Samsung is the biggest partner behind Google’s renewed push for the Wear OS smartwatch platform. It all started with the Galaxy Watch 4 in 2021, and it is now the company’s answer to the dominance of the Apple Watch.
It is important to note that Galaxy Watches do not run the stock interface of Wear OS (as is seen on the Pixel Watch 2). They run a custom UI on top of Wear OS, known as One UI Watch.
The current-gen One UI Watch 5, based on Wear OS 4, debuted on the Galaxy Watch 6 series last year. It now seems that the company is developing the next major update for this lineup.
According to a source (via @MatthewReiter05 on X/Twitter), Samsung is indeed developing a new software build (firmware version: R965USQU1BXD8) based on the upcoming Wear OS 5 platform.
This is meant to be a test firmware for the Watch 6 series, which is expected to get the Wear OS 5 update closer to the end of this year when the software gets developed as “One UI Watch 6”.
The source further claims in his post’s replies that there is no Wear OS 4.5 this year and that Wear OS 5 instead will be detailed at Google I/O 2024, scheduled to be held on 14th May 2024.
While we do not have any more information about Wear OS 5 and One UI Watch 6, we can speculate that the new software will first debut on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 series before it makes its way to Google’s Pixel Watch 3 later.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that Wear OS 5 could announce AI features for smartwatches, which could make its way to not just the Pixel Watch but also the Galaxy Watch series.
There is a small possibility that some of these rumored and upcoming AI features will come to the Galaxy Watch 6 series with the One UI Watch 6/Wear OS 5 update.
However, it is important to note that the source of this leaked information does not have an accurate track record, so it might be best to take all the leaks and speculations here with a pinch of salt.
