Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR Samsung has initiated the One UI 8 Watch beta program for the Galaxy Watch 6.
The update is currently live in South Korea, but we expect wider availability to be announced soon.
Meanwhile, it has also concluded testing for the Galaxy Watch 7, indicating a stable update may be coming soon.
Samsung recently rolled out stable One UI 8 to the Galaxy S25 series and has been testing beta builds on nearly a dozen other flagships and mid-range devices. Besides phones, the One UI 8 Watch is also set to arrive on a range of supported Galaxy Watch models. While the Galaxy Watch 8 series came preinstalled with One UI 8 Watch, the Watch Ultra followed soon after. Meanwhile, a beta has been underway for the last generation Galaxy Watch 7 series, and the program is now being extended to the older Galaxy Watch 6.
According to a user’s post on Samsung Community forums, One UI 8 Watch beta is now available for the Galaxy Watch 6. It’s safe to presume that the update also applies to the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, as the two devices share the same hardware.
Notably, the One UI 8 Watch beta for the Galaxy Watch 6 has been spotted in Korea, and there is currently no information available about its availability in other regions. In contrast, the beta for the Galaxy Watch 7 was also available in the US, so it’s reasonable for us to expect the Watch 6 users in the US also to get the update.
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Meanwhile, Samsung has announced that it is concluding beta testing for the Galaxy Watch 7 in South Korea. This suggests that a stable update may soon be available on these devices.
However, while Samsung has revealed information about the tentative timeline for the One UI 8 rollout for phones, there are no details about the availability of the firmware for the watches.
One UI 8 Watch introduces a range of new features to the Galaxy Watch, but there are a few that we particularly appreciate. These improvements include enhancements to pinch controls, which can now be used to achieve a broader range of functions, such as taking pictures, changing music, or scrolling through notifications. The update also enables Now Bar on watch, which keeps you alerted about live activities, while health-related features also get upgraded with better sleep alerts and nudges for mindfulness meditations.
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