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Galaxy Watch4 support ended. Those who still own a Galaxy Watch4 or the Classic variant find themselves officially without new security patches, as Samsung has discontinued software support for both models. The confirmation comes from the company’s monthly bulletin, where the two smartwatches no longer appear in the list of supported devices.
The last distributed release is dated August 2026, and from that point onward, no further updates will be available. This event carries significant weight: the Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic, launched in August 2021, were the first Samsung watches to run on Wear OS, marking the end of the Tizen era that had characterized previous generations.
Galaxy Watch4 support ended: why it matters
Five years of support for a wearable device still represents a respectable lifespan, especially when compared to what competitors offer. The cessation of updates means that the Galaxy Watch4 will remain on Wear OS 6.0 paired with One UI Watch 8, without any further operating system upgrades.
The most critical point concerns monthly and quarterly security patches, those designed to fix vulnerabilities discovered in the software. The watch will continue to function as expected: notifications, health monitoring, and installed apps will operate normally. However, every security flaw identified from now on will remain open, gradually exposing the device to greater risks. This is not an immediate problem but rather a slow erosion of security over time.
It is worth clarifying what the end of support concretely means. The Galaxy Watch4 has stopped at Wear OS 6.0 paired with One UI Watch 8, and that will remain the final version of the operating system installed on board. Existing features will continue to operate normally, but the absence of patches will lead to a gradual increase in vulnerability to potential threats.
An aspect that raises some questions is the situation of the Galaxy Watch FE, presented in 2024 as a more accessible version of the 40mm Watch4. This model still figures among supported devices, despite using the same Exynos W920 chip, the same amount of RAM, and the same storage space as the Watch4.
What changes and what are the effects
A similar situation applies to the Galaxy Watch5, which shares the same processor and will continue to receive security patches. This clearly shows that the dividing line is not determined by the technical capabilities of the devices but by their launch date. Samsung appears to keep support active for newer models, regardless of internal hardware.
The choice therefore appears commercial rather than strictly technical. Samsung keeps newer models alive irrespective of the silicon inside them, highlighting how support windows are managed in the smartwatch sector.
Regarding products currently in the catalog, the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 arrive with a promise of five years of updates for both the operating system and security. Exactly the same duration that accompanied the Galaxy Watch4 from its debut until now, allowing users to make a fairly precise calculation on how long the software lifecycle of a purchase made today will last.
Source and further reading on Galaxy Watch4 support ended: original article.
* Content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems.