The Galaxy Watch 9 is picking up one of the Pixel Watch 4's best tricks

After all the leaks and rumors, Samsung’s summer Galaxy Unpacked event is finally here. As expected, the launch event saw the debut of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the Galaxy Watch 9, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. However, today’s show wasn’t just about introducing us to new hardware; Samsung also revealed a feature coming to the Galaxy Watch 9.

During Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung announced that the Galaxy Watch 9 would have Gemini raise-to-talk. Until now, raise-to-talk was only available on Pixel Watch 4 devices running Wear OS 6 or later. Now this function is expanding to Samsung’s latest smartwatch. Android Authority first spotted Samsung working on this feature back in March.

With raise-to-talk, you’ll be able to activate Gemini simply by raising your device toward your mouth. Your smartwatch should be about two to four inches away from your mouth, according to Google’s support page. It’s a hands-free feature, so there’s no need to press any buttons to start talking with Gemini. A hotword is also unnecessary, as the act of raising your arm is enough to trigger the assistant.

If you don’t want to talk with Gemini, lowering your arm will cancel the prompt. Interacting with the screen or staying quiet for a few seconds will also cancel activation. You’ll also be able to turn the feature on or off.

We’ve been told that raise-to-talk will be available on both the LTE and Bluetooth models. However, unsurprisingly, the Bluetooth-only variant will require your phone to be nearby.