Samsung updates its Internet Browser to bring gestures to WearOS
The latest version of the app brings the "back and forward feature" to the web browser.
What you need to know
- Samsung's Internet Browser app gets a new 3.2.0.0.8 version via Google Play Store.
- It highlights the "back and forward feature" for the Internet browser app, which translates to getting swipe gestures for the browser navigation.
- It is reportedly seen working for other Wear OS-powered smartwatches like the Pixel Watch 2.
Using a browser on a smartwatch can sometimes be tricky as it involves navigating between pages back and forth. It applies to Galaxy Watch models and other WearOS-powered smartwatches. To make that experience smoother, Samsung is updating its Internet Browser app, as noted by SamMobile.
According to the publication, Galaxy Watch users usually use their physical buttons on the smartwatch to navigate to the previous page while using the Internet Browser. And there is no action or button to go forward on a page in a similar manner.
Further, the option to go to the previous page through hardware buttons was limited to Galaxy smartwatches and not to other WearOS-powered watches like the Google Pixel Watch. It is likely to change with the new update for the Internet Browser app.
Per the changelog (via APK Mirror) of the Samsung Internet Browser app on the WearOS bearing the 3.2.00.8 version number, the update highlights bringing the "back and forward feature" for the browser app.
As the name implies, users will be able to switch between pages, likely by gestures like swiping from the right to left to return to a page and vice versa or by using the top and bottom physical buttons on the smartwatch.
While it's still unclear if users can use the new swipe motions on a Galaxy Watch, folks at 9to5Google were able to test it on a Pixel Watch 2, and the most recent version of the Samsung Internet Browser app seems to be functioning smoothly. As implied, if the feature is functioning well on the Pixel Watch 2, its users, as well as those of TicWatch and Montblanc's Wear OS watches, may find it to be helpful to navigate.
If you are a Wear OS smartwatch and an Internet Browser app user, it is time to check for the latest version of the app through the Google Play Store and take advantage of the new gestures to have a smoother browsing experience.
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Vishnu is a freelance news writer for Android Central. Since 2018, he has written about consumer technology, especially smartphones, computers, and every other gizmo connected to the internet. When he is not at the keyboard, you can find him on a long drive or lounging on the couch binge-watching a crime series.