Samsung quietly tests galaxy watch 9 firmware while apple naps on series 12

Samsung’s firmware elves are already stress-testing the next Galaxy Watch, and the breadcrumb is a single string: SM-L345U. The model number surfaced on a U.S. test server late last week, confirming that the company has pushed the Watch 9 out of the lab and into carrier validation—months before the usual August curtain raise.

Same sizes, slightly fatter cell

Leaked certification docs show the 44 mm variant carrying a rated 435 mAh battery, up from the 425 mAh rated pack inside the current Watch 8. The delta is only ten milliamp-hours, but in smartwatch land that translates to roughly 40 extra minutes of always-on display before the low-battery icon starts screaming. The 40 mm sibling keeps its predecessor’s footprint, so wrists won’t notice a difference—only the charger will, marginally.

What’s missing is the Ultra sequel’s firmware; insiders say Samsung is holding that binary for a separate drop to avoid cannibalizing hype. If the pattern holds, both wearables will share the Unpacked stage in July, just as summer heat drives runners back outdoors and calorie guilt spikes.

Apple’s yawning gap

Meanwhile, supply-chain chatter out of Cupertino paints the Apple Watch Series 12 as a repainted Series 11 with the same aging 18-hour promise. No new sensor nodes, no blood-pressure optics, just a palette swap. Samsung’s engineers, smelling blood, are reportedly cramming every extra mAh they can scavenge into the same stainless shell.

Bottom line: if you’re wrist-shopping this year, the real action is in Seoul, not Cupertino. Samsung’s battery sliver might be modest, but when your competition shows up empty-handed, even a crumbsize upgrade looks like a feast.