Your Galaxy Watch 8 just started receiving a big software update. Samsung kicked off the One UI 9 Watch beta rollout with exciting new features. But there are a couple of caveats. The new OS is hitting Galaxy Watch 8 devices in South Korea with an international rollout yet to come.
Galaxy Watch 8 gets an early One UI 9 Watch taste
Samsung's One UI 9 Watch beta is live in South Korea. | Image by Tarun Vats
Tipset Tarun Vats reported on X that the One UI 9 Watch beta has started rolling out to Galaxy Watch 8 owners in South Korea. This new OS update is apparently quite big at over 2GB and bears the firmware version ZZH3.
According to Vats, this One UI 9 Watch beta also comes bundled with the latest security patch from August 5, 2026.
What Galaxy Watch model do you currently own?
New features and a fresh new look
Samsung's latest Galaxy Watch models come running One UI 9 Watch out of the box. | Image by PhoneArena
Samsung debuted One UI 9 Watch with the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 models, so we know all the features and changes that are coming to the older Galaxy Watch models.
There are subtle visual changes, such as resized fonts to improve readability, better text alignment, changes to the background to improve contrast, and more.
When it comes to tracking, there's a new vitals feature that monitors key health metrics over time and gives you health trends. The Heart Health and Daily Cardio Load features are also improved to give you deeper insights and trends into your cardiovascular health.
There are new watch faces, of course, and the "Rise to talk" feature that brings up Gemini with a flick of the wrist.
When are we getting the update for the Galaxy Watch 8 series?
The Galaxy Watch 8 is about to get some cool new features soon. | Images by PhoneArena
The update is live in South Korea, but other parts of the world will have to wait a couple of days. According to our friends and colleagues at Android Authority, the US and UK will be the next regions to get the One UI 9 Watch update.
Samsung has the habit of expanding its beta software launches to the US, the UK, India, Poland, and Germany not long after the initial domestic release. Galaxy Watch 8 users in Europe and the US should get the new UI features pretty soon.
Easier to become a One UI Beta member
Samsung is making it easier to enroll in the One UI beta program. | Image by Samsung
There's a notice shared via the Samsung Members app (in Korean) that details a new and simplified onboarding process for the One UI Beta program.
The process has been overhauled, and Samsung now requires users to agree to the general terms just once. This makes the enrollment much easier, and you can get a taste of different software across Samsung's ecosystem without the need to click "agree" multiple times.
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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