Samsung’s next smartwatch lineup is starting to take shape — and if the latest leaks are accurate, the Galaxy Watch 9 is bringing a few meaningful updates alongside some changes that will disappoint at least one corner of the fanbase. With Samsung’s July event closing in fast, leaker Galaxy Techie has posted software-sourced renders and claimed details that fill in the picture considerably.
- Galaxy Watch 9 leaks confirm black, silver, and beige color options ahead of Samsung’s July unveil event.
- There will be no Galaxy Watch 9 Classic this year, ending hopes for a new rotating bezel model.
- The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 gets a boxier design, thinner bezels, and a redesigned two-tone side button.
- Software leaks show a Samsung Health redesign and a new watch face picker coming with the Galaxy Watch 9.
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Galaxy Watch 9 Colors and What We Know So Far
The Galaxy Watch 9 is expected to arrive in black, silver, and beige. It’s not yet clear whether those three options apply to both the standard model and the Ultra 2, or just one of them — the leak doesn’t draw a firm line there. Beige is an interesting addition. Samsung has been pushing warmer, more lifestyle-oriented colorways across its wearables and phones in recent years, and beige fits squarely into that aesthetic direction. It’s the kind of color choice that reads less as a tech gadget and more as an accessory, which is clearly where the wearables market is heading.
Black and silver are the safe anchors, naturally. Anyone who needs their watch to disappear into a business or gym context will find what they’re looking for. But beige suggests Samsung is still trying to widen the appeal of the Watch lineup beyond hardcore Android enthusiasts — a push that makes sense given that Apple Watch still commands a dominant share of the premium smartwatch segment.
No Galaxy Watch 9 Classic — Again
Here’s the part that stings a little. Galaxy Techie claims there will be no Classic variant in the Galaxy Watch 9 lineup, which means no rotating physical bezel for another year. This contradicts some earlier speculation, but it’s actually more consistent with Samsung’s own history — the Classic has been an irregular offering, not an annual one.
Still, it’s a shame. The rotating bezel remains one of the smartest interaction concepts in the wearables space. Swiping on a tiny glass screen while sweating through a workout or wearing gloves in winter is genuinely awkward, and the physical bezel solved that problem elegantly. Samsung introduced the rotating bezel feature in earlier Galaxy Watch hardware, and it never quite found its permanent place in the lineup. Samsung’s official Galaxy Watch page still markets its current lineup without the Classic, and that pattern seems to be continuing.
The absence is also commercially logical, even if it’s frustrating for fans. Maintaining a Classic SKU means additional tooling, separate supply chains, and marketing complexity — resources that Samsung may prefer to direct toward the Ultra tier, which carries higher margins and cleaner positioning.
Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Boxier, Sharper, Redesigned Button
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is where the design story gets more interesting. According to the leaked renders, Samsung is going with a boxier form factor — a sharper-edged chassis compared to the original Ultra’s already angular look. Combine that with thinner bezels and you get a watch face that should feel significantly more premium and display-forward than its predecessor.
The side button redesign is a subtle but telling detail. The original Galaxy Watch Ultra shipped with a fully orange side button — a bold, sporty accent clearly borrowed from the aesthetic language of outdoor and sports watches. The Ultra 2 reportedly replaces this with an orange outline rather than a fully coloured button. It’s a more restrained approach, and it suggests Samsung wants the Ultra to read as refined rather than rugged. Whether that’s the right call depends on who Samsung thinks is buying it. If the target buyer is a fitness enthusiast, the bolder original made sense. If it’s a premium smartwatch buyer who also exercises, the subtle outline probably lands better.
Thinner bezels are an almost universal upgrade on any display device right now, and on a watch face they matter more than on a phone. Every millimetre of reclaimed bezel is display real estate on something worn on a wrist. Given the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s already relatively compact-feeling face despite its physical size, this should be a genuine improvement in daily use.
Software: Samsung Health Gets a Refresh
Beyond hardware, the leaked renders show software changes arriving alongside the Galaxy Watch 9. Samsung Health appears to be getting a visual redesign — the exact scope isn’t clear from the renders, but a refresh was arguably overdue. The app’s information architecture has felt cluttered for a while, and as health tracking features have multiplied, the need for a cleaner layout has become more pressing.
There’s also what looks like a new watch face picker, which is a small but frequently used part of the Watch experience. A more intuitive face picker would be a welcome quality-of-life improvement — the current one works but it’s not exactly smooth. The Ultra 2’s updated button design also appears in what looks like a compass app or face, giving a sense of how the hardware and software changes interact visually.
Samsung has been under real pressure on wearables performance. The company reportedly saw a 28% drop in Galaxy Watch shipments in early 2026 — a significant decline that raises legitimate questions about where the Watch lineup stands in the broader market. Google’s Pixel Watch series has gained credibility, Garmin continues to own the serious fitness segment, and Apple Watch remains the default for iPhone users. Samsung’s addressable market is Android-first buyers, and retaining them means the Galaxy Watch 9 needs to justify an upgrade cycle.
What to Expect at Samsung’s July Event
The Galaxy Watch 9 will share the stage at Samsung’s July event with what looks like a packed lineup — the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy XR, and potentially more. That’s a lot of competing attention at a single launch, which makes it more important for the Watch lineup to have a clear, communicable story. New colors and a boxier Ultra 2 are interesting, but the argument for upgrading from a Watch 7 or Watch Ultra will need to be sharper than aesthetics alone.
Processor improvements, battery life gains, and deeper health sensing capabilities — those are the things that move people from ‘interested’ to ‘ordering’. The leaks haven’t revealed those details yet, but they’ll be the real story when Samsung takes the stage. For now, the picture coming together is one of thoughtful iteration rather than wholesale reinvention, which for a maturing product category is probably exactly right.
Source: 9to5Google
