Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2 will get five years of software updates
The extended policy keeps the just-announced smartwatches supported through 2031
Samsung has quietly raised the baseline for smartwatch lifecycle support, announcing that its newly unveiled Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will receive five years of Wear OS upgrades.
The shift establishes a new longevity standard for the Android smartwatch ecosystem, outlasting rival devices like Google's Pixel Watch line, which currently offers only three years of software support.
Confirming the news to SamMobile following its Galaxy Unpacked event in London this week, the expanded update commitment pushes the support window out until 2031, launching out of the box with the newly introduced Wear OS 7 platform.
This adds a full extra year of major operating system iterations compared to the prior Galaxy Watch 8 generation, which came with a four-year guarantee.
A welcome change
While big-brand hardware manufacturers have traditionally treated smartphones as long-term investments, wearables have historically suffered from shorter support lifecycles. However, with this shift—one we expect Google to match with the rumored Pixel Watch 5 series—things could finally be trending in a better direction for Android watch users.
And these very welcome software extensions match the substantial hardware upgrades introduced at Galaxy Unpacked this week for the brand's wearables lineup. Though we didn't see the much-anticipated follow-up to 2024's Samsung Galaxy Ring, we did get official confirmation of its Galaxy eyewear.
The standard Galaxy Watch 9 receives a 20% increase in battery capacity over its predecessor, while the premium Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 features an outdoor-optimized display capable of reaching a peak brightness of 5,000 nits (up from the 3,000 nits found on the original version).
