I stopped upgrading my Galaxy Watch every year; here's what I learned

Tech companies release something new almost every month, and I used to feel one step behind if I didn't keep up with everything I wanted. I used to buy a handful of gadgets each year without asking myself why.

I bought the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 in 2023 fully expecting to replace it within a year or two, the same way I'd treat the Apple Watch and phones for most of my adult life.

Plenty of people go through the same ordeal, same yearly upgrade ritual without questioning it, and I was one of them for years.

This time, though, I didn't upgrade, and it wasn't a dramatic decision. I just never got around to replacing it, and that accident turned into an actual realization somewhere along the way.

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I've now skipped five Galaxy Watch generations

Watch 7, Watch Ultra, Watch 8, Watch 9, and Ultra 2

Since my Galaxy Watch 6 launch, Samsung has released the Galaxy Watch 7 and the original Watch Ultra, followed by the Watch 8, and the Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 this past July.

That means I've seen five models come and go, each with a dedicated launch event, marketing materials that failed to convince me, and a review cycle, without feeling any real attraction towards the newer models.

I was surprised when I penned down the models I didn't upgrade to. It's a lot of hardware to skip without feeling like I was missing something important in my daily routine.

Each new model came with its typical set of reviews calling it an upgrade worth considering. For me, none of them ever made a strong enough case to act on.

Diminishing returns, not price, made the decision easy for me

I kept asking what I'd actually gain

Price made the decision easier for me, sure, but it wasn't the reason I stopped upgrading.

Every time a new model saw daylight, I'd ask myself what I would gain by switching from the current to the latest, and the answer kept coming up short no matter how convincing the announcement was.

Hardware improvements used to feel obvious, and now they mostly don't. That shift applies equally to wearables as it does to phones or tablets.

A newer chip or slightly better sensors isn't a compelling reason for me anymore, not when my Galaxy Watch 6 does everything I need it to.

My Galaxy Watch 6 doesn't feel outdated

Fast, sharp, and handling everything I actually use it for

My Watch 6 is still fast to this day, and the display is surprisingly crisp more than two years after I bought it. I haven't noticed any lag or stutter, so good job, Samsung.

It handles notifications, workouts, health tracking, calls, and everyday smartwatch tasks without making me feel like I need to upgrade it. It still makes me resist what's currently on the shelves.

I never thought I'd make a purchase that'll last this many years without any hassle. I expected some signs of aging, but I haven't noticed even one, which is a major win for me.

It still looks brand-new, people still ask questions about it, and it handles everything I throw at it like a charm. I would keep going unless absolutely necessary, or if there's an exclusive feature that fits the way I use my watch.

It's still getting updates, but maybe not for much longer

History says software support would end

My Watch 6 is currently receiving software updates, a full three years after I got my hands on it.

That is genuinely solid longevity, especially compared to how wearables lose support by their own manufacturers.

Samsung's track record suggests it will end support for older hardware, but I suspect it will last for a year or two more before giving up.

The Galaxy Watch 4 recently lost support after four major Wear OS generations later, and my Watch 6 is on its fourth jump with One UI 9.

Obsolescence isn't automatic just because something newer exists

A smartwatch doesn't stop being good when a newer model is released, even though it's easy to feel that way every year when the ads start rolling out.

My Watch 6 proved that, and it gave me more reasons to stick with it than newer models gave me to upgrade.

There's a real difference between a phone that's actually struggling and one that just isn't the newest anymore. The same logic applies to watches.

Battery health deterioration, software support ending, or a genuinely useful new feature would get me to upgrade now, not simply having the option to do so.

A smartwatch is a companion device, not a replacement for your handset, which is why upgrading it to the latest model doesn't make sense anymore, at least to me.

For now, Watch 6 keeps doing what I need it to do, even if it has a wide generation gap. I will upgrade it eventually, but it'll be the watch asking me to, not because Samsung did.

That's a small twist in how I see upgrades now, and it's also affected my decision to upgrade smartphones every year. It's not about whether something newer exists; it's whether my existing gadget started falling short.