Samsung Drops the First Wear OS Galaxy Watches

Samsung has removed the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic from its wearable security list, five years after the pair relaunched Wear OS on Galaxy. They are the first Wear OS Galaxy watches whose software support has now ended, including security patches.

The cutoff matches a promise Samsung wrote in February 2022. The twist is that the company lengthened that OS clock for the Galaxy Watch 9 in July 2026, then dropped the original Wear OS hardware in September.

Samsung Took Both Watches Off the Security List

After Samsung published its September 2026 security bulletin, the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic were gone from the wearable section of its mobile security site. The page still names the wearable models still getting quarterly patches: Watch 9, Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic, Watch Ultra, Watch Ultra 2, Watch 7, Watch FE, Watch 6, Watch 6 Classic, and the Watch 5 series, plus Galaxy XR.

The watches had already taken a late June build, then an August 2026 security update. That August file is the last software they are expected to receive. Major Wear OS upgrades had already stopped with One UI 8 Watch in December 2025.

FINAL US FIRMWARE BUILDS

• Watch 4 40mm: R865USQS2JZG3
• Watch 4 44mm: R875USQS2JZG3
• Classic 42mm: R885USQS2JZG3
• Classic 46mm: R895USQS2JZG3

Those strings are the end of the line for U.S. units. Other regions used different codes on the same August 2026 patch level, and none of those models reappear on the current wearable list.

Four Wear OS Upgrades Was the 2022 Promise

Samsung unveiled the watches on August 11, 2021, and put them on sale on August 27. The company called them the first watches to run Wear OS with Google, a platform both firms built together after Samsung left Tizen. The aluminum Watch 4 started at $249.99 for Bluetooth and $299.99 with LTE. The stainless Watch 4 Classic, with the rotating bezel, started at $349.99 and $399.99.

Inside was a dual-core 1.18GHz Exynos W920 on a 5nm process, 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. Samsung said the CPU was 20% faster than the previous generation, the GPU ten times faster, and RAM 50% higher. The 44mm and 46mm models used a 361mAh battery; the 40mm and 42mm used 247mAh. The pitch was up to 40 hours of use, 5ATM and IP68 durability, and a BioActive sensor that added body composition to heart rate and electrical heart readings.

On February 10, 2022, Samsung put a clock on that hardware. A company press note said Galaxy Watch4, Galaxy Watch4 Classic, and upcoming Galaxy Watch models would get up to four years of Wear OS upgrades. Phone buyers on the same day were offered four generations of One UI and five years of security patches. The watches sat on that same five-year security window.

We work hard to bring our Galaxy users innovative mobile experiences that are built to last. And many of our customers are choosing to keep their devices for longer, whether they love their specific smartphone model or want to help contribute to a more sustainable world.

TM Roh, President and Head of MX Business, Samsung, February 10, 2022

Samsung delivered the OS side. The watches launched on Wear OS 3 with One UI Watch 3, then took four named upgrades: Wear OS 3.5, Wear OS 4, Wear OS 5, and Wear OS 6. Independent support trackers summarize the post-Watch 4 policy as four OS upgrades and five years of patches.

THE SUPPORT CLOCK FROM 2021 TO 2026

1. August 11, 2021: Samsung announces the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic as Wear OS Powered by Samsung.
2. February 10, 2022: The company promises up to four years of One UI Watch and Wear OS upgrades on those models.
3. December 2025: One UI 8 Watch, based on Wear OS 6, begins rolling out as the fourth and final major OS upgrade.
4. January 2026: A follow-up build restores functions that the Wear OS 6 upgrade broke and moves the patch level to January 2026.
5. July 23, 2026: Samsung tells Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 buyers they will get five major OS upgrades.
6. August 2026: The Watch 4 series receives its last security update.
7. September 2026: Both models disappear from Samsung’s wearable security list.

Four years from August 27, 2021 lands on August 27, 2025. The fourth OS upgrade still arrived in December 2025, a few months past that mark. Security then ran to August 2026, which is five years from the original on-sale date.

Watch 9 Buyers Get a Fifth OS Upgrade

Samsung did not freeze that 2022 watch policy in amber. On July 23, 2026, as it unpacked the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, it said those models would get five major OS upgrades and five years of security patches. They launched on August 7 with Wear OS 7 and One UI 9 Watch. The Watch 9 starts at $379. The Ultra 2 is $699.

That is one extra OS generation over every Wear OS Galaxy Watch that came before them, including the Watch 8. Samsung has not said the older Exynos watches will be pulled forward onto the new five-upgrade clock. The new pair also uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear Elite, which is a different software path from the W920 in the Watch 4.

The same new watches are the ones that gained seamless updates on the Watch 9, installing in the background so a reboot applies a staged build. That feature has to be designed in at launch. The Watch 4 cannot pick it up now, and it cannot pick up One UI 9 Watch either. Golf Edition and Thom Browne Edition units from the same generation are in the same boat.

Tizen hardware already hit this wall. The Galaxy Watch 3 left security support in September 2025, and Samsung had already shut new Tizen watch content on the Galaxy Store. The Google partnership was supposed to put Galaxy watches on a shared Wear OS path. It did. It did not give the first generation a longer calendar than the one Samsung printed in 2022.

Which Galaxy Watches Still Get Security Patches?

The September 2026 list is the cleanest map of who is still inside Samsung’s wearable patch window. Wear OS feature upgrades stop earlier than security on several of those models, which is why a watch can still get quarterly patches after its last big OS jump.

SAMSUNG WATCH SUPPORT AFTER SEPTEMBER 2026

The Watch FE is the awkward neighbor. It is a 40mm watch from 2024 that still sits on the quarterly list, with Wear OS upgrades dated through December 31, 2028, because its own five-year clock started three years later. Watch 7, Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic, and the original Watch Ultra remain on the same list, with their OS windows still open.

The Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are the next Wear OS generation to hit an OS wall, on December 31, 2026. They still receive security updates after that date unless Samsung revises the page again. Anyone buying a used Watch 4 in September is buying a watch that has already left both columns.

The Last Major Update Did Not Land Clean

One UI 8 Watch was the fourth upgrade the 2022 note implied, and it was a large one. The Wear OS 6 build started in South Korea, then reached other markets in December 2025 as a download of more than a gigabyte, carrying an October 2025 security patch. Google had billed Wear OS 6 as a performance and battery gain, including a claim of 10% longer battery life. The W920 is still a dual-core 1.18GHz chip from 2021.

The upgrade did not behave like a victory lap.

WHAT BROKE ON ONE UI 8 WATCH

• Notifications: Some watches stopped delivering alerts after the Wear OS 6 file installed.
• Sensors: Heart-rate and related sensors failed to wake on a slice of Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic units.
• Always-on display: The always-on face stayed dark until a later build.
• January 2026 repair: Samsung shipped a follow-up that restored those functions and moved the patch level to January 2026.

That repair did not make later files feel safe. Through the spring and summer, Samsung kept sending monthly security packages, including a May 2026 patch that reached Watch 4 units in Korea in June. By early September, some owners were still taking the August 2026 package, and a few described display glitches after it landed. Living on a five-year-old dual-core watch meant each new build was a roll of the dice, which is a poor send-off for hardware Samsung once sold as a new era.

A Working Watch With No More Patches

The watches do not shut off because they left the list. Heart-rate tracking, sleep scores, already installed Play Store apps, LTE calling on cellular models, and Samsung Pay still run on the software that is already there. Knox was part of the 2021 pitch, and it does not uninstall itself. What stops is the next fix for a Wear OS or Samsung bug that has not been found yet, and any One UI Watch feature that ships after One UI 8.

New Play Store apps that target Wear OS 7 can refuse to install. Banking and transit apps are usually the first to raise their floor. Body composition, blood pressure, and ECG still depend on Samsung Health Monitor and on a Galaxy phone in markets where those tools are cleared. None of that required a September patch. None of it will get a new one either.

Hardware backup is already thinning in at least one market. Samsung’s Japan repair calendar closed the Watch 4 Classic 42mm on June 17, 2026, and the 46mm on August 18, 2026. The aluminum Watch 4 40mm and 44mm stay on that books until January 18, 2027. A stainless Classic that was sold as the longer-lived object is, in that market, already past manufacturer repair as well as past software.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a Galaxy Watch 4 Keep Working Without Samsung Updates?

Yes. Notifications, Samsung Health workouts, already installed Google Play apps, and LTE calling on cellular models keep running on the August 2026 software. Apps that later require Wear OS 7 may refuse to install, and any new Wear OS or Knox flaw found after August 2026 will not get an official fix on this generation.

How Do I Read the Last Firmware on a Galaxy Watch 4?

Open the Galaxy Wearable app, go to Watch settings, then About watch, or check Settings then Software update on the watch itself while it is on Wi-Fi. U.S. LTE units should show R865USQS2JZG3 or R875USQS2JZG3 on the Watch 4 and R885USQS2JZG3 or R895USQS2JZG3 on the Classic. Korea Wi-Fi units used different prefixes, such as R870 and R890, on the same patch cycle.

Did the Golf Edition and Thom Browne Edition Lose Support Too?

Yes. The Watch 4 Golf Edition and the Watch 4 Classic Thom Browne Edition launched on the same Wear OS 3 software and used the same four-upgrade cap, so they were left out of One UI 9 Watch and are off the September 2026 security list with the standard models. The rhodium-plated Thom Browne Classic went on sale in late September 2021 as a limited run.

Why Does the Galaxy Watch FE Still Get Updates?

The Watch FE went on sale on June 24, 2024, so its four OS upgrades and five-year security window started almost three years after the Watch 4. Trackers date its Wear OS upgrades through December 31, 2028, and Samsung still lists it among quarterly wearable models. Similar 40mm hardware does not share the Watch 4’s 2021 clock.

What Phone Do I Need to Keep Using a Galaxy Watch 4?

Samsung’s 2021 spec sheet required Android 6.0 or later and more than 1.5GB of RAM. iPhone pairing was never offered. Some health tools, including blood pressure and ECG in markets where they are cleared, still need a Galaxy phone and the Samsung Health Monitor app, which is a narrower requirement than basic notifications.

The Watch 4 did what Samsung said it would do in 2022. The Watch 9 is already on a longer OS clock, and the Watch 5’s feature upgrades run only to December 31, 2026. The first Wear OS Galaxy watch still tells time. It just does it on a closed list.