Save the dates have officially been sent out by Samsung for the July 9 Galaxy Unpacked launch event coming up. We're expecting to see the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic, which could potentially be accompanied by the Galaxy Watch Ultra successor. The air is buzzing with leaks, rumors, hopes, and expectations. We've already learned a lot about the upcoming wearables thanks to Watch 8 certifications, CAD renders, and leaks, giving us a fairly clear idea of what Samsung has planned for its 2025 watches.
This guide will make the wait easier, with all of the information Samsung has yet to reveal officially. Most notably, we suspect that the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic will have a new design that fuses the Watch 6 Classic with the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Samsung has promised that Gemini will come to the Galaxy Watch 8, as well as new Samsung Health tools like an AI coach. Code leaks have suggested that familiar One UI phone tools like the Now Bar and Shortcuts will also come to the Watch 8.
There's still plenty we don't know about the Galaxy Watch 8. Here's what we do know, plus what we want Samsung to upgrade to help it keep its top spot among the best Android watches.
For more news and information on Samsung’s upcoming smartwatch, check out our Ultimate Guide.
Galaxy Watch 8: Models
Several leaks have revealed Galaxy Watch 8 model numbers, which suggest we'll see six models in total: The Galaxy Watch 8 40mm and 44mm and the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic in one size, each with Wi-Fi and LTE options.
A connected report showed that Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic batteries were certified in South Korea. The report suggests that the larger Watch 8 will have a 435mAh capacity, only slightly larger than the 425mAh Watch 7 44mm battery. It suggests the base Watch 8 will stick to the same 40-hour estimate as the last few generations.
While the Watch 8 may not change much in design, the Watch 8 Classic might. Its name has been hinted at several times, most notably in the Bluetooth SIG database, but most recently in leaked One UI 8 Watch code showing a squircle case surrounding a circular display.
It looks very Ultra-like, though if you look closely, it appears the Classic rotating bezel will remain atop the redesigned squircle case.
Renowned leakster Evan Blass shared what is possibly the best look we've had of the squircle Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic yet. Notably, the Watch 8 has a rounder, less squared silver base topped by a circular dial. Meanwhile, the Watch 8 Classic leans heavier on the squarer Watch Ultra aesthetic and what seems to be a rotating bezel on top.
Lastly, the leak also showcased the alleged Watch Ultra (2025) with a similar rounded square dial as the existing Watch Ultra. It appears to lack the rotating dial spotted on the Watch 8 Classic render.
Another fairly recent leak from Blass showed off alleged renders of all three models, as pictured below.
A CMIIT certification reaffirmed that the SM-L3350 (Watch 8) and SM-L5050 (Watch 8 Classic) are coming soon, and that both will have optional LTE upgrades.
Since then, OnLeaks posted a Galaxy Watch 8 Classic render (as seen above), alleging that a ridged rotating bezel would sit atop a squircle case. It has three visible buttons, including the same orange Action button introduced on the Ultra in 2024.
This same leak suggests the Watch 8 Classic will have a 450mAh battery (a tiny bump over the Watch 8), a 46mm case, and a 1.5-inch display. Both the Watch 6 Classic and Watch Ultra had a 1.5-inch display, too.
During Samsung's Q1 2025 earnings call, Corporate VP of MX Division Daniel Araujo promised "a strengthened premium experience while expanding our lineup across all price segments. We plan to launch a new Galaxy Watch with an innovative design and enhanced health-related features."
We don't have official confirmation that this Watch 8 Classic render is real, but it would certainly fit the words "innovative" and "premium."
Galaxy Watch 8: Expected specs
We don't have many Galaxy Watch 8 specs leaks yet, aside from the above claim that the Watch 8 Classic will have a 1.5-inch display, a tiny battery bump, and 46 x 46.5 x 14.2mm dimensions. Plus, the certifications have suggested the Watch 8 will have 10W charging, like its predecessors.
Samsung claimed the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and Ultra were 10.9mm and 12.1mm thick, respectively, though it didn't include the bottom sensor in these measurements. If Samsung claims the Watch 8 Classic is 14.2mm, it might be closer to 17mm, which would make it thicker and heavier than most smartwatches.
We know the Galaxy Watch 8, like the Watch 7, will at least have 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, dual-band GPS, IP68 dust and water resistance, and a MIL-STD-810H rating for shock protection, simply because Samsung wouldn't downgrade these specs.
Likewise, we know its two AMOLED display options will have at least 2,000 nits of brightness and 60Hz refresh rates. If the Watch 8 Classic measures 1.5 inches, then we shouldn't see any size change for the base model; it should have 1.3- and 1.5-inch display options, each with 320+ pixels per inch.
The last two Galaxy Watches had new Exynos processors, but Samsung often uses the same chip for several years of watches. We believe the Galaxy Watch 8 will bring back the Exynos W1000, its 3nm chip with five Arm Cortex cores. But it's possible Samsung will upgrade again to keep pace with the new Snapdragon W5 chip and offer a better AI assistant.
Galaxy Watch 8: Gemini and expected features
Samsung and Google have confirmed that Gemini is coming to Wear OS, replacing Assistant. They gave examples like having Gemini remember your gym locker number, check messages for the name and address of a restaurant, or summarize your last email.
These all sound like typical Gemini tools, but a recent leak went into a bit more detail about "Gemini Actions" on Wear OS, suggesting that you'll be able to save specific actions like summarizing your inbox as a button in the Gemini tile.
Specific to Galaxy Watches, some One UI Watch leaked code showed that you'll be able to use a double-pinch gesture to summon the Now Bar to the main watch face, showing contextually useful information like directions, media controls, the Now Brief, sports scores, and health updates.
Most confirmed Wear OS 6 features are specific to the Pixel Watch. But we have heard that the Galaxy Watch 8 will sport One UI 8 Watch, jumping from One UI 6 Watch; this relabeling would make the version match One UI 8 on phones and the Galaxy Watch's generation.
Other alleged Watch 8 features include an adaptive charging tool that halts at a custom percentage, a watch face shuffle option between your favorites, and the ability to add app Shortcuts to the main watch face.
Plus, we may see a Samsung Health Running Coach that'll "test" runners' pace and give "guidance" on whether you're pushing too hard for your personal fitness level.
As for more official Watch 8 features, Samsung revealed its upcoming Samsung Health upgrades at Galaxy Unpacked winter 2025 alongside the Galaxy S25 series.
First, they will add a new metric called "vascular load" that's very similar to Fitbit Cardio Load or Apple's Training Load. It monitors how your "daily activities impact your cardiovascular system," to help you "reduce strain on your heart and maintain long-term heart health."
Next, the Samsung Health app will have a "personal health coach" that gives you tips to hit your sleep, weight loss, exercise, or overall health goals. This will include "AI tools" that'll let Samsung Health users "ask questions, get real-time insights, and receive personalized coaching as if you would from your own personal health assistant."
Samsung Health will even let people who log their meals track their "antioxidant index" and offer "tailored meal plans and recipes."
Samsung should also bring back its Samsung BioActive Sensor for heart rate, stress, blood oxygen, ECGs, skin temperature, and BIA (body fat) readings, plus sleep apnea detection.
The Galaxy Watch 7 sensor added new multicolor LEDs, with blue, yellow, violet, and ultraviolet LEDs on top of the usual green, red, and infrared LEDs. Samsung only used them for one new metric last year — AGEs Index — but promised this was "one of the many new advanced features planned" with the upgraded BioActive Sensor.
We suspect Samsung could introduce a new health metric with the Galaxy Watch 8, though the Watch 7 and Ultra will also receive it. We know Samsung is working on blood glucose and diabetes monitoring, but there's no guarantee it'll be ready for the Galaxy Watch 8. So perhaps the antioxidant index will be the only headline feature.
Our Galaxy Watch 8 wishlist
The Galaxy Watch 7 made some significant upgrades: A faster Exynos chip, double the storage, a daily energy score based on sleep and fitness data, three times the LEDs for more accurate health tracking, sleep apnea detection, and more.
The question is, what can the Galaxy Watch 8 do to improve? And what can we expect from the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic? Here is our Galaxy Watch 8 wishlist of features and upgrades:
Improve the core battery life
This seems unlikely, given the leaked 435mAh and 450mAh battery capacity for the Watch 8 and 8 Classic, respectively. But we've seen a 40-hour estimate on the last four Galaxy Watch generations, and it'd be nice to see a boost. When you have the OnePlus Watch 3 lasting 4–5 days per charge, it makes us wonder if Samsung can step up its game.
Add UWB or better connectivity
The Apple Watch was the first to add Ultra Wideband, and it lets you pinpoint its location with an arrow guide on your phone. Then Google added it as a way for Pixel Watch 3 owners to unlock their Pixel phones by proximity.
Samsung offers UWB in most of its flagship phones, so you can use them as a digital car key or find them more easily; it'd be cool for Galaxy Watches to add this as well, for an easy tap-to-open on new cars or (more likely) to find your watch when it falls down a couch cushion.
Otherwise, we could hope to see a jump to Bluetooth 6.0 or support for WiFi 6GHz frequencies.
Some kind of design switch-up
I'm not talking about the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic here; the alleged squircle redesign is undoubtedly going to be polarizing, since not everyone liked the Ultra; the larger case, combined with the rotating bezel, should make the Classic bulky to wear.
No, I'm talking about the base Galaxy Watch 8. We've seen minor tweaks the last five years, but aside from a thinner display border, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 7 don't look that different! And I'd say it's time for something to break the status quo.
Maybe Samsung can shrink the display border even further, making the watch even skinnier, add a crown, or give the edges a softer feel instead of the usual machine-cut look.
Continue to upgrade the health and fitness features
The Galaxy Watch 7 had AI insights into your health, better HR and GPS accuracy, and an upgraded Biosensor. We already know the Galaxy Watch 8 will continue this trend with new vascular load and beta-carotene metrics, plus an AI health coach and nutrition plans.
This all sounds great, but we also expect Samsung to do more with its new multicolor LEDs than AGEs Index this generation. And we'd love to see Samsung Health offer some daily workout suggestions based on your vascular load, similar to what Fitbit and Garmin offer.
The current champion
The Galaxy Watch 8 may not be all that different from the Watch 7, which will get four years of OS updates and is frequently discounted. Unless you're really excited for the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, you may want to upgrade to a Watch 7 now; you can always choose to trade it in for the Watch 8 later!
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