As the industry anticipates Samsung’s upcoming summer launch—expected to coincide with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 reveal—speculation regarding the internal hardware of the next generation of smartwatches is heating up. According to recent reports, Samsung may be planning a significant divergence in its chip strategy for the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.
Moving Beyond the One-Chip Approach
Historically, Samsung has maintained a consistent internal hardware profile across its flagship and standard wearable tiers. However, fresh leaks suggest the company is looking to create a more distinct experience between its standard smartwatch and its premium “Ultra” offering.
The latest intelligence, shared by leaker Jason C on X, indicates that Samsung is currently stress-testing the next-gen Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 with Qualcomm’s newly unveiled Snapdragon Wear Elite platform. If true, this represents a major departure from the silicon strategy used in previous models.
Qualcomm’s New AI-Focused Silicon
The Snapdragon Wear Elite platform, recently showcased at MWC, is specifically designed to handle on-device AI tasks, thanks to the integration of Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU. By adopting this chip, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 could potentially offer superior power efficiency and advanced AI capabilities that remain local to the device rather than relying solely on cloud-based processing.
In contrast, the standard Galaxy Watch 9 is expected to retain the Exynos W1000. While the W1000 remains a highly capable processor—having already proven its strength by outperforming previous-generation wearables like the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 2—keeping the Watch 9 on familiar silicon allows Samsung to maintain a price-to-performance balance for its standard tier while positioning the Ultra 2 as a premium technological powerhouse.
Defining the Lineup
Beyond the processor rumors, the leak also shed light on the internal identification for these upcoming devices, helping to solidify the timeline for their eventual release:
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Galaxy Watch 9: Likely identified by model number SM-L345.
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Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Likely identified by model number SM-L716.
While these details should be treated as speculative until Samsung releases official specifications, the rumors point to a clearer product hierarchy. By separating the standard and premium models through distinct hardware architectures, Samsung appears to be prioritizing a more refined, performance-heavy identity for the “Ultra” branding, effectively distancing it from the standard Galaxy Watch ecosystem.
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