Samsung's new Galaxy watches will use Qualcomm chips instead of its own

Samsung's Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2, announced July 22, 2026, drop Samsung's own Exynos chips for Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite — a processor built for AI-powered wearables, debuted at MWC 2026. This aligns Samsung with Qualcomm's plans and could simplify app-making for Wear OS watches. The trade-off: Samsung loses the edge of designing its own parts.