Samsung to launch two new smartwatches in major update to its range

Even more hints have emerged about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, which seems set for an imminent release.

Despite the flagship Galaxy Watch 3 only launching back in September 2020, we seem to be powering towards a new generation.

Twitter tech tipster chunvn8888 has stated that Samsung is plotting the release of both a Watch 4 and Active 4, finally unifying the two devices.

• Read our full Galaxy Watch 4/Active 4 rumour round up

Galaxy Watch Active4 and Watch4:
No major design changes
No rotation bezel on the Active4, Watch4 still has the rotation bezel
Same color options as this year Galaxy Z
Wear OS

Z Fold3: splash resistance in works, don’t expect IP certified for now tho https://t.co/FoUOAFOGYx
— CEO of Chun Corp (Tet forever) (@chunvn8888) March 16, 2021

We had assumed the Active range would be next to receive an upgrade, but it may skip a generation, moving to Active 4 alongside the flagship smartwatch.

So what will the watches feature?

According to the tip the devices won’t change in terms of design, but will run Wear OS. The move to Wear OS for Samsung has been increasingly hinted at by unverified tipsters – but this is the first signal it will apply to the flagship range, not a new line.

And other information could verify these claims.

Notebook Check reports that spotters have seen SM-R84x and SM-R85x codenames appear at regulators. These have historically pointed to two sizes of the same smartwatch, e.g. 41mm and 45mm versions of the Galaxy Watch 3 or Active2.

But now a different codename seems to have surfaced courtesy of @_the_tech_guy, with the SM-R880 appearing getting 3C certification (Chinese regulator).

These two distinct codenames support the idea we could see two new smartwatches launched in the near future.

So how likely is it these will run Wear OS?

With so many leaks pointing to a Samsung Wear OS device, it seems inevitable now the company will launch onto the platform. However, it still feels difficult to believe that the company will switch away from Tizen for its flagship smartwatches after so many successful years.

It should be fascinating to see what Samsung has in store.