Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 specs, info and release date: everything we know

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is comfortably among the best smartwatches on sale right now, but as it nears its first birthday, a successor is surely waiting in the wings. With not long to go until the firm’s July 2023 Unpacked event, the rumour mill has rumbled into life and the signs are looking good: a new Galaxy Watch 6 is almost certainly on the way.

There are a fair few more rival wearables on sale today than there were when the Galaxy Watch 5 trio launched, so Samsung will have to up its game in order to stay ahead. Does that mean big design, hardware and feature changes? Here’s everything we’ve heard so far, along with a wish list of features we’d love to see Samsung include.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 expected release date and price

A Galaxy Watch 6 series is almost certainly on the way. In a recent press release announcing new One UI 5 Watch features, Samsung said the update would be available on the “upcoming Galaxy Watch series later this year.” When exactly, though? July seems like the safest bet, despite the firm picking August for its big reveal the past three years:

• Galaxy Watch 3: launched August 2020
• Galaxy Watch 4: launched August 2021
• Galaxy Watch 5: launched August 2022

That’s because Samsung has confirmed it will be holding an Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea, in late July. Official invites have now gone out for the 26th. It’ll be the first time Samsung has held an Unpacked event on home soil, and will almost certainly see the new Watch revealed alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Apparently the firm has brought things forward from the usual August announcement window to sneak the new devices into its Q2 earning report, which analysts say currently isn’t looking too bright – a hangover from the lockdown years, where gadget buyers were happy to splash the cash when they weren’t allowed outdoors.

Prices are a lot more vague right now. Last year’s Galaxy Watch 5 started out at $279/£269 for a Wi-Fi only 40mm model, with the top-end Galaxy Watch 5 Pro with 5G topping out at $499/£489. Those were competitive with the latest Apple Watch (or a lot cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra, in the case of the Watch 5 Pro), but came at a slight price premium over the previous generation. We’re betting that cost of living increases, more expensive raw materials and higher shipping fees will mean another price bump for 2023.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 hardware rumours

Unlike the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, which had plenty of early info to pore over, there was less doing the rounds about the Galaxy Watch 6 series. Eventually leaked renders did start to appear online showing regular and “Classic” variants, instead of a Pro model. It’s thought that the regular Watch 6 will still be available in two screen sizes.

This matches an earlier statement by Twitter leaker Ice Universe, who suggested the Watch 6 Pro will have a slimmer bezel than the outgoing model – and also bring back the rotating bezel function seen on the Watch 4 Classic. It’s still unclear if the name will change as a result.

Larger batteries are the one consistent rumour, which will come as welcome news to smartwatch owners sick of having to regularly charge their devices. The Watch 5 series was able to manage two to three days between top-ups, but rivals are now managing more through clever use of low-power second displays, more modern CPUs and bigger batteries.

WearOS 4 is also supposed to be more power efficient, although Google only previewed the update at its I/O conference in May, so it seems unlikely the new generation of Galaxy Watch will arrive with it installed.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 feature wish list

Over the past few years there hasn’t been much competition in the Android Wearable world, so Samsung hasn’t had to work too hard to stay at the top of the pile. But with Google getting in on the action, and smaller brands delivering epic battery life, there’s plenty of room for improvement from the next generation of Galaxy Watch. Here are the changes we’d like to see Samsung make:

Bring back the rotating bezel

Samsung simplified its wearable range with the Galaxy Watch5, with a fixed bezel for the top-tier Watch5 Pro and no bezel at all for the two regular models. It was a big departure from the previous generation, and many fans were disappointed to see the rotating bezel get the axe. It was a convenient way to scroll through menus, and was satisfying to twist like a fidget spinner.

New CPUs for better battery life

Previous Galaxy Watches used Samsung’s home-grown Exynos chipsets, albeit cut-down versions meant for wearables rather than the full-fat CPUs seen in the firm’s Galaxy phones. Now that the Galaxy S23 series has fully moved across to Snapdragon power, might the Galaxy Watch series do the same? Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 is proving very power efficient in the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5, so maybe Samsung should follow suit in the name of battery life gains.

• Related: Smartwatch battery life – how to keep your watch going for longer