Samsung may be very close to unveiling the Galaxy Watch FE. While rumors have hinted at a July launch alongside several other products at Unpacked, recent developments suggest the Fan Edition watch could debut early. An Italian retailer has already listed the watch, revealing its price. Leaks have also revealed its design, specs, and features in detail.
Galaxy Watch FE price revealed in fresh leaks
The Galaxy Watch FE is Samsung’s first-ever Fan Edition smartwatch. It isn’t a completely new product but a rebadged Galaxy Watch 4 with modern straps that the company introduced with the Galaxy Watch 6 series last year. Instead of a pin mechanism, the new straps feature a push button to dislodge the strap from the watch. Samsung has also slightly redesigned the straps.
Everything else is a ditto copy of the 2021 flagship model. Samsung hasn’t even upgraded the processor. As confirmed by a huge leak yesterday, the Galaxy Watch FE gets the same Exynos W920 chipset that powers the Korean firm’s Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 lineup. The feature set, including health features, remains unchanged too. The only difference is the FE watch runs One UI 5 Watch out of the box.
Based on Wear OS 4, One UI 5 Watch is the latest version of Samsung’s custom watch platform. It debuted with the Galaxy Watch 6, though the company has already updated all previous models to the new version, including the Galaxy Watch 4. In short, the Galaxy Watch FE won’t offer any different experience than the 2021 flagship model. The benefit of buying it would be longer support in the future.
Samsung has yet to announce the watch, so we can’t tell how many major One UI updates it will get. However, the Galaxy Watch 4 is eligible for four years of feature updates, so its promised support period ends next year. The FE model, on the other hand, should get updates for at least a couple more years if not three. For that added support, you might have to shell out a little extra. The FE watch is said to cost €199 at launch, or €219 if the Italian retailer is correct. The Watch 4 is currently listed with a price tag of €159 on Samsung Italy’s website but is out of stock.
The Fan Edition watch may launch early
Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra at Unpacked next month. These models are expected to debut with Wear OS 5-based One UI 6 Watch. Since the Galaxy Watch FE won’t run the new One UI version out of the box, the company may not unveil it alongside the former two. Instead, the FE model may debut early, before Samsung officially presents One UI 6 Watch in July.
This is just a speculation, though. The volume of leaks in recent days also hints at an imminent launch but we don’t have a date yet. As per a fresh leak, Samsung has already prepared a landing page for the Galaxy Watch FE on its website. In fact, seemingly official marketing material for the watch says you will get it free with a Galaxy S24 on Orange or VOO until June 30. So we wouldn’t be surprised if the watch goes official in a few days.
Interestingly, a render shared as part of this marketing material shows the Galaxy Watch FE inaccurately (see the images below—the right one is accurate). The bezels around the display are non-existent. Samsung is known for trimming the bezels on official renders, but this one goes a bit too far. Nonetheless, the new FE watch appears to be close to its official launch. We will keep an eye on developments around it and let you know as soon as we have more information.
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