Samsung’s Galaxy Watch9 and Watch Ultra2 Get New Chips and Higher Prices

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch9 and Watch Ultra2 are getting a new Qualcomm chip and a price increase on every configuration, according to leaks landing nine days before their July 22 unveiling. The catch: leakers still cannot agree on which chip the base Watch9 actually gets.

Samsung unveils both watches in London alongside three new foldables. The real hardware gains in the leaks, a faster 3-nanometer processor and a much bigger battery, are concentrated almost entirely in the pricier Ultra2. Every configuration’s price is climbing anyway.

Exynos Steps Aside for a 3-Nanometer Snapdragon Chip

Samsung has powered its watches with homegrown Exynos silicon for years. That is reportedly changing. Samsung is dropping its in-house Exynos chips for Qualcomm-made Snapdragon Wear Elite system-on-chips (SoCs) built on the 3-nanometer node, a hardware-focused leak from WinFuture reported this week, and the switch should lift both performance and power efficiency.

Qualcomm confirmed the chip at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in March, and Samsung’s InKang Song, who leads mobile technology strategy for the company, confirmed the partnership on the record, TechCabal reported, though Samsung has not said which specific watch model gets it.

A Geekbench listing traced to the new chip, codenamed Vienna, shows why Samsung might want the switch. It scored 573 points in single core testing against 371 for the outgoing Exynos W1000, a 54 percent lead, and 1,069 to 683 in multi core testing, a 56 percent gain, according to a SamMobile benchmark trace reported by Digitbin. The Adreno 622 graphics core beat the Exynos chip’s Mali G68 by 47 percent in the same round of tests.

The Battery Story Splits in Two

The chip swap arrives with a battery revision, and the two watches do not benefit equally. The Watch9 40mm keeps the same 325 mAh cell as its predecessor, while the 44mm model gets a smaller bump to 445 mAh, up from 435 mAh, the newest GSMArena and Android Headlines reporting shows.

The Ultra2 gets the real jump. Its battery grows from 590 mAh to 800 mAh, a 35 percent increase, something watchers have anticipated since a certification leak first surfaced. Digital Trends notes the figure lines up with an earlier SamMobile leak that listed a rated capacity of 784 mAh, which Samsung could simply round up for marketing.

The size difference tracks with intended use. The Ultra2’s titanium shell and deeper water resistance target the rugged, multi-sport crowd, while the Watch9 stays lighter for everyday wear.

Does the Watch9 Actually Get the New Chip?

Reports disagree. The newest WinFuture-sourced leak has both the Watch9 and the Ultra2 moving to the Snapdragon Wear Elite. Earlier reporting from PhoneArena and Smartwatch Insight said only the Ultra2 gets the new chip, with the base Watch9 keeping the Exynos W1000 it inherited from the Watch8.

Notebookcheck’s own coverage admits the confusion outright, writing that “the previously leaked battery specs were likely incorrect in at least one case” after a fresh leak out of Germany contradicted its earlier reporting.

• The chipset: The latest WinFuture leak has both watches on Snapdragon Wear Elite. PhoneArena and Smartwatch Insight maintain the base Watch9 keeps the Exynos W1000, with the new chip reserved for the Ultra2 alone.
• The 40mm battery: The newest leak lists a flat 325 mAh cell, unchanged from the Watch8. Smartwatch Insight’s own tracker had earlier put it at 382 mAh, a 23 percent increase.
• Ultra2 brightness: Estimates range from 3,000 nits to 5,000 nits across different reports, with outlets citing different starting baselines and Samsung confirming neither number.

Samsung’s FCC and CMIIT filings, cleared in mid-June under model numbers SM-L340, SM-L345, SM-L350 and SM-L355 for the Watch9 and SM-L715 for the Ultra2, do not specify a chipset. The question stays open until Unpacked.

Every Configuration Costs More Now

In Germany, where WinFuture’s Roland Quandt first published the new pricing, the increases land across every model. The Watch9 40mm Bluetooth rises to €409, which would translate to roughly $409 given Samsung’s historical tendency to price close to a one euro to one dollar ratio in the US, according to Tom’s Guide.

• Galaxy Watch9 40mm Bluetooth: €409, the new entry price in Germany
• Galaxy Watch9 40mm LTE: €459
• Galaxy Watch9 44mm Bluetooth: €439
• Galaxy Watch9 44mm LTE: €489
• Galaxy Watch Ultra2 LTE: €749, now Samsung’s priciest smartwatch to date

SquaredTech estimates the increase holds at roughly 8 to 10 percent across Europe, which would translate to a $40 to $50 jump per model in the US if Samsung mirrors that percentage. That would push the base Watch9 above $300 and the Ultra2 past $700.

An AI-Driven Memory Squeeze Even Samsung Profits From

Every outlet chasing this leak points to the same root cause, and it has nothing to do with watches specifically. Component costs are climbing industry-wide as AI data centers buy up memory chips, squeezing DRAM and storage supply for phones and wearables alike, Android Headlines and Tom’s Guide both reported.

Droid-life put it more bluntly, tracing the increases to the memory chip shortage caused by AI demand pulling supply away from consumer hardware.

Samsung’s own semiconductor arm sits on the other side of that shortage. The company posted a record profit as a circuit breaker briefly rattled the Kospi, South Korea’s benchmark stock index, around the same window these watch leaks emerged.

A Crowded Stage on July 22

The Ultra2’s upgrades go beyond the chip and battery. It is expected to add satellite messaging through NB-NTN, a narrowband non-terrestrial network standard that lets it send texts without a nearby phone, plus 5G RedCap in the US and South Korea, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 6.0, according to Smartwatch Insight’s tracking of the leaks.

Samsung has already previewed the software side. Vitals, an overnight readiness summary built on heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature and blood oxygen, will ship alongside a Heart Health Score, Daily Cardio Load and Fitness Index, according to Gadgets and Wearables. Separate reporting from BigGo Finance points to experimental Ultra2 sensors tracking AGEs, or advanced glycation end products, along with antioxidant levels and vascular load.

Samsung will share the London stage with three foldables. Leaked video already suggests the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is losing the crease that has defined past folds, while the standard Z Fold8 and the Z Flip8 round out the phone side of the event. Samsung’s rumored Galaxy Able earbuds are expected to join the watches on stage too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Galaxy Watch9 use the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip or Samsung’s Exynos?

Samsung has not confirmed an answer, and leaks conflict. The newest WinFuture-sourced report says both watches switch to the Snapdragon Wear Elite. PhoneArena and Smartwatch Insight instead report the base Watch9 keeps the Exynos W1000 from the Watch8, with the new chip reserved for the Ultra2. FCC and CMIIT filings for the Watch9, cleared in mid-June under model numbers SM-L340, SM-L345, SM-L350 and SM-L355, do not list a chipset, so the question stays open until July 22.

Is Samsung launching a Galaxy Watch9 Classic this year?

Current leaks show no Classic model this cycle, just a standard Watch9 in 40mm and 44mm sizes alongside the Ultra2. That matches Samsung’s pattern of alternating the rotating-bezel Classic design every other year, so buyers waiting for that model will likely need to wait for the Watch10.

How much will the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 cost in the US?

Samsung has not announced US pricing. Smartwatch Insight and BigGo Finance both estimate the Ultra2 holds at $699, matching the original Ultra’s price exactly. Other estimates, including one from SquaredTech, expect a $40 to $50 increase that would push it past $700, mirroring the confirmed €50 hike in Europe.

When do preorders start, and when do the watches ship?

Preorders open the same day as the Unpacked announcement, July 22, and Samsung is offering a $30 reservation credit to anyone who signs up early. Retail availability follows on August 6.

What is Galaxy Able?

Galaxy Able is the rumored name for Samsung’s first clip-on earbuds, expected to debut alongside the watches. Unlike Galaxy Buds, they reportedly use bone conduction instead of in-ear speakers, and code inside the Galaxy Wearable app suggests Samsung could market them as Galaxy Buds On instead.