A little over two months ago, we came across a rumor claiming that Samsung intends to re-release two old devices in 2024. One was the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024), which already happened. The other device was an older smartwatch.
A more recent report suggested that Samsung intends to release a cheaper Galaxy Watch FE (Fan Edition) smartwatch this year. However, that might not be entirely accurate.
According to @MaxJmb on X, a credible source with a good track record, this cheaper Samsung smartwatch will, in fact, be released as the Galaxy Watch 4 (2024).
There's no smartwatch joining the FE family, but presumably, the Galaxy Watch 4 re-release will be a more budget-oriented release, even though it won't bear the Fan Edition badge.
What can we expect from a refreshed Galaxy Watch?
Samsung has never re-released a smartwatch the way it supposedly intends to do later this year. And so far, specifications for the Galaxy Watch 4 (2024) refresh are unknown.
However, the changes Samsung made to re-release the old Galaxy Tab S6 Lite in 2024 might give us a hint of what we can expect from a Galaxy Watch 4 (2024) refresh. Namely, a different chip and newer firmware out-of-the-box. This is only a guess, as nothing has been confirmed yet.
As to when this Galaxy Watch 4 (2024) refresh will be released, that's anyone's guess. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) was re-released without fanfare all of a sudden, and there's no guarantee that the Galaxy Watch 4 refresh will make an official appearance at the upcoming Unpacked event. It could go on sale before or after Unpacked.
Editor's Note: The original Galaxy Watch 4 features the Exynos W920 chip, whereas the newer Galaxy Watch 6 sports the Exynos W930. Meanwhile, the upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 series is rumored to introduce a new Exynos W940 SoC, which could mean the Watch 4 (2024) might be powered by the W930.
The Watch 4 re-release could also ship with the newer One UI Watch 5 software and offer better firmware support for future releases.
