Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 at Unpacked, and the launch-day verdicts on the Watch 9 were muted. Engadget: "It should be less of a surprise, then, to see the company stay the course, bringing only the most minor of improvements to the new Watch 9." It ships with Wear OS 7 and the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip, with a 390mAh cell at 40mm and 445mAh at 44mm.
Tom's Guide reached the same place: "The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 represents a minor upgrade over its predecessor, with the same overall design, screen brightness, and size options." Its list of drawbacks is the useful part, because it names what did not arrive: no Classic model this year, an unchanged display, and a price increase.