One thing we felt was sorely missing from the Galaxy Watch 4 was the physical, rotating bezel that made navigating Samsung's smart watches a breeze. With the Galaxy Watch 4, however, that was replaced with a virtual touch bezel, much like we saw with the Galaxy Watch Active 2.
Those who opted for the Galaxy Watch 4 over the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic had to make do with the virtual touch bezel, then, and the software didn't exactly get off to the best start. According to SlashGear, some Galaxy Watch 4 users reported that the touch bezel's scroll function was often unresponsive, which obviously isn't ideal given that's primarily what the bezel is used for.
Thankfully, Samsung has now released a firmware update that looks to tackle the bugs present with the virtual touch bezel's functionality. The update will be rolling out to all users in the next few days, and will hopefully address many of the growing pains had with the virtual bezel alternative.
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The new firmware update has come around at a particularly apt time, too, as Samsung has launched its new PPT Controller app. As you might be able to gather from the name, the Samsung PPT Controller app lets users control slideshows and presentations using their smart watch, which includes using the virtual bezel to scroll between slides.
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We imagine the move away from a physical bezel would have been a controversial decision in the eyes of many Galaxy Watch fans, especially for those unwilling or unable to purchase the more expensive Galaxy Watch 4 Classic model.
Having to make do with a virtual bezel instead doesn't sound like the end of the world, but the issue here is that the software wasn't quite up to code in the first place. Quite literally, as Galaxy Watch 4 users reported issues with the touch bezel prior to this new firmware update.
While the new firmware update could well improve the touch bezel's overall usability, we still hope that Samsung re-evaluates its approach to both physical and touch-based bezels for future Galaxy Watch generations.
If Samsung wants to stick to its guns with virtual touch bezels, that's fine – but we wouldn't mind physical bezel alternatives to be made more affordable for those that prefer that design.
