Samsung has shifted its smartwatch release strategy a bit over the last couple of years. In 2024, the company skipped the Classic model to introduce the Galaxy Watch Ultra alongside the standard Watch 7. Last year, it brought the Classic back for the Watch 8 series and released a minor refresh of the Ultra with more storage and a new color. Now, according to a recent code leak, it looks like the company is gearing up to launch full updates for all three models at once this summer.
Android Authority dug into a recent Google Wear OS app update and found three new codenames: Fresh 9, Wise 9, and Project X2. Based on last year’s naming scheme, these likely translate to the Galaxy Watch 9, Galaxy Watch 9 Classic, and a second-generation Galaxy Watch Ultra.
If accurate, releasing a Watch 9 Classic would break Samsung’s usual habit of skipping a year between Classic models. It’s a practical move for people who prefer the physical rotating bezel and don’t want to wait until 2027 for a hardware refresh.
Internally, the Watch 9 and 9 Classic are expected to reuse the Exynos W1000 chip from last year’s lineup. The Ultra 2, however, is rumored to switch things up by adopting Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear Elite processor.
The code also suggests these new watches will pick up a practical feature from the Pixel Watch 4: raise-to-talk. According to a new string labeled “RttSettingsManager3pWearOs” Google is expanding the feature to third-party Wear OS devices. This would allow Galaxy Watch users to activate their voice assistant simply by lifting their wrist, skipping the wake word entirely.
Nothing is official yet, but we shouldn’t have to wait long to see what Samsung has planned. The company is expected to announce its new wearable lineup alongside its next batch of folding phones at an event rumored for July 22.
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