Samsung’s Five-Year Watch Pledge Outpaces Google and Brussels

Samsung’s newest smartwatches will still be getting software updates in 2031. The Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, unveiled at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22, carry a promise of five major Wear OS upgrades and five years of security patches, the longest support window any Wear OS device has ever offered.

Nobody on stage in London mentioned the other reason that number matters. The European Union already forces smartphone and tablet makers to guarantee five years of software updates inside its borders. It has never extended that requirement to anything worn on a wrist, and in the past five weeks it has twice confirmed that watches stay outside its device-longevity rules.

Samsung Adds a Fifth Year to Wear OS Updates

Until this week, Samsung capped its watch software at four major Wear OS upgrades plus five years of security patches, a policy running back to the Galaxy Watch 4 in 2022. Samsung confirmed to SamMobile, a Samsung-focused news outlet that first reported the change, that the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 raise that to five major OS upgrades, with the five-year security window unchanged.

Both watches ship running Wear OS 7 with Samsung’s One UI 9 Watch layered on top. Five upgrades on schedule would carry them to Wear OS 12 by 2031. Samsung has not said whether the Galaxy Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic, or the original Galaxy Watch Ultra will ever move up to the new five-upgrade schedule.

The extra year rides on new silicon. Both watches switch to the Snapdragon Wear Elite, a 3-nanometer chip Samsung and Qualcomm say performs up to 32 percent better than the outgoing processor. That is a bigger break from Samsung’s habits than the update news alone suggests. The Galaxy Watch 9 is ditching its own Exynos chip for Qualcomm’s, the same switch that appears to be buying the watches their extra runway of updates. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 adds a titanium case, a sapphire crystal cover, and a dive-watch certification, hardware built to survive longer than Samsung’s older software promise did.

Pre-orders opened alongside the July 22 announcement. The Galaxy Watch 9 starts at $379 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 at $699, with general availability on August 7 through Samsung, Amazon, and major carriers. The same Unpacked event introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Glasses, alongside a Z Flip 8 whose launch bundles hide a $100 price increase over last year’s model.

Do EU Rules Cover Smartwatch Software?

Not yet. The European Union’s Ecodesign Regulation for smartphones and tablets, in force since June 20, 2025, requires five years of operating system upgrades and seven years of spare-parts availability after a model leaves the market. The rule’s own scope names only smartphones, cordless phones, and tablets. Smartwatches sit outside it entirely.

The regulation, formally Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1670, spells that out in its own title: “smartphones, mobile phones other than smartphones, cordless phones and slate tablets.” Wearables never appear in it. The European Commission’s rules guarantee operating system upgrades for at least five years after the last unit of a phone or tablet model sells, plus critical spare parts for seven years. A separate EU legal summary confirms the rule covers only smartphones and tablets, with nothing written for a watch.

Wearables Just Dodged a Second Brussels Deadline

On July 14, 2026, the European Commission adopted a delegated regulation exempting six product categories, including smartwatches, from the EU Battery Regulation’s requirement for user-replaceable batteries. That rule takes effect February 18, 2027 and would otherwise have forced watchmakers to build batteries a consumer could swap without tools. The Commission’s reasoning centered on lithium-ion fire risk and the difficulty of keeping a watch water resistant once its case can be opened by hand.

A third deadline lands one week after Samsung’s announcement. The EU’s Right to Repair Directive, formally Directive 2024/1799, takes effect July 31, 2026. It requires manufacturers to offer repairs at reasonable prices, supply spare parts and manuals, and stop using software tricks such as parts-pairing that block independent repairs. It does not set a minimum software-update span the way the smartphone rule does, and it does not single out wearables at all.

1. June 20, 2025: The EU’s Ecodesign Regulation for smartphones and tablets takes effect, mandating five years of OS updates and seven years of spare parts, phones and tablets only.
2. July 14, 2026: The European Commission exempts smartwatches and five other product categories from the EU Battery Regulation’s user-replaceable battery rule.
3. July 22, 2026: Samsung unveils the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 in London with five years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches.
4. July 31, 2026: The EU’s Right to Repair Directive takes effect, covering repair pricing and parts access but no software-update minimum.
5. August 7, 2026: The Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 go on general sale through Samsung, Amazon, and carriers.

Four of those five dates fall inside six weeks of each other. Samsung wrote its own five-year promise into that same stretch, without a regulator asking for it.

Pixel Watch Owners Get Three Years, Samsung Gets Five

Google guarantees far less. Google’s own support page promises updates for at least three years from when a Pixel Watch first goes on sale on the Google Store in the US, bundling OS upgrades and security patches together instead of splitting them the way Samsung does. The Pixel Watch, Pixel Watch 2, Pixel Watch 3, and Pixel Watch 4 have all shipped under that same three-year ceiling.

Apple never publishes a forward-looking number for the Apple Watch, but its real-world record runs close to Samsung’s new one. Android Authority’s own comparison found Samsung’s policy now matches the roughly five years of watchOS updates Apple has delivered in practice, even without an upfront guarantee.

This makes the Pixel Watch less appealing compared to its feature-rich competitors.

Android Police wrote that in 2024, arguing Google’s three-year window already left the Pixel Watch behind Samsung and Apple alike. Samsung’s new five-year policy only widens that gap.

What Samsung Still Hasn’t Confirmed

Samsung has not said which month in 2031 support actually ends, only the year. It also has not confirmed whether the Galaxy Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic, or the original Galaxy Watch Ultra will retroactively move from four major upgrades to five. SamMobile, which first reported the policy change, said the company has not answered that question.

Nothing in European law requires Samsung to keep this promise, extend it, or apply it to a future watch. The pledge sits entirely on Samsung’s own terms, the same way Google’s three-year Pixel Watch policy sits on Google’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Older Galaxy Watches Get the New Five-Year Update Policy?

Samsung has not confirmed that. The five-major-upgrade policy applies to the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 specifically. The Galaxy Watch 8, Watch 8 Classic, and the original Galaxy Watch Ultra remain on the older four-upgrade, five-year-security-patch policy as of publication.

Does the EU Require Five Years of Software Updates for Smartwatches?

No. The Ecodesign Regulation that guarantees five years of OS upgrades and seven years of spare parts covers only smartphones, cordless phones, and tablets. Smartwatches were also left out of the EU’s incoming user-replaceable battery rule under the July 14, 2026 exemption, meaning wearables currently face fewer software and hardware requirements than a phone on both fronts.

How Long Does Apple Support the Apple Watch?

Apple has never published a fixed number of years in advance. A widely cited comparison found the Apple Watch Series 4, released in September 2018, had picked up five major watchOS updates within six years, a track record close to Samsung’s new five-year pledge.

What Makes the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 More Durable Than Before?

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 pairs a titanium frame with a sapphire crystal display cover, a 1.52-inch Super AMOLED screen rated at 5,000 nits of peak brightness, IP68 and IP69K dust and water resistance, and a dive-watch certification, hardware built to outlast a longer software promise.

When Can I Buy the Galaxy Watch 9 or Watch Ultra 2?

Pre-orders opened July 22, 2026, alongside the announcement. General availability begins August 7 through Samsung, Amazon, and major carriers, with the Galaxy Watch 9 starting at $379 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 at $699. Samsung’s trade-in program can cut up to $250 off either price.