Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 & Watch 9: In summary
- Samsung to launch three new flagship smartwatches in 2026
- Likely to be announced at Unpacked event in July
- The Classic model might not take its usual year off
- Expect big battery upgrades across the board
- Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 set to have 5G support
Just like clockwork, Samsung is set to unveil its upcoming generation of Galaxy Watches during the next rumoured Samsung Unpacked event that seems on track for July 2026.
We’re expecting the firm to finally launch the new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 alongside the Galaxy Watch 9. However, it now appears that the Galaxy Watch 9 Classic will be joining them. The Classic model normally appears every other model, so would typically be on a fallow year.
With no less than three watches about to debut, alongside all of the other tech rumoured to appear, including the iPhone Ultra-competing Galaxy Z Fold Wide, it’s a great time to be a Samsung fan. Of course, with the existing Galaxy Watch 8 having undergone several price drops and still being one of the best smartwatches to buy in 2026, these new watches will have to bring their A-game to feel like a worthwhile upgrade.
While we recommend holding off on making any decision about which watch to buy until we get all of these wearables in for testing, it doesn’t hurt to stay abreast of what they might be bringing to the table so that you’re better informed once Samsung actually does pull back the curtain.
There are a number of rumours and leaks about the new Galaxy Watches, with some being particularly interesting. We’ve rounded them up here, along with our expert analysis ahead of the launch event.
When will the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 & Watch 9 be released?
In summary
- Unveiling expect during Samsung Unpacked on 22 July
- The date is yet to be officially confirmed
- General release could be early August
Although we haven’t yet had official confirmation of the event, all signs point towards a Samsung Unpacked event taking place on 22 July in London. If that date doesn’t change, then that is when you can expect to see all three of the rumoured Galaxy Z Fold/Flip phones made official.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watches are typically available to buy just a few weeks after they’ve been announced, so the safe bet would be that they are put out for general sale sometime at the start of August.
For context, the Galaxy Watch 8 was unveiled 9 July last year, before it was available to buy a short while later on 25 July.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
How much will the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 & Watch 9 cost?
In summary
- Price increases are likely
- Only the Galaxy Watch 9 might narrowly avoid an increase
The question of price will continue to loom over this next Samsung Unpacked event until we know exactly what kind of strategy the brand wants to undertake for the next generation of its in-house wearables.
Given the state of the tech industry at large, and recent price increases not just to the new Samsung Galaxy S26 phones as well as existing Samsung handsets that have been on the market for months, it seems all but a given that we’ll be paying more for the brand’s new smartwatches. How 2026.
The only thing that might save the Galaxy Watch 9 is that its immediate predecessor already had a price increase, jumping from £289/$299.99 to £319/$349.99. It’s a crucial price too, as it still gives the Galaxy Watch the upper hand against the Pixel Watch 4, which is slightly more expensive.
What specs and features will the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 & Watch 9 have?
In summary
- The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 could have a 30% larger battery
- A focus on AI-led health tracking is expected
- 5G support for the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2
An eye for battery life
One of the biggest problems we had with last year’s Galaxy Watch 8 is that in spite of its eye-catching design, intuitive software and brilliant use of Google Gemini, the whole thing could barely last more than a day before needing a charge, which meant that you had to keep a constant eye on how much juice was left. It seems as though Samsung is taking the criticism to heart and looking to fix things in 2026.
A recent leak shows that the 40mm Galaxy Watch 9 will have a 382mAh rated battery, but will likely be marketed as having 400mAh capacity, which is a 23% increase on what is currently available on the same-sized Galaxy Watch 8. This might not sound like much on paper, but with proper optimisation on Samsung’s part, this could allow the Watch 9 to make it to two days under the right instances, helping it to compete with the Apple Watch Series 11. Expect even better things from the 44mm equivalent, which is said to have a 435mAh battery.
That’s all good stuff, but where the brand could really be looking to flex its muscle is with the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. From what we understand, Samsung could be looking to increase the battery capacity by around 30%, leaping up to a typical capacity of 800mAh. With that kind of power in tow, getting the watch to run for multiple days at a time shouldn’t be an issue and we can’t wait to try it out.
Mattias Inghe
New chipsets
Anyone who’s been following our coverage of Samsung phones for long enough with know that the company has something of a back-and-forth relationship with Qualcomm when it comes to chipsets.
Sometimes it’ll lean towards using a Snapdragon chip, other times Samsung will use one of its own Exynos CPUs, just like we’ve seen with certain versions of the Galaxy S26 and S26+. In the world of Galaxy Watches however, it’s been Exynos all the way, but that might be about to change.
Instead of using a successor to the Exynos W1000 found within the Galaxy Watch 8, the Galaxy Watch 9 could be using the all-new Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset, which is supposed to pack a 5x increase in performance over the existing Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2.
There’s always a chance that Samsung might look to emulate its mobile strategy here and reserve the Snapdragon chip for the pricier Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, similar to how it does for Galaxy Ultra phones, but given that the brand seems to be pushing more into AI-led health tracking with a recent Samsung Health update, having that added grunt across the board should allow it to achieve its goals of fending off trackers like the Fitbit Air.
Samsung
5G support on the Watch Ultra 2
On top of the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s battery life increase, it seems as though the watch will also be getting 5G support to give it greater functionality as a cellular device when your smartphone isn’t in range.
Unlike the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which also got access to 5G as part of its suite of upgrades, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 may be sold in two unique versions, one with 5G and one with 4G.
That’s all we know about the upcoming range of Samsung Galaxy Watches in 2026, but be sure to revisit this page as more information appears.
