Samsung's annual Galaxy Unpacked event is happening in July 2023, and although the emphasis will most likely be on their folding smartphones during the presentations, that doesn't mean we shouldn't get excited over the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 announcement, which might also happen at the event.
For a long time, Samsung's Galaxy Watch range was the only viable alternative to Apple Watches for Android users. In fact, we regard the fabulous Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 among the best smartwatches to buy right now. However, with the competition heating up thanks to the arrival of the Google Pixel Watch, Samsung will have to double down on their wearable not to lose people to Apple and Google.
That said, we don't expect the Galaxy Watch 6 to be as revolutionary as the Apple Watch Ultra was last year, more a refinement of the formula. Now in its sixth iteration, a few rumours are circulating about the latest Galaxy Watch online, which we collected below, and added our own predictions about the watch.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will most likely come in two sizes, similar to the Galaxy Watch 5 (and just Apple Watches), the two sizes are priced differently.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (40mm) starts at £269/ $279.99 /AU$ 499, with the cellular version costing £319/ $329.99 /AU$599. The larger Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (44mm) costs £289/ $299/ AU$ 549 and £339/ $349/ AU$649 for the LTE/cellular edition.
In comparison, the recommended retail price of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was from £249/ $250/ AU$ 400 for the 40mm watch face, and it went up to £269/ $280/ AU$ 450 for the larger 44mm face.
Based on this information and the fact that inflation is rampant in most developed countries, we expect the non-LTE Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (40mm) to sell for around £289/ $299.99/ AU$ 559, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (44mm) for £309/ $329/ AU$ 599.
When is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 out?
No smartwatches were revealed at the Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event. Instead, those came later when the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro landed in August, a year after the fourth-generation Galaxy Watch. With this in mind – and considering the hype around the new folding smartphones – we aren't convinced the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will be announced at Galaxy Unpacked 2023.
That said, the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic might warrant an early reveal at the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event. However, it's more likely Samsung will time the announcement of their new watches for August to steal Apple's thunder, which will (most likely) have their annual event in early September. Either way, we'll see some news on the new Samsung watches before the end of summer/August.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: design
The most significant physical update to speak of is the potential Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic model set to replace the Pro model, which was part of the Galaxy Watch 5 series. Our news writer Sam notes, "Most notably, though, is what appears to be the return of a rotating bezel, with the knurled edge clearly visible in the images." The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is expected to have a 1.47-inch super AMOLED display with a 470 x 470-pixel resolution.
Another rumour suggests the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will have an upgraded chip. The current generation uses the Exynos W920 chip, with the new model said to use an Exynos W930. Sadly, it's not the Snapdragon W5+ platform that makes the Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 5 so fast, but there is hope the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will see some speed upgrades thanks to the new Exynos module.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: features
Feature-wise, the only information we've got is related to charging speed, which is said to stay the same as on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, 10W. This is half as much as the charging power of the Apple Watch Series 8 when used with a decent power adapter. It's not super slow, but seeing some improvements in this department would have been great.
