Samsung's Galaxy Watch is getting a brain transplant.
Eight days before its July 22 Unpacked event, the company teased what it calls "the next evolution of Galaxy Watch", and the pitch is a sharp departure from past generations. The upcoming watches won't just log steps and heart rate. Samsung describes them as "a new AI-powered health companion" that continuously interprets biometric data in real time rather than passively recording it.
In a newsroom post published Monday, the company said the smartwatch "is evolving to help us better understand and proactively manage our health in real time." That shift requires new hardware. Samsung confirmed the watches will ship with "all-new internal components" and enhanced battery life, built "to track your health longer and with greater accuracy."
The company didn't name the chipset, but leaks point to Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite, a 3nm processor Qualcomm previewed earlier this year, as the likely candidate, at least for the premium model.
The 2026 lineup is expected to shrink to two variants: a refreshed Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Samsung is reportedly skipping the Classic model this year, continuing its pattern of alternating between standard and rotating-bezel designs every other cycle. That means no physical bezel for 2026 buyers who prefer it.
The Ultra 2 is where the meaningful upgrades likely concentrate. Previous leaks suggest a battery boost of a couple hundred extra mAh over the current Watch Ultra, and the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip may be exclusive to this model. The base Galaxy Watch 9 could retain Samsung's Exynos W1000 processor, according to earlier reports.
Samsung's teaser clips show Heart Rate tracking, Sleep Apnea monitoring, and a new running-focused watch face alongside what the company calls "intuitive daily insights" and a "personalized health coach." The software layer is clearly the centerpiece. Samsung is betting that AI interpretation, not hardware specs, will differentiate its wearables from the competition.
The Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will be unveiled alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and a rumored Galaxy Z Fold Ultra at Samsung's Unpacked event on July 22 at 9:00 AM ET. Pre-reservations are open now through July 22.
