Samsung may stop major OS upgrades for older Galaxy Watches

The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 series have already received four major OS upgrades, while newer models are promised longer software support.

TL;DR

A tipster says Samsung may limit older Galaxy Watches to security updates after their promised major OS upgrades are finished.

Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 models have already received four major upgrades, with One UI 9 Watch still rolling out in beta.

Stopping major updates early for Galaxy Watch 6 or newer would conflict with Samsung's promised support and could upset users.

On X, popular tipster @kro_roe claims that Samsung is planning to stop offering major OS upgrades to older Galaxy Watch models and provide them with only security updates. However, the tipster didn't specify which models they consider “older” or why Samsung is reportedly planning to make this change.

From the Galaxy Watch 4 series through the Galaxy Watch 8 series, as well as the original Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung has promised four years of major OS upgrades. The Galaxy Watch 9 series and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, on the other hand, are eligible for five major OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 have received four major upgrades

Considering this policy, Samsung has already offered four major OS upgrades to the Galaxy Watch 4 series and Galaxy Watch 5 series, with the latest being One UI 9 Watch, which is still in the beta stage.

The company has released the One UI 9 Watch beta for these smartwatches in South Korea, but the stable update has yet to arrive. Users in other regions are also waiting for the beta or stable release.

Once the stable update rolls out, the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, Galaxy Watch 5, and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will have received all four major OS upgrades promised by Samsung.

If Samsung decides to stop offering major OS upgrades to these models, it would simply be following its existing software update policy. It wouldn't amount to a downgrade in its update commitment or a denial of support that users were promised.

Ending updates for newer Galaxy Watches would be a problem

However, if Samsung decides to stop offering major OS upgrades to the Galaxy Watch 6 series or newer models before fulfilling its promised update commitment, that would be a different matter. Such a move could disappoint customers, damage the brand's reputation, and potentially expose the company to legal challenges. Therefore, we don't expect Samsung to take such a step.

Abid Iqbal Shaik - Writer

First Samsung device: Galaxy S II

I’m a computer science engineer living in Hyderabad, India, who has a keen interest in automobiles and consumer electronics. My journalism career kicked off in 2017 with MySmartPrice where I wrote news, features, buying guides, and explanatory articles about technology among other things, and reviewed many products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PC components, smartwatches, audio devices, wearables, and smart home products. Since then, I have worked for 91Mobiles, Apple, and Onsitego, before finally landing on SamMobile.

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