- The Classic could make a 2025 comeback
- Details spotted in an industry database
- We last saw a Classic model back in 2023
You can get up to speed with Samsung's 2024 smartwatches with our Galaxy Watch 7 review and Galaxy Watch Ultra review, but it seems as though the series may get another shake-up in 2025 with the return of the Classic model.
As reported by Smartprix (via SamMobile), a device with the model number SM-L505U and the name "Galaxy Watch 8 Classic" has been spotted in the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) database – where every device that wants to connect to cell networks has to be registered.
That's a pretty big hint that we'll see a Classic model in 2025, maybe even with a rotating bezel – as we got in 2023 (see our Samsung Watch 6 Classic review for details). However, we don't know much about the smartwatch for now.
Samsung has kept changing its smartwatch models and naming scheme over the last few years, which makes predictions difficult, but presumably there's also going to be a Galaxy Watch 8 making an appearance alongside the Classic version.
A tale of two watches... every year
As mentioned above, we got the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra this year, with the wearables launching in July. Before that, we got the Samsung Watch 6 and the Samsung Watch 6 Classic in 2023.
There wasn't a Classic model in 2022 – we got the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro – but there was a Classic variant in 2021, when Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
In other words: it's not been easy in recent years to keep up with everything Samsung has been doing in the smartwatch market. Typically, the Classic watch has cost more than the standard version – and come with an extra rotating bezel of course.
Fans of that bezel will no doubt welcome the return of the Galaxy Watch Classic. If Samsung sticks to its usual schedule, then we should see a couple of new Samsung smartwatches launching alongside some brand new foldables around July or August time.
