C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Through a leaked One UI 8 Watch firmware, we’ve spotted plenty of new details about Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic.
- The Galaxy Watch 8 could come in a squircle body in two sizes.
- The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic could also come in a squircle body, but possibly in a single size, with an unaccented Quick Button, and Galaxy Watch Ultra-like strong vibrations.
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Watch 8 series alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8, sometime in Q3 2025. Information around the smartwatch’s hardware has been surprisingly scarce, and we only know a few bits, like the charging speed. Leaks previously suggested that we could get squircle icons with the upcoming One UI 8 Watch update. However, that doesn’t seem to be the only squircle bits coming in the next few months, as the Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic could adopt a squircle shape themselves, much like the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
We’ve found a couple of things of note in the One UI 8 firmware for the unreleased Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (SM-L505). One of the animation files notes the codenames for the upcoming watches, with “fresh8” being the Galaxy Watch 8 and “wise8” being the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. We haven’t been able to spot any codenames for a new Galaxy Watch Ultra so far, with just “projectx2” referenced for the previously launched Galaxy Watch Ultra.
The animation files give us a look at what these devices could look like:
From the looks of it, it seems that Samsung could be ditching the circular body shape for the Galaxy Watch 8 series. Instead, the company could adopt a squircle body design while retaining the rounded screen, much like what we see on the current Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Further, the Galaxy Watch 8 could retain two buttons on the side. However, Samsung could add a Quick Button to the Galaxy Watch Classic, bringing its button setup closer to the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The animation files don’t show an orange highlight for the Watch 8 Classic’s Quick Button, while they show it for the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
If you look closely, you can also spot subtle differences in the button design across the three wearables and notice the difference in bezel sizes across the three watches. We can’t discern from the graphics whether the Watch 8 Classic gets rotating bezels.
Here’s another intro video from within the firmware, which shows off the squircle design of the Galaxy Watch 8:
While these files don’t appear to be placeholders, we can’t rule that out.
Which design would you prefer for the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic?
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Other code bits in the firmware corroborate the presence of the Quick Button. In the snippet below, both “projectx2” and “wise8” are said to be Quick Button devices.
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
Coming back to the regular Galaxy Watch 8, we’ve spotted mentions of two sizes for it:
- FRESH8_S – SM-L32
- FRESH8_L – SM-L33
- WISE8 – SM-L50
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
Here, S and L likely refer to Small and large, although they don’t indicate the exact casing size. For the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, we couldn’t spot sizing information. This doesn’t mean that the Watch 8 Classic will come in only one size, though it could be possible.
Lastly, we’ve found code that indicates that the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic could get the extended vibration pattern support just like the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Many people have loved the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s stronger vibrations, so this is good news for others looking to upgrade.
What are your thoughts on the Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic’s upcoming squircle design based on these animation files? Let us know more in the comments below!
