The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 could bring back the Classic model
- The Classic could make a comeback in 2025
- Details spotted in an industry database
- We last saw a Classic model in 2023
You can keep up to date with Samsung’s smartwatches of 2024 with our Galaxy Watch 7 review and Galaxy Watch Ultra review, but it looks like the series will get another shakeup in 2025 with the return of the Classic model.
As reported by Smartprix (via SamMobile), a device with the model number SM-L505U and the name “Galaxy Watch 8 Classic” has been spotted in the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) database – where any device that wants to connect to mobile networks must be registered.
That’s a pretty big clue that we’ll see a Classic model in 2025, perhaps even with a rotating bezel – like we got in 2023 (see our Samsung Watch 6 Classic review for details). However, we don’t know much about the smartwatch for the time being.
Samsung has constantly changed its smartwatch models and naming conventions in recent years, making predictions difficult, but a Galaxy Watch 8 will probably also appear in addition to the Classic version.
A story about two watches… every year
As mentioned above, we got the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra this year, with the wearables launching in July. Before that, we received the Samsung Watch 6 and the Samsung Watch 6 Classic in 2023.
There was no Classic model in 2022 – we got the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro – but there was a Classic variant in 2021, when Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
In other words: it has not been easy to keep track of what Samsung is doing in the smartwatch market in recent years. Normally the Classic watch would have cost more than the standard version – and of course with an additional rotating bezel.
Fans of that edge will no doubt welcome the return of the Galaxy Watch Classic. If Samsung sticks to its usual schedule, we should see a number of new Samsung smartwatches released around July or August alongside some brand new foldable smartwatches.