Samsung drops Exynos for Galaxy Watch, turns to Qualcomm
Samsung Electronics Chief Operating Officer Choi Won-joon, left, shakes hands with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon during Galaxy Unpacked 2026 at Old Billingsgate in London, Wednesday (local time). Joint Press Corps
LONDON — Samsung Electronics' new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9 will be powered by Qualcomm application processors (APs) for the first time, marking another step away from the company’s in-house Exynos APs.
The move highlights Samsung's continued reliance on Qualcomm’s logic chips, eroding one of the Korean tech giant's key competitive strengths as a company that develops both devices and the semiconductors that power them.
During Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London, Wednesday, Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9, the company's first smartwatches powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite APs.
So far, Samsung has used Exynos W application processors designed by its Device Solutions Division for the Galaxy Watch lineup.
This year, however, the premium Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and the mainstream Galaxy Watch 9 are both powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite, with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon taking the stage at the launch event to highlight the companies' deepening partnership.
A visitor tests the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 during Galaxy Unpacked 2026 at Old Billingsgate in London, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
“The Qualcomm and Samsung partnership is also expanding into smart wearables,” Amon said.
“For the very first time, Snapdragon Wear Elite is powering Samsung Galaxy watches, enabling new levels of performance, efficiency and connected health features, including an advanced CPU and graphics processing unit that support new intelligent features and more seamless experiences, and an ultra-efficient architecture that enables longer battery life and faster charging.”
Samsung used the Exynos W1000, introduced in 2024, in the Galaxy Watch 7 and the first-generation Galaxy Watch Ultra released that year. In the following year, it also used W1000 for the Galaxy Watch 8 series.
With no successor to the Exynos W1000 unveiled, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon Wear Elite in March, featuring a dedicated neural processing unit. Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Experience department reportedly opted for Qualcomm's chipset to support the advanced health and outdoor activity features introduced in this year's Galaxy Watch lineup.
Samsung Electronics' Exynos W1000 application processor for wearable devices / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
The use of Exynos APs in Samsung's smartphones also appears to be declining. While last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 was powered exclusively by the Exynos 2500 regardless of region, the latest Galaxy Z Flip 8 uses the Exynos 2600 in selected markets, including Korea and Europe, while U.S. models are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
“Our strategy and direction for collaborating with strategic partners (such as Qualcomm, Exynos or MediaTek) will remain unchanged," Samsung Electronics co-CEO Roh Tae-moon said at a press conference on the sidelines of Galaxy Unpacked 2026.
“We will continue working closely with strategic partners in mobile APs to jointly develop, evaluate and deliver the best solutions for our products, selecting the technology that best meets the needs of each device."