Fresh leaks concerning the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 smartwatch seem to confirm that Samsung is expanding its wearable offering.
We’re still likely several months out from an official Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 announcement, likely alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Galaxy Z Fold 7.
However, the latest leaks concerning Samsung’s next wearable are the closest thing to a nailed-on confirmation yet – and they confirm some fundamental points about the range.
Two Galaxy Watch 8 models spotted
As reported by Xpertpick, batteries seemingly intended for the Galaxy Watch 8 series have appeared in certification at SafetyKorea – the safety and compliance organisation based in Samsung’s home country.
There are two batteries (codenamed EB-BL330ABY and EB-BL505ABY) for two distinct wearable devices. These are believed to be the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.
Samsung didn’t supply a Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 Classic, so this is welcome news.
One of those batteries is featured in a screenshot, revealing a typical capacity of 435 mAh for EB-BL330ABY. That would be slightly larger than the 425 mAh battery found in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.
Furthermore, the Watch 8 Classic has been spotted on the Bluetooth SIG site in a new listing with a ‘SM-L505U’ model number.
There’s some chatter that this model is actually the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, but the name is clear as day here, so it would seem unlikely, though we’re sure Samsung is also working on that wearable.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
Galaxy Watch 8 firmware out in the wild
That’s not the only Galaxy Watch 8 leak doing the rounds right now. Twitter (formerly X) tipster Theordysm recently posted details of the firmware intended to run on Samsung’s next wearables refresh.
There were six variants mentioned here, which seem to divide into two models.
The SM-L320, SM-L325U, SM-L330, and SM-L335U would appear to represent the two sizes and Wi-Fi/cellular variants of the Galaxy Watch 8, while the SM-L500 and SM-L505 could relate to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, it previous mentions on the the GSMA database are anything to go by.
We were big fans of the Galaxy Watch 7, but we’d love to see the return of the Classic, as well as a slightly slimmer case. It’d be nice if all those advanced health features would work equally well without a Samsung phone hooked up, too.
