Samsung’s tenure in Wear OS is still going strong, and that all started with the Galaxy Watch 4 series. With One UI 8 Watch on the horizon, Samsung’s new Wear OS 6 update might be the last one for some models, if they even receive the update at all.
One UI 8 Watch is set to release sometime soon alongside One UI 8. If it all feels a little early, it’s reasonable to note that Samsung’s One UI 7 delays pushed the software update back by a significant timeline. The company now aims to launch the next-gen One UI 8 on time. That timeframe would mean the official launch would fall in July.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup will be updated to Wear OS 6 when One UI 8 Watch rolls out. This change would bring some significant improvements across multiple Galaxy Watch models. Gemini will replace Google Assistant, and the Samsung Health app might offer a new antioxidant index, alongside the other features from previous OS upgrades.
The overall UI may also change. Leaks have indicated that One UI 8 Watch will incorporate Samsung’s Now Bar into the Galaxy Watch series. That may come as a complication on several proprietary watch faces, though the details are murky at best.
Wear OS 6 may be the last upgrade for some Galaxy Watch models
When the initial switch to Wear OS was made, Samsung debuted the Galaxy Watch 4 series. That included the base model with the Galaxy Watch Classic alongside it. The change shifted the company from producing Tizen-run devices to something a little more polished.
The Wear OS we know today is a combined effort from Samsung and Google, and it might be one of the best changes Samsung could have made.
That initial launch was in 2021 – four years ago. At the time, Samsung noted that the Galaxy Watch 4 would get four years of updates. That timeline puts the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic at the end of the road, and the update to Wear OS 6, or One UI 8 Watch, is likely the last one.
Samsung doesn’t generally extend these promises at the end of the cycle, and the company is prompt in ending support at the end of the timeframe promised. The Galaxy Watch 4 may get Wear OS 6 as a parting gift.
On the other hand, it may not even get Wear OS 6 at all.
With the launch schedule Samsung seems to be operating on, July looks to be the month of the initial Wear OS 6, or One UI 8 Watch update rollout. The update is very likely going to be limited to the Galaxy Watch 8 series, as is the custom with new models. After that, Samsung will begin to make the software available to other devices, like the Galaxy Watch 7 or Watch Ultra, and so on.
The Galaxy Watch 4 is at the bottom of that list, meaning it could be months before the watch sees a prospective update. If that happens, there is a chance that Samsung may not even introduce the Watch 4 to Wear OS 6, simply because support ends in August 2025, and the rollout could take longer to reach older devices.
There’s no official word on whether this is the case or not. Either way, there is a slim chance the Galaxy Watch 4 may not see the newest update. If it does get it, it will almost definitely be the very last one before support ends.
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