Gear S2 update brings unread notifications on watch face, new apps, and more

Samsung’s well-received Gear S2 smartwatch is getting a small update that brings new apps, functionality additions, and performance improvements.

One of the biggest issues with joining Samsung’s Tizen-powered ecosystem is the relative lack of third-party apps. Over the past year, Samsung has worked hard to get developers to create apps for Tizen, ensuring that at least some big names are present on its platform. Clearly, that’s an ongoing effort, as the latest update to the Gear S2 brings three new apps – World Clock, EPSN, and News Briefing.

[related_videos align=”left” type=”custom” videos=”650695,646865″]

The update also adds several watch faces inspired by the work of Italian designer Alessandro Mendini, who also released straps and other accessories for Samsung’s smartwatch back in autumn.

New functionality coming to the Gear S2 is the ability to search through your contacts, a new screen time out session, and an unread notification indicator in the watch face. This last change in particular should prove useful. Also, you can now input emoji with the keyboard.

The 92MB update is rolling out now as an OTA. For more on the Gear S2, check out our review, as well as our follow up impressions.