If you liked the look of last year’s Galaxy Watch 8, you’re in luck. The Galaxy Watch 9 looks nearly identical, based on leaked renders shared by Android Headlines. Samsung won’t actually introduce its new smartwatches until it holds its Unpacked event on July 22, but as in past years, extensive leaks have given us an early look at some of what the company has in store. Besides slimming down the smartwatch, one of the biggest changes Samsung made with the Galaxy Watch 8 was to bring the squircle “cushion” design of the Galaxy Watch Ultra down to its main smartwatch lineup. That look is apparently being carried over to the Galaxy Watch 9, which also features a circular touchscreen display on a squircle case in both 40mm and 44mm sizes. The same sensor array, side buttons, and speaker appear to be present, and Android Headlines writes the smartwatch will come in Cream, Graphite, and Green color options.
The story is more or less the same with Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. The first Galaxy Watch Ultra had better durability, around a two-day battery life, and vastly improved water resistance in exchange for a chunky, unfriendly-to-small-wrists case. At least visually, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 looks similar. The renders show the premium smartwatch in Gray and Silver, and what’s likely a single 47mm size. Perhaps more importantly for longtime Galaxy Watch wearers, it also looks like it has a rotatable bezel.
Without obvious visual changes to point to, any new features Samsung introduces will either involve internal components or changes to the Galaxy Watches’ software. Samsung will ship these smartwatches with a modified version of Wear OS 7—which includes new Gemini Intelligence features, among other tweaks—but beyond that, it’s hard to predict what the company will add without more information.
As one of the most popular smartphone makers, Samsung doesn’t necessarily have to change a lot to keep selling its smartwatches, devices that by design are closely integrated with phones. The big unknown, though, is if “more of the same” sits right with customers when the rising cost of components may force Samsung to charge more to offer it.