Samsung Galaxy S22 name accidentally confirmed in new Watch 4 update

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (Image credit: Future / Srivatsa Ramesh)

Samsung looks like it's accidentally let slip the (blindingly obvious) name for its new phone - it will, indeed, be called the Galaxy S22.

How have we discerned this unsurprising fact? From the newly-released software for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and 4 Classic, which clearly starts with the fact the update includes: 'Live Wallpaper Watch face update with the Galaxy S22's wallpaper'.

A screenshot of the new Watch 4 update

(Image credit: Reddit)

We found the above update when searching through Reddit to find out if the new Watch 4 software had downloaded - and found a classic example of two divisions not fully talking to one another.

The same screenshot has been posted three times, in two languages, as the update is confirmed to be rolling out in parts of Europe, the UK, India and the US already. The same update, with the S22 wording, has been confirmed in Spanish too, so we're pretty confident of its validity.

What does this tell us?

Although Samsung has been pretty open about the fact there's a new member (or, more likely, members) of the Galaxy S series coming at the Unpacked event, it's not said for certain that it will be called the S22.

And while it's been pretty likely, there was the odd moment where Samsung leapt from the Galaxy S10 to the S20 (either to allow the S series to match the year of launch... or to make sure that it had a model number that was greater than the latest iPhone, depending on how conspiratorial you are) so there was always a chance that Samsung might have sprung a naming surprise.

So, when you're watching the Galaxy S22 launch and you hear the S22 name, you can take a deep, relaxed sigh and lean back, safe in the knowledge you knew about this before the multitude of others watching the Galaxy S22 live stream.

(And, for more entertainment, follow our Samsung Galaxy S22 live blog to get our take on the whole event as we bring you all the rumor and leaks before the event, in-depth analysis as it happens and (hopefully) a chance to preview the devices at some point soon).

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.