
The reality is that not much has changed, and what impressed me the most was a software feature from Google.
Which Galaxy Watch are you buying? 9 votes Galaxy Watch 9 11 % Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 67 % Neither 22 %
Raise to Talk feels like magic
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
Raise to Talk is a feature that debuted on the Pixel Watch 4. It does exactly as the name suggests: when you raise the watch towards your mouth, Gemini starts listening without the need for any wake words. The Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2 were my first time experiencing Raise to Talk, and I was surprised by how much I loved using it.
Samsung said that the watches can tell the difference between raising your wrist to check the time and to activate Gemini. I was skeptical, so I spent more than 10 minutes wiggling my arm around to try to fool it, and it didn’t slip up once. Every time I wanted Gemini to activate, it did, and each time I tilted my arm to check the time and exaggerated the movement to trick it into showing Gemini, it didn’t.
It’s one of those things that feels a little bit like magic, simply because it works. After Soli in the Pixel 4 and the hand gestures LG tried on some of its old phones were so terrible, I automatically assume anything like this will be a barely functioning gimmick. Instead, Raise to Talk is useful and works flawlessly. I left my time with the watch wondering how on earth it knew what I was doing.
There’s not much else to say
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