Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 leak reveals launch timing — and it's sooner than we thought

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch Active 4 release date
(Image credit: Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 4, the next-generation versions of the company's flagship wearables, could both be launching soon. 

According to a Twitter thread from tipster Ice Universe, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 are due in the second quarter of 2021. This means Samsung could be launching its newest smartwatch models earlier than usual — the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 debuted in August 2020.

If its successors are actually scheduled to release in Q2, that means they'll appear sometime between April and June. That said, it seems unusual that Samsung would release two new smartwatches less than a year since it overhauled the original Samsung Galaxy Watch.

What's less unusual is the names assigned to these rumored wearables. While one could argue it makes more sense to call the the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 follow-up the Galaxy Watch Active 3, Samsung is known for skipping numbers to avoid confusion among shoppers. That's why it called its latest smartwatch the Galaxy Watch 3, even though it was only the second lifestyle Galaxy Watch.

Samsung has never introduced Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active models beside one another. Based on recent intel, it seems for the first time the company will give customers two new options, similar to how Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE together this past fall.

The standard Galaxy Watch will likely get the top-shelf features (including the rotating bezel, we hope) while the slimmer Galaxy Watch Active could be less expensive and more fitness-focused.

There's also no guarantee that Samsung has two different models coming as soon as IceUniverse  reports. The leaker shared a similarly questionable tweet that the next Galaxy Watch will replace Tizen with Android. While their account has a solid track record with Samsung intel, it's best to take Galaxy Watch rumors with a grain of salt until we see more substantial evidence.

Kate Kozuch

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She covers smartwatches, TVs and audio devices, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.