What to Know About samsung’s making a budget smartwatch without Wear OS

It really is a summer of Samsung news. Hot on the heels of the Galaxy Fit 4 leak, there’s news of a budget-friendly smartwatch which will ditch Wear OS – Google’s Android operating system for wearables used on devices like the Galaxy Watch 9.

The device, thought to be codenamed Galaxy Aero, runs an RTOS, or real-time operating system, instead, according to SamMobile. This is what the Galaxy Fit range offers, but it’s thought to be priced between the upcoming Galaxy Fit 4 and Galaxy Watch FE (which does run Wear OS).

That price would possibly place it in the £100-150 range (and the same in US dollars). Incidentally, the £199/$199 Galaxy Watch FE appears to be discontinued and removed from official stores in the UK and US and has extremely limited stock on the likes of Amazon.

The first ‘Fan Edition’ smartwatch launched back in June 2024, so is overdue a replacement. I wonder if the Galaxy Aero could be it, with a new price and software strategy after a one-and-done try at the Watch FE.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

Very little is known about the device so far. It’s referred to as “galaxy_rtos_watch” in the Galaxy Wearable app codebase, so should come with a screen. That rules out it being a direct Fitbit Air rival.

The switch in operating system should mean it offers longer battery life than Wear OS models, at around a week or more. We can also assume it will come with fitness and health tracking features like a heart rate sensor and sleep tracking.

We’ll have to wait and see how the Galaxy Aero develops and if Samsung decides to launch it.

The report also notes that another new Samsung product, previously known as Galaxy Buds Able, will be called the Galaxy Buds On. These will be clip-on earbuds as the style gains popularity, most recently with the CMF Clip Pro.