One UI 8 Watch will get a Shortcuts app, and here's what it does (APK teardown)
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR Samsung is adding a new app to One UI 8 Watch, called Shortcuts.
An Android Authority teardown has revealed that this will let you add app shortcuts to your watch's home screen.
Apps can be added to your wearable's home screen in 2×1 and 2×2 tiles.
Samsung is expected to launch the One UI 8 Watch update later this year, bringing new features and tweaks to its Galaxy Watch line. Now, it looks like the company is working on a more convenient way to open apps on your wrist.
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An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Samsung is adding a new app called Shortcuts to One UI 8 Watch. We dug into this app (version 1.0.00.18) and discovered that it will let you add apps as shortcuts to the smartwatch's home screen. You can view the strings below.
Code Copy Text Select apps App Icon Get started Select apps Tap to add apps.
Further digging reveals that you can add apps to the watch's home screen in two tile sizes (2×1 and 2×2). We were also able to obtain images of these two tile sizes, seen below.
Accessing apps via the watch's home screen would be extremely convenient. This new approach would save a few seconds compared to launching apps via the app drawer. We hope you can add multiple tiles to the home screen, just in case you've got more than a few frequently used apps.
This isn't our first look at One UI 8 Watch, though. We got a peek at leaked One UI 8 Watch app icons yesterday (May 7), as well as a closer look at Gemini on the new software.
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