Will there be a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Pro?

Samsung brought us a new generation of Samsung smartwatches at its mid-year Unpacked for 2023, and like the year prior, we got two new models to faun over. But unlike the Galaxy Watch 5 generation, a “Pro” version wasn’t among them. Instead, the standard Galaxy Watch 6 was accompanied by the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. It seems that Samsung had preferred to reintroduce the “Classic” brand of two years ago rather than bring out a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro. This begs the question, will there be a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Pro? Or has the Pro name been consigned to the history books?

We’ll look at the evidence and attempt to answer these questions.

Will there be a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Pro?

Damien Wilde / Android Authority

We think that there will be a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro. There are strong factors to suggest this, as well as good reasons why it wasn’t launched with the Galaxy Watch 6.

Firstly, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is still a top-tier wearable and going strong. We named it the best wearable of 2022, and it takes more than seven months for such an accolade to fade from our memory. Samsung acknowledged the continued importance of the Watch 5 Pro by releasing several key updates for the device. They included boosts that both Galaxy Watch 5 models received, such as improved sleep tracking, irregular heart rate notifications, a new Track Run sport mode, Samsung Wallet, and more. But the Watch 5 Pro also got a GPX file database, allowing users to browse recommended routes, and the device’s Route Workout can now be used for running and walking as well as hiking and cycling.

That left Samsung with room to release two more smartwatches without the need for an interactive upgrade to the Watch 5 Pro just yet. At the same time, it also has a loyal customer base who were calling out for the return of the rotating bezel on the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic — a feature that was not only popular but also very useful in many scenarios. When you take all of these factors into consideration, it makes a lot of sense for the “Classic” model to make a return after two years, and hence we got the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

Why wouldn’t there be a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro?

But all of this isn’t an argument against a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro ever appearing. As you can see, it’s quite the opposite. The “Classic” model and the “Pro” model target different users, with the “Pro” model built for action and the “Classic” variant emphasizing style. There is space in the market to keep both flagship Samsung smartwatch lines running, and if it does, then it would make sense to alternate the release of subsequent generations of each to capture maximum smartwatch market share.

We only have to look at its audio range to see that Samsung has form on this approach. It has released the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds Pro, and their successors, in alternating years, recognizing that even if the two models offer something a bit different from each other, there is space to keep one release on ice while the other one is marketed to new buyers. Not to mention that this reduces the need to design and manufacture a new generation of each line every year.

All of this is conjecture — we haven’t heard of any rumors that a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro is in the works. But when you consider all the evidence, a better question would be, why wouldn’t there be a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro?

When will the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro release date be?

Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority

Since its existence hasn’t even been hinted at yet, there hasn’t been a Galaxy Watch 6 Pro release date announced. We also don’t have multiple release dates for the “Pro” model to look back on and draw inferences from, as the Watch 5 Pro was the first in that particular line. But if we do get a Watch 6 Pro, there’s an obvious event at which it would first appear.

As the schedule above shows, Samsung has released at least one variant of the Galaxy Watch every fall. It would be a pretty strong bet that the Galaxy Watch 7 will be released in July or August 2024. If our speculation from the section above proves to be accurate, the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro would be staggered against the standard model releases and be launched in early 2024. The Watch Active line shows that Samsung isn’t shy about two wearable launches in the same year.

Samsung typically holds two Galaxy Unpacked events each year, at which all of the latest hardware is announced. The first of the two each year is typically held in February, so we’re going to go ahead and guess that the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro will be released in February 2024.

The less likely alternative, at least in our eyes, is that Samsung alternates between a “Pro” model and a “Classic” model each year. That is technically what has happened in the last two years — there wasn’t a Galaxy Watch 4 Pro or a Galaxy Watch 5 Classic. If this were to be the case, the next “Pro” model wouldn’t be released until July or August 2024, but it also wouldn’t be the Watch 6 Pro; it would be the Galaxy Watch 7 Pro. It’s not out of the question, but we explained in the section above why we feel that a February 2024 release date is more likely.

What features will the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro have?

Kris Carlon / Android Authority

As we don’t have any rumors about what features the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro would have, the best we can do is make educated guesses on how it will differ from the Galaxy Watch 6. We can base that on the key differences between the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro and compare them to the upgrades on the Galaxy Watch 6 over the Galaxy Watch 5. Let’s get speculating.

One of the main differences between the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro was the significantly larger battery of the latter, offering longer use between charges. It had a capacity of around 40% more than the 44mm model of Watch 5 at 590mAh, and since the 44mm model of the Galaxy Watch 6 has a slightly larger battery than its predecessor, we can expect the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro to offer a battery capacity of around 600mAh.

We can expect that the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro will be noticeably heavier and slightly thicker than the Watch 6, in keeping with the previous generation. If the proportions hold true, the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro will be around 10mm thick and weigh around 46g. It will undoubtedly feature an IP68 rating and MIL-STD-810G durability rating.

So we’re likely to see the Dual-core 1.4GHz Exynos W930 chipset, 2GB of RAM with 16GB of storage, and the smartwatch operating on Wear OS 4 with One UI 5 Watch. It will almost certainly offer an accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic/light/temperature sensors, and the Samsung BioActive sensor — all geared towards the same sleep and fitness tracking as its stablemate.

What will the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro price be?

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

For reference, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 started at $279 for the 40mm Bluetooth-only version and jumped to $329 for the LTE version of the same size. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro retailed for $449 for the Bluetooth edition or $499 for the LTE model. The base model of the Galaxy Watch 6 was marginally more expensive, starting at $299 for the 40mm base model.

We can extrapolate from this that the asking price for the Bluetooth model of the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro will be around $479 and approximately $529 for the LTE model.

Perhaps due to the economic climate, we have seen Samsung freezing prices on new generations of Galaxy devices on more than one occasion this year. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro follow suit and retail for the same prices as the Watch 5 Pro. The difference with the other devices would be that there would be 18 months since the last release in the case of the Watch 6 Pro rather than 12 months for devices that haven’t seen a price increase.

See price at Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic

Rotating crown is back
Updated tracking features
Wear OS 4