This simple Samsung Galaxy Watch feature on One UI 8 is exactly what I’ve wanted

To many, including myself, the Android notification system has been one of the highlight features of the OS, especially when compared to iOS. The flexibility and simplicity of it have been something I continue to appreciate.

The same can’t be said for Wear OS. The stream of notifications can become a bit overwhelming as they continue to pile up.

However, the latest version of the One UI 8 Watch from Samsung, which is running on one of the best Android smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch Ultra, has finally tamed the notification beast.

It’s taken way too long

But I’m happy it’s finally here

I get it, software development is difficult, and especially so when it comes to connected mobile devices that have to be both utility and companion.

For a smartwatch, aside from telling time, notifications are a key reason for purchasing the device. So, it’s this area of the UI that must be spot on.

Now, I’m not saying that the notification system on Wear OS is bad. It’s miles better than some of the other wearable operating systems I’ve used. However, it wasn’t nearly as good as its smartphone counterpart.

Instead of grouping or nesting notifications from one app together, I’d have a seemingly endless list to scroll through, making it easy to miss something accidentally.

This was the case for all Wear OS wearables. This all changed when Google and Samsung teamed up in 2021 with Wear OS 3.

No longer an empty nester

It’s about organization

When Google partnered with Samsung to overhaul Wear OS, a decision was made to let watchmakers put their design layer, or UI, on top of the OS. This move better aligned the wearables with the phones.

In its latest UI update to One UI 8 Watch, Samsung gave us properly nested notifications. No longer are there ten messages, twenty emails, and eight calendar events to check for the latest weather alert.

In One UI 8 Watch, on my Galaxy Watch Ultra, yes, the same one that I’ve complained about, notifications are very clearly grouped by the app that sent them. At the top of the group is the app’s icon, so you know which app sent it.

Each notification shows up on a color-coordinated card that matches its app’s theme.

To see the different notifications from the app, it is a simple vertical scroll, then tap the notification you want to view.

From there, you can either clear it out, reply if it is fitting for the notification type, delete, view it on your phone, or swipe back to keep the notification active in the list.

When you’re viewing the list of notifications for an app, if you scroll to the bottom of the list, you can swipe up to dismiss all of them.

When you are viewing each app’s notifications by swiping sideways, at the end of that list, you’re met with a trash can to clear out all notifications.

Be aware that when you clear notifications on your One UI 8 Watch device, it will clear them from your phone.

It’s not perfect

But it’s a step closer

While I’m still not fully on board with Samsung’s UI on wearables, such as the left-to-right scroll to access the notification drawer, I really like how the OEM has implemented the nested notifications.

It looks really clean, it’s obvious what you’re looking at, and there are options on how to handle each individual notification.

I would like to see the option to snooze notifications on Wear OS, but I’m willing to take baby steps to get there.

I’d also like the ability to undo notifications or see recently cleared notifications on my watch.

I’ve accidentally cleared out notifications on my watch by scrolling up too quickly, and the watch thought I wanted to clear the list when it reached the end. So, beware that the clear all option is a bit sensitive.

Samsung’s One UI 8 Watch is about more than just making notifications better. It brings a host of new features, including some new health features, like Bedtime Guidance and Vascular Load.

Samsung has been gradually organizing its settings menu and even nesting some of the toggles on the quick settings menu, such as Theater Mode and Sleep Mode, under a single toggle.

So, it is good to see that methodology makes its way into parts of the UI that are more frequently interacted with.