Samsung raises prices on Galaxy Watch 9 amid modest hardware refresh
The new wearable carries a $30 premium over the Galaxy Watch 8, with general availability commencing on 7 August.
Samsung has officially released the Galaxy Watch 9, introducing a minor iterative update to its smartwatch lineup. The device retains the identical design, display specifications, and sensor array of its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 8, but introduces a significant shift in internal components and a higher price point. General availability for the new wearable begins on 7 August.
The most notable hardware change is the replacement of Samsung’s in-house Exynos chipset with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor. This 3nm chip is designed to deliver faster overall performance and enhanced capabilities for artificial intelligence tasks, including the integration of Google Gemini for voice-based queries and device management. Despite the new processor, the device maintains the same 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage found in the previous generation.
Battery capacity has seen a slight increase, with the 40mm model jumping to 390mAh from 325mAh, and the 44mm model rising to 449mAh from 435mAh. In practice, this translates to approximately 30 hours of usage with the Always-On Display enabled. Charging speeds remain consistent with the previous model, with the 40mm version reaching a full charge in about 80 minutes and the 44mm version taking roughly 90 minutes.
The Galaxy Watch 9 runs on Wear OS 7 with One UI Watch 9, offering a refreshed user interface while maintaining the same suite of health sensors, including the Samsung BioActive Sensor and temperature monitoring. New colour options include Cream for the 40mm model and Silver for the 44mm model, alongside the existing Graphite variant. Weights have increased negligibly, with the 40mm model now at 31.5g and the 44mm model at 34.0g.
Pricing for the Galaxy Watch 9 has increased by $30 compared to the Galaxy Watch 8. The Bluetooth model starts at $380, while the LTE version is priced at $430. With the Galaxy Watch 8 already seeing price drops on third-party retailers, such as Amazon, the decision to upgrade hinges on whether the processor and software improvements justify the additional cost for consumers.
