Smartwatches often feel like short-lived gadgets, but Samsung is proving otherwise with a bold new software promise. The Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will now receive five major operating system updates and five years of continuous security patches.
These new devices ship with One UI 9 Watch, built on Wear OS 7, and are expected to stay supported with software until 2031. This marks a major shift for Samsung, which had previously offered four OS upgrades and five years of security fixes for models like the Galaxy Watch 4. The change highlights a stronger commitment to long-term support.
The updated support positions Samsung's smartwatches as more competitive than rivals. Apple's Apple Watch typically gets around five years of watchOS updates, but no official promise is given ahead of time. In recent years, some older models have been dropped during beta testing. The Pixel Watch, a direct competitor, only guarantees three years of updates.
Older Galaxy Watches may not get the same treatment
While Samsung has not said whether existing models will share this new support, the odds are against them. Models like the Galaxy Watch 8 or Galaxy Watch Ultra use the Exynos SoC, while the newer Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 rely on the more advanced Snapdragon Wear Elite processor. This hardware difference might make it hard to bring the same software updates to older devices. The change could mean that the software future of your current Galaxy Watch is still uncertain, even as new ones set the bar for longevity.
Despite the lack of clarity for older models, the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 now stand as the smartwatch industry leaders in terms of software support. Samsung's new policy is a key differentiator and a major win for long-term smartwatch users.