Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will use a new chip, and it’s not a Samsung Exynos

The wait for the next generation of high-end Samsung smartwatches is starting to become interesting, especially in light of the recent rumors that have surfaced online.

Around two years after the debut of its direct predecessor, the South Korean giant is preparing to unveil the new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 later this year, accompanied by the standard Galaxy Watch 9 series.

However, the real news drawing attention concerns the expected specifications under the hood.

Samsung will also rely on Qualcomm for its new smartwatches

Snapdragon Wear Elite
Credits: Qualcomm

According to information shared by well-known tech industry informants, including Jason C. on the X platform, the Asian company is reportedly considering an unprecedented commercial strategy for its future wearable devices.

It seems Samsung intends to markedly differentiate the two product lines, adopting completely different processors depending on the price tier.

While the Galaxy Watch 9 is expected to continue relying on the Exynos W1000, the same component already used for the previous Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch 8, for the flagship model a truly notable novelty is expected.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, according to tests currently underway, would be equipped with the very recent SoC Snapdragon Wear Elite designed by Qualcomm

The possible impact on final costs for consumers

On one hand, adopting the Snapdragon Wear Elite promises to significantly raise the overall performance bar; on the other, it raises non-trivial questions about the final price to consumers.

Looking at the recent dynamics of the smartphone industry, it is a fact that every new generation of Qualcomm flagship processors brings with it increasingly higher supply costs for manufacturers.

It is entirely logical and reasonable to suppose that this same economic dynamic applies fully to the smartwatch sector as well.

Consequently, buyers interested in the upcoming Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 may have to budget a significantly higher outlay than that required for the first iteration of the device.

It remains to be seen how the company will balance this potential price increase with the integration of new features and the real performance gains guaranteed by the U.S.-made hardware component.