MEDIA: Samsung to introduce One UI 8 Watch for Galaxy Watch with new design and Android 16
Samsung is likely to skip the "One UI 7 Watch" name for the Wear OS update on its smartwatches. The current Galaxy Watch models are powered by Wear OS, including the One UI Watch shell.
Here's What We Know
The last update, One UI 6 Watch, was released alongside the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra in 2024, well before the One UI 7 update for smartphones.
Now Samsung has decided to skip one version and introduce the next update as One UI 8 Watch instead of the expected One UI 7 Watch. This information has been confirmed by sources who shared the news with SamMobile and user @DevOfIpos on Twitter/X. It is expected to be just a name change, although rumours of possible UI changes have surfaced.
BREAKING! Possibly One Ui Watch will jump from 6 to 8, skipping 6.5 and 7. They're doing it in order to sync versioning with oneui phone: pic.twitter.com/vbBd9NtvJO
- IposDev (@DevOfIpos) 5 May 2025
The update itself will be based on Android 16 for Wear OS, while Google recently released Wear OS 5.1 based on Android 15. So the next update for Samsung smartwatches will be Android 16, and One UI 8 Watch will debut with it. This update is expected to be brighter and more colourful, in line with the style of One UI 7 on Galaxy smartphones.
The new version of One UI 8 Watch is expected to be released alongside Samsung's new foldable smartphones in July. According to insiders, the company plans to hold a Galaxy Unpacked event in New York in early July 2025.
Source: 9to5Google
