Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Samsung Exynos W980 is rumored to debut in the Galaxy Watch 6 series.
- This would be the follow-up to the Exynos W920, which launched in 2021.
- Allegedly, the new SoC could offer 10% higher performance.
Samsung Galaxy S phones get a new system on a chip (SoC) every year like clockwork. However, the same can’t be said about Samsung’s smartwatches. The most recent Galaxy Watch 5 series has the same SoC we saw on the Galaxy Watch 4 series from 2021.
Thankfully, it looks like the supposed Galaxy Watch 6 series landing later this year could get an upgrade. According to SamMobile, there could be a Samsung Exynos W980 in the works. This SoC would be the follow-up to the 2021 Samsung Exynos W920, the chip inside the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 models.
As one would expect, the Exynos W980 would be better than the W920 in numerous ways. SamMobile suggests it could be up to 10% faster, for example. It’s also possible it could have better battery life, as Samsung might use a newer 5nm process than what we saw with the W920.
Notably, Samsung is the only major company pushing forward new chipsets in Wear OS watches at the moment. The Google Pixel Watch features an SoC that launched in 2018, if you can believe it. The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra launched in 2021 with an SoC from 2020, and we have no official word yet on a TicWatch Pro 4. Even the Fossil Gen 6 is stuck on that 2020 processor.
If the Galaxy Watch 6 series does come with a new Samsung Exynos W980, it should put it head and shoulders above all other Wear OS watches. We expect to see these new smartwatches launch this summer alongside the new Samsung foldables.
