The smartwatch market is entering a different phase. Design refinements and battery improvements still matter, but companies are increasingly competing over how intelligently their watches understand the user’s health. Samsung is gearing up to challenge Apple with its upcoming Edge AI Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 this Summer.

According to Counterpoint Research, Edge AI smartwatch shipments grew 70 percent YoY during the first quarter of 2026, with their market share rising from 15 percent to 25 percent. The firm expects Edge AI devices to account for more than 32 percent of smartwatch shipments by the end of the year.

Edge AI

Edge AI allows machine learning tasks to run directly on the smartwatch instead of sending sensitive biometric information to cloud servers.

Apple dominates Edge AI segment, accounting for roughly 90 percent of shipments. Apple already uses its Neural Engine architecture to power health features including blood pressure alerts, sleep scoring, and Workout Buddy.

Samsung, however, appears ready to answer Edge AI with its Galaxy AI-powered Watch models. The company has already previewed several Samsung Health additions expected to arrive with its next Galaxy Watch.

Rather than simply displaying numbers, Samsung’s approach is shifting toward explaining what those numbers mean and suggesting practical actions.

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear Elite platform, featuring a dedicated NPU for on-device AI, could also help accelerate adoption across Wear OS devices.

Samsung is expected to unveil the new Galaxy Watch alongside its latest foldables during Galaxy Unpacked later this month, with pre-orders reportedly opening immediately after the event.

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