The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is now 5 years old, but it just got this One UI Watch 5 update gift

Believe it or not, 2019, the last year many count as a ‘normal’ one, was not two, or three years ago. Although many consider the last ‘normal’ year to be 2016, when a gorilla by the name of Harambe was shot and killed… but that's another story.

Many things happened in 2019, one of which was the premiere of the Galaxy Watch Active 2. One of Samsung’s most successful smartwatches is not forgotten by the Korean mother ship.

A few months ago, Samsung released the One UI 5 Watch update to its Wear OS-based smartwatches. The update brought new watch faces to Galaxy Watch 4 and newer watch faces. Two of those watch faces were released for the Galaxy Watch 3 just before Christmas, and they've now reached the Galaxy Watch Active 2 (via SamMobile).

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is now getting firmware version R820XXU1FWK2 (Wi-Fi-only) or R825FXXU1EWK2 (LTE). While this doesn't bring new features or performance improvements, it does grant users two new watch faces that are part of One UI Watch 5: the new watch faces are dubbed ‘Perpetual’ and ‘Stretched Time’. These are analog watch faces with several customization options through colors, dials, and complications.

The new update is hitting the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in most countries worldwide. Don’t fret if you don’t get it on your Galaxy Watch Active 2 right away, as the update might take a few weeks to reach some markets, depending on the region. To check for the new update, head over to the Galaxy Wearable app on your smartphone (obviously you need to have your phone and watch paired beforehand), select the Galaxy Watch Active 2 from the 3-line menu icon on the left side, navigate to Watch settings, then hit Watch software update, and tap Download and install.