The Galaxy Watch 4 isn't getting Google Assistant just yet, but it's close

What you need to know

Samsung says Google Assistant is coming to the Galaxy Watch 4 this Summer.
A recently released update from Verizon also hinted that Google Assistant was coming soon.
Samsung announced a new developer partnership with Google at Google I/O 2022 that's related to Assistant integration.

Ever since the announcement that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 would be the first Wear OS 3-powered smartwatch, potential owners were excited about the prospects of getting Google Assistant on a Samsung smartwatch. Nine months after its release, however, Google Assistant still isn't on the Galaxy Watch 4, but Samsung says it's officially coming this Summer.

Just a few weeks ago, we saw an update (opens in new tab) push out for the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Watch 4 (opens in new tab), suggesting the update was happening soon, and now we have an official timeframe. Google and Samsung are also adding new functionality with third-party apps on the Galaxy Watch 4, letting users control more apps with just their voice instead of smudging up the screen with their fingers.

Kicking that off is Spotify, where users can change songs at any time with just their voice. Samsung says that even more apps will get this added functionality right after that, helping to deliver a more seamless, smudge-less smartwatch experience. The Galaxy Watch 4 is the very best Android smartwatch (opens in new tab) for many reasons, and the new partnership between Google and Samsung should make the watch even better in the near future.

There's no release timeframe for those new voice features at this time, but we expect it to happen before Google Assistant releases for the Galaxy Watch 4 this Summer.

Samsung has sold an awful lot of Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatches since its launch, propelling Wear OS into the mainstream. According to Counterpoint Research (opens in new tab), there were nearly as many Wear OS watch sales in Q3 2021 as Apple Watch sales, showing a massive shift in the smartwatch industry. That, along with the upcoming Fall launch of the Pixel Watch (opens in new tab), could make seeing a Wear OS smartwatch as everyday an occurrence as an Apple Watch.