Samsung may stop major OS upgrades for older Galaxy Watches

The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 series have already received or will receive four major OS upgrades, while newer models are promised longer software support.

TL;DR

A tipster says Samsung may limit older Galaxy Watches to security updates after their promised major OS upgrades are finished.

Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 models have already received or will receive four major upgrades.

Stopping major updates early for Galaxy Watch 6 or newer would conflict with Samsung's promised support and could upset users.

On X, popular tipster @kro_roe claims that Samsung is planning to stop offering major OS upgrades to older Galaxy Watch models and provide them with only security updates. However, the tipster didn't specify which models they consider “older” or why Samsung is reportedly planning to make this change.

From the Galaxy Watch 4 series through the Galaxy Watch 8 series, as well as the original Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung has promised four years of major OS upgrades. The Galaxy Watch 9 series and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, on the other hand, are eligible for five major OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Galaxy Watch 5 series will get fourth major One UI upgrade soon

Samsung has already released four major OS upgrades for the Galaxy Watch 4 series. The Watch 5 series is eligible for One UI 9 Watch, which will be its fourth major upgrade as promised by Samsung.

If Samsung decides to stop offering major OS upgrades to these models, it would simply be following its existing software update policy. It wouldn't amount to a downgrade in its update commitment or a denial of support that users were promised.

Ending updates for newer Galaxy Watches would be a problem

However, if Samsung decides to stop offering major OS upgrades to the Galaxy Watch 6 series or newer models before fulfilling its promised update commitment, that would be a different matter.

Such a move could disappoint customers, damage the brand's reputation, and potentially expose the company to legal challenges. Therefore, we don't expect Samsung to take such a step.

Abid Iqbal Shaik - Writer

First Samsung device: Galaxy S II

I’m a computer science engineer living in Hyderabad, India, who has a keen interest in automobiles and consumer electronics. My journalism career kicked off in 2017 with MySmartPrice where I wrote news, features, buying guides, and explanatory articles about technology among other things, and reviewed many products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PC components, smartwatches, audio devices, wearables, and smart home products. Since then, I have worked for 91Mobiles, Apple, and Onsitego, before finally landing on SamMobile.

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