Samsung is expected to launch the new Galaxy Watch 7 and its potential variants at the upcoming Unpacked event a little later this year. While the naming scheme, pricing, and really any details about the watch have yet to be confirmed, quite a bit has already been rumored or leaked. And that gives us some information to go on in terms of what to expect from Samsung’s next smartwatch.
Naturally, the Galaxy Watch 7 is thought to be the official name, although it’s always possible Samsung could change things up. As one of Wear OS‘s most popular smartwatch lineups for Android users, the Galaxy Watch series is going to continue gaining plenty of attention. And that doesn’t seem to be stopping with this year’s coming release.
With that said, there are no doubt some changes Samsung could make that would cause the new watch (or watches) to be even more popular. Say, by extending the battery life. If you’re looking forward to the Galaxy Watch 7 and what it has to offer, we’ll be covering everything that’s been rumored or leaked about it in this post. Here’s everything we know so far about the Galaxy Watch 7 series.
This article will be regularly updated with new information on the Galaxy Watch 7 (this is a preview article) — both official teasers and credible leaks, rumors, and insider claims — as it becomes available in the run-up to the release of the upcoming Samsung smartwatch.
When will the Galaxy Watch 7 be released?
There’s no definitive date yet, which makes sense given that Samsung hasn’t announced or even teased the watch. Furthermore, the company hasn’t even said when its next Unpacked would be. However, it’s thought that Unpacked will happen sometime in July this year. So it’s likely that the watch will be released sometime in August, the following month. This is, of course, all speculation. But an upcoming Samsung smartwatch was recently spotted in Bluetooth certification. That suggests that Samsung may be preparing to launch the device within the next few months.
When exactly is still anyone’s guess. But with the Bluetooth certification out of the way, a release probably isn’t too far off, and if Unpacked happens in July, Samsung will no doubt want to release the watch soon after. We can look to the release of the Galaxy Watch 6 series as a potential timeframe.
Samsung launched last year’s watch on August 11. So there’s a good chance it will end up releasing this year’s watch around the same time. It wouldn’t necessarily be on the same day, but it shouldn’t be surprising if the launch falls within the same month.
How many models will there be?
If it’s anything like the last few Galaxy Watch devices, there will be two models. A Classic or Pro version, and a standard version. However, there have been a few rumors stating that Samsung is looking to actually release three models this year. Beyond that, it’s unknown what these models will be. There will most certainly be a standard Galaxy Watch 7. This would be the normal version that is akin to the Galaxy Watch 6. There will also likely be either a Galaxy Watch 7 Classic or a Galaxy Watch 7 Pro. There was also an “Ultra” model rumored at one point.
A Classic model would probably come with a rotating bezel just like the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic did. But if Samsung diverts back to a Pro model instead, then it would probably be like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, with a touch bezel. While probably coming with a titanium case for better durability, and longer battery life with a more “adventure” oriented feature set.
The third variant is rumored to have a square shape for the case. It might sound weird given Samsung’s smartwatches have had round cases for many generations now. But Samsung’s earliest iterations of the smartwatch had square cases. Some people prefer these styles, much like Apple Watch enthusiasts do. And because Samsung has made square smartwatches before, bringing one back as a third smartwatch variant for this year’s lineup wouldn’t be out of left field. All it would do is add more variety for consumers. And more variety is rarely a bad thing.
Depending on pricing, it could also add to the presence of consumer choice. As each model might be priced to target specific spending groups.
How much will the Galaxy Watch 7 cost?
Pricing rumors don’t appear to have popped up yet but, we can still make estimated guesses. Based on the cost of past models. Samsung has typically released one right around $300 for the past few years. This pricing would offer the smallest version of the watch and connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth only. Samsung will almost certainly release a cellular variant as well. In addition to offering a larger option. Both of these things would alter the price a bit. For the Galaxy Watch 6, bumping up to a 44mm watch from the 40mm took the price from $300 to $330.
Going from Bluetooth/Wi-Fi to LTE but sticking with the 40mm size bumps the price to $350. Choosing both the larger size and the LTE connectivity bumps the price all the way up to $380. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic starts at $400 and can go all the way up to $480.
We can probably expect pricing for the upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 series to be very similar. As Samsung hasn’t really changed it much over the past few years. The watch is rumored to get a huge upgrade though. So it is still possible there could be a slight increase in the base cost.
What are the specs?
There have been a few specs rumored or leaked so far, but there’s still plenty that’s unknown. For example, the Galaxy Watch 7 has been rumored to get a huge upgrade. That huge upgrade will allegedly come in the form of a 3nm chipset. It’ll be Samsung’s first smartwatch to use a chipset of this size. It’s said to be about 50% more power efficient than the chipset used in the Galaxy Watch 6 series. On top of that, it’s rumored to come with 32GB of storage.
Both of these things would be very notable upgrades. As more power efficiency would translate to better battery life. Or it should anyway. The storage on the other hand will just give the user more room for stored apps, music, and anything else you might store on a smartwatch. 32GB is quite a lot for a smartwatch, especially compared to the 16GB offered in the Galaxy Watch 6 series. Would you use it all? Who knows. Probably not. But if Samsung does indeed bump it up this much, there must be a reason for it.
As for other specs, nothing has really been rumored as of yet. That includes display size, battery capacity, RAM, and everything else. However, it’s not likely to be long before some more of these details pop up with Unpacked potentially being just a few months away.
What will the design look like?
It’s a pretty safe bet that the design of the Galaxy Watch 7 will be pretty similar to the Galaxy Watch 6. At least for two of the models. If Samsung does release three versions of the watch this year, then one of them is rumored to be the square design that Samsung used in the past. The other two watches should be round and look pretty similar to the current models. One of them will also likely have a rotating bezel, with both of them having two side buttons for various functions.
They should also be using the new latch system for the bands that Samsung introduced with the Galaxy Watch 6 series. If you missed this, the Galaxy Watch 6 introduced new bands that have a button on the underside that you press down on to latch and unlatch the band to the watch lugs. As opposed to the traditional style where you pull on a little pin.
Additionally, expect a clean left side with no buttons unless Samsung decides to add some new features that make use of these. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and that seems to be Samsung’s mantra with the design seeing as it’s been the same for basically forever.
How many colors will there be?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is likely to come in three or four color options when it comes to the watch case itself. The Galaxy Watch 6, for example, is currently available from Samsung in three different colors. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic comes in two. On the other hand, the Galaxy Watch 5, had four colors, while the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro came in two colors. No colors have been rumored or leaked yet. But you can probably expect Samsung to stick to this format.
Three or four colors for the Galaxy Watch 7. And then two colors for the Galaxy Watch 7 Classic or Pro. As for what the colors will be, expect the familiar. That is to say, probably silver, black, and gold versions of the Galaxy Watch 7. Whereas the Galaxy Watch 7 Classic or Pro may come in Silver and Black only. Samsung may change this up a bit by swapping colors. But it has typically stuck to three or four colors for the standard model watch and two colors for the fancier model.
Should you buy a Galaxy Watch 6 or wait for the Galaxy Watch 7?
This is most certainly a question some people are asking themselves. And you may be asking yourself this very question too. Should you buy the Galaxy Watch 6, or wait for Samsung to release the Galaxy Watch 7? That all depends on a few things. The Galaxy Watch 6 series devices are currently on sale from Samsung. At least for some of the variations. There may also be more sales closer to the Galaxy Watch 7 release.
So one thing to consider is whether you want to pick up a great smartwatch at a discount or not. Samsung may have promos on the new watch coming up. But pricing is surely going to be higher than the Galaxy Watch 6. So you could end up saving money by going with it over the upcoming model. However, the Galaxy Watch 7 will surely come with some new features and if it has better battery efficiency, then it may be worth it to wait and pay the higher price.
There’s also the fact that there’s no clear indication of what the watch will do, what it will look like, or how much it will be. With all of that said it might be best to hold off on a purchase until you have more information on what’s coming. Because then you’ll at least be able to more accurately compare your options.
2024-04-18 15:10:58