More Galaxy Watch Models Get New Update in the US — Brings an Important Fix

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Samsung is expanding the May 2026 software update to more Galaxy Watch users in the US. After the Galaxy Watch 7, Watch 8, and Watch Ultra, all older models are getting the latest update stateside. While the official changelog only mentions the latest security patches, the update may also include an important bug fix.

May 2026 update now available for Galaxy Watch 6 and older models in the US

For the past few weeks, Samsung has been rolling out new updates for its Wear OS watches — Watch 4 and newer. The company first updated the last two generations, with the update hitting US units a few days ago. Then, it started updating the rest of the lineup. The Galaxy Watch 4, Watch 5, Watch 6, and Watch FE series initially received the update in Korea, and it’s now live in the US too.

All of these watches appear to be getting the new software with build versions ending in ZE1. Well, the identifier could vary depending on the model, size, connectivity variant, and carrier, but expect the same changelog.

Speaking of which, the official release notes supplied by Samsung do not reveal much. The company only specifies that the devices are getting the May 2026 security patch. But there could be more, and we are not talking about the general stability improvements and system optimizations.

Over the past few weeks, some Galaxy Watch users reported a frustrating issue when opening apps from the app drawer. Instead of launching normally, the watch would briefly display a black screen before immediately returning to the app drawer. The bug didn’t make apps completely unusable, but it certainly hurt the overall experience and made the software feel less polished.

The May 2026 update appears to fix the issue. We checked on multiple Galaxy Watch models running the latest update, and none had this bug. Other users who previously reported issues while opening apps also noted that the new firmware release fixed the problems.

If you are using a Galaxy Watch in the US or anywhere else in the world, make sure to install the latest update when available. To check for updates, launch the Galaxy Wearable app on your connected smartwatch, go to Watch settings, select Watch software update, and hit Download and install. If no update shows up, wait a few days and check again.

Written by

Sumit Adhikari

Sumit, a life-long Samsung user, is passionate about technology and has been professionally writing on tech since 2017. He’s a mathematics graduate by education and enjoys teaching basic mathematics tricks to school kids in his spare time. Sumit believes in artificial intelligence and dreams of a fully open, intelligent and connected world.

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