Skip to main content

Hand Wash app for Samsung Galaxy smartwatches provides reminders, timer

 

Samsung Galaxy Watch owners should take time to download the Hand Wash app, which provides reminders and a timer to make sure that smartwatch wearers are able to keep their hands clean.

Recommended Videos

Frequent hand washing for at least 20 seconds is one of the most recommended measures by the World Health Organization (WHO) in helping prevent the spread of the disease caused by the new coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.

The Hand Wash app, which was created by a small group of designers and developers from Samsung Research Institute-Bangalore, aims to help keep Galaxy Watch owners safe by following the WHO’s directive. The app periodically issues reminders for wearers to wash their hands, with preset notifications that may be customized depending on a person’s needs and schedule. It also shows how much time has elapsed since the last hand wash, and how many times the wearer has used the timer throughout the week.

Each time Galaxy Watch owners start washing their hands, the app tracks the time and will provide haptic feedback after 25 seconds. The extra 5 seconds on top of the WHO’s recommended 20 seconds are for turning on the water and applying soap to the hands.

Samsung’s Hand Wash app follows Google’s v5.4.0 update for the Clock app of Wear OS, which added periodic alerts for washing hands and a longer timer of 40 seconds. Unlike Google’s version, Samsung’s app needs to be manually installed from the Galaxy Store, but because it is a stand-alone app, it was able to include more features.

The Hand Wash app was officially announced by Samsung in India, but it is now available for all Samsung smartwatches on the Galaxy Store.

Wash your hands

The importance of washing hands to stay safe amid the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in various projects to support the activity, including a Wash Your Lyrics tool that creates an infographic that replaces the Happy Birthday song with a person’s personal choice of music. Also coming to light is the PathSpot hand scanner, which was invented in 2017 to detect the amount of contaminants on a person’s hands.

In addition to washing hands, the WHO recommended the general public to wear homemade face masks, which should also be cleaned and sterilized.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra pops up in a hands-on video. Here’s what it looks like
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is due to release in less than three months, but we're still locking down details as information emerges. Now, a new video of the supposed Galaxy S25 Ultra has appeared on Reddit, demonstrating the phone's design and layout. In a not-surprising twist, it bears a striking resemblance to the dummy units that leaked a couple of months ago.

The video popped up on the Samsung Galaxy subreddit by a user who has since deleted their account. Take this information with enough salt for your pasta water; without a way to verify this information, we can't tell whether this video is trustworthy. However, the evidence leans heavily in its favor.

Read more
Samsung’s long-awaited Wear OS 5 update is here. These are the smartwatches getting it
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra in July, both of which feature the Wear OS 5/One UI 6 Watch update. After a four-month wait, older Samsung watches are finally getting updated to the latest software.

As Samsung explains, Wear OS 5 will soon be available for the following smartwatches:

Read more
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 changed my mind about small smartwatches
A person wearing the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

I like large watches and the way they look on my wrist. Even outside of traditional watches, I gravitate towards the biggest size of smartwatch available. When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, I wore the 44mm size and quite liked it. However, when I had the chance to try out the 40mm version, I decided it was a good opportunity to see if bigger was always better.

It turns out that for the Galaxy Watch 7, it’s not.
Is there really a difference?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 44mm (left) and Galaxy Watch 7 40mm Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more