If Samsung’s One UI 8 rollout revealed cracks in its software strategy, the situation with One UI 8 Watch only makes things worse. While the company has confidently launched the stable update on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, the Watch 7 remains stuck in beta testing, despite both models entering the beta phase at the same time. Worse yet, there’s no sign of beta releases for the Watch 6 and older models, even though Samsung confirmed beta plans weeks ago.
To add to the confusion, the company’s recent One UI 8 announcements skipped smartwatches entirely, leaving Galaxy Watch owners wondering what exactly is going on. For a company that has historically emphasized ecosystem cohesion, this fractured rollout is frustrating for loyal Galaxy users.
One UI 8 Watch shows Samsung’s update problem even more clearly
Samsung launched the One UI 8 Watch beta program for the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Watch 7 in mid-June. A few weeks later, the company introduced the Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025), Watch 8, and Watch 8 Classic with the Wear OS 6-based update out of the box. It followed up with the stable release for the original Ultra. Samsung always positioned the Ultra as the “ultimate” wearable for fitness enthusiasts and power users, so it made sense that it got the first dibs on One UI 8 Watch.
The lack of a prolonged beta program and the quick stable release raised expectations that other Galaxy Watches would follow swiftly. That hasn’t happened. We are in the second half of September, and the Galaxy Watch 7 is still in the beta phase, with no official stable release in sight.
The betas have brought improvements, but users are growing frustrated with the slow pace. Adding to the irritation, the beta remains restricted to South Korea and the U.S., meaning many Watch 7 owners worldwide can’t even test the new software yet.
Perhaps the most glaring omission is no beta updates for the Galaxy Watch 6 and older models. When it announced One UI 8 Watch Beta, Samsung confirmed beta releases for all those devices. However, it has since gone silent. Reports now indicate the company isn’t planning One UI 8 betas for these models at all, leaving millions of recent Galaxy Watch users without clarity.
Samsung can’t stay silent — users deserve transparency
Earlier this week, Samsung began the One UI 8 (Android 16) rollout for phones. While we aren’t impressed a bit with its botched rollout — the update is only available for Korean Galaxy S25 units so far — we are more surprised by how smartwatches were notably absent from the official announcements.
This silence suggests one of two things: either Samsung has deliberately deprioritized smartwatch updates, or development has hit unforeseen delays. The company continues to say One UI 8 Watch is coming to more devices “in 2025.” But without concrete timelines, the messaging feels increasingly inconsistent.
Galaxy Watch Ultra users already enjoy the update, Watch 7 users are stuck in a seemingly endless beta, and Watch 6/5/4 owners are left wondering when they’ll get the Wear OS 6 update. Until Samsung clears things up, the big question remains: What’s going on with One UI 8 Watch, Samsung?