Samsung has quietly been raising the bar on software support year after year, and its Unpacked event in London brought another upgrade to that policy. The company announced that the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will receive five major OS upgrades and five years of security patches.
That is one more major OS update than previous Galaxy Watch models got. Starting with the Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung offered four major OS upgrades alongside the same five-year security patch window. So while the security support stays the same, the extra OS update is a meaningful step forward for people who want their wearables to stay current longer.
In practical terms, this means the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, which ship with Wear OS 7 and One UI 9 Watch, should receive their final major OS upgrade sometime in 2031. That is a solid runway for a smartwatch, a category where hardware often outlasts its software support.
Both watches went up for pre-order on July 22, with a global launch set for August 7. Pricing starts at $379 (around €409) for the Galaxy Watch 9, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 comes in a single 47mm LTE configuration priced at $699 (around €749).
One question still hanging in the air is whether older models will see any benefit from the new policy. It is not yet clear if the Galaxy Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic, or the original Galaxy Watch Ultra will be bumped up to five OS upgrades retroactively. Samsung has not said anything on that front.
The broader context here matters. Google and Apple have both been pushing longer software support windows across their device lines, and Samsung has been keeping pace on the phone side for a few years now. Extending that commitment to wearables signals that the company sees Galaxy Watches as long-term products worth investing in, not just annual upgrade cycles.
For buyers deciding whether to spend $699 on the Watch Ultra 2 or $379 on the Watch 9, knowing the device will get software updates through 2031 is a real factor. It also puts pressure on other Android wearable makers to match or beat that commitment.
- Galaxy Watch 9: five major OS upgrades, five years of security patches, starts at $379 / €409
- Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: five major OS upgrades, five years of security patches, single 47mm LTE config at $699 / €749
- Both launch globally on August 7, 2026
- Final expected major OS upgrade: 2031
Whether Samsung extends the five-update policy to any existing watch models remains to be seen. For now, it applies to the 2026 lineup only.