Samsung drops its own Exynos chips in Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2, turns to Qualcomm

Samsung's Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2, announced July 22, 2026, swap in-house Exynos chips for Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite — an AI-focused wearable platform shown at MWC 2026. The move aligns Samsung's watches with Qualcomm's roadmap and may ease Wear OS development across brands. The cost: Samsung gives up a custom-silicon edge in a market where that strategy is still debated.