Galaxy watch ultra UI 8 - timer won't stay on screen

[GK4]

After installing the UI 8 on my watch Ultra, I noticed the timer won't stay on screen anymore after 15 seconds, and instead moves to the tiny "now bar" which is completely useless during a workout. 

This is a sports watch, I need to see the timer on my screen at all times when working out, like it used to be before UI 8. The UI 8 doesn't seem to offer any advantages, only disadvantages, can I downgrade back to UI 7? 

[CEParsons]

You cannot downgrade. You can change the now bar style in watch settings, but I do not believe you can fully revert to the legacy behavior.

Send feedback to samsung via the support tab.

[GK4]

The now bar is completely useless during workouts. I need to look at my watch and see a timer, like I was able to before. 

Maybe it's time to find another sports watch and ditch the Ultra. 

[CEParsons]

Not a true fix, (again, send feedback to samsung) but you can extend the display timeout and the duration the app will stay on the screen. May help a bit.

[Ash_T0S]

Previously, when the timer app was counting down, it would actively display the countdown. In the new UI, it now reverts to the now bar when I'm not looking at the timer app. This is incredibly frustrating since I use that to track how much rest time I have during a workout. Please add an option to allow llthe timer up to remain active during the countdown. I tried putting this information in using the support platform, but it seems like there is no way to create a support recommendation for the watch using the phone app. 

[realaud]

You need to activate the now bar.

[LongHiker]

@Ash_T0S Try this:

1. Open Samsung Wearable
2. Click on Watch settings
3. Click on Advanced features
4. Click on Now bar style
5. Click on Tine and change it to "icon with text". Now the time remaining will show in the now bar. 

[realaud]

I would have gotten around to editing in the instructions.  I was responding while a passenger in a car with the worlds worst driver, so it was too bumpy for an extended response.  Thanks.

[realaud]

To create a report for the watch using the phone app, choose the feedback option, select "others" if you are leaving feedback or "accessory" if you are creating an error report.  Create your statement, upload your log, if appropriate and send.  The logs for the watch are embedded in the phone log.  It is doubtful that they will revert to the old way, but we can keep our fingers crossed that enough people are incensed about this.  

If the screen times out while the timer is running, waking it by your usual wake method (tap to wake, raise wrist to wake, tap the home button), the timer will still be visible in the now bar, no extra tap of the now icon at 6:00.  Incidentally, if you set a timer, doesn't it vibrate or sound to tell you when the time is up?  Setting the timer means you don't have to keep looking at it anyway, because it will notify you when it's done.

  It seems as if they never took into consideration people with visual deficits when they designed the UI 8 interface for the watch, with the tiny now bar and ovate tiles - and didn't consider on how useful it actually is to have the timer and stopwatch always visible while active. I'm convinced this was designed by people who never used those features.

[Ash_T0S]

Thanks for the response guys, the now bar does show up but the issue is it still doesn't work for my usecase. Thanks for helping me figure out how to create a feedback report for the watch. I definitely want the option to have the timer be always on during the countdown. It came in really handy during workouts, and it's annoying that this was how it worked before and they changed it without having an option to set it back the way it was. Samsung usually does a good job with letting you revert UI changes but they missed the mark on this one.