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Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra?
When Apple launched its Watch Ultra two years ago, many of us in the tech reviewing space thought it would be a niche product that catered only to endurance athletes or divers. But in the past two years, I’ve seen the Apple Watch Ultra quite regularly on the wrists of people who are clearly not extreme athletes. So, it turns out, people just want an Apple Watch with a bigger screen that doesn’t need to be charged every 24 hours.
Samsung has since followed with its own Watch Ultra, and it is both the South Korean tech giant and Android’s answer to Apple’s maximal wearable. I’ve been wearing it for the past six days, and I’m happy to report the Galaxy Watch Ultra does everything it promises, and it’s clearly the most capable and powerful smartwatch for Android users.
But the competition for the wrist space of an Android user is far tougher than it is for an iPhone user, and I think the $650 price will keep the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s appeal niche.
About this review: Samsung provided a Galaxy Watch Ultra for review. The company had no input in this article.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
The most powerful smartwatch for Android users
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a rugged smartwatch with a large vibrant screen, powered by the Exynos W1000 processor. It’s packed with sensors to track exercises, heart rate, and even sleep apnea.
- Battery Life
- 590mAh
- Operating System
- Wear OS Powered by Samsung (Wear OS 5)
- Case size
- 47mm
- Colors
- Titanium Sliver, Titanium Gray, Titanium White
- CPU
- Exynos W1000 (5 Core, 3nm)
- RAM
- 2GB
- Storage
- 32GB
- Connectivity
- LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS(L1+L5)/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo
- Price
- $649
Pros
- Rugged design still looks premium
- Gorgeous display
- Zippy performance
Cons
- Battery life noticeably shorter than marketing claims
- You need to pair the watch with three apps to use it fully. Three!
- No Qi wireless charging support
Pricing and availability
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is available for pre-order now, and goes on sale on July 24th at every major retailer that sells electronics, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Samsung’s own stores. The watch casing only comes in one 47mm size, but there are three colorways (Titanium Gray, Titanium White, Titanium Silver) and band options to allow for some variety. The watch features LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, and is priced at $650. As usual, Samsung has trade-in offers and installment plans to make the purchase easier for those who may not be able to part with $650 in one go.
Hardware overview
When product renders of the Galaxy Watch Ultra first leaked, many of us in the tech community thought the watch looked a bit too much like the Apple Watch Ultra. But in person, Samsung’s version differs enough to look like its own thing, especially the white colored version (officially “Titanium White”). The watch casing still has a mostly circular look as opposed to Apple’s rectangular vibe, and the raised bezel also provides a different aesthetic than Apple’s completely flat face. The raised bezel, while it does not physically rotate like older Samsung wearables, has a touch sensitive panel that can detect finger swipes. It requires a bit of force to trigger, but rubbing your finger along the bezel will simulate the effect of twisting the bezel.
My model here is the Titanium Gray with an orange marine band. The fit is comfortable, and the band does not feel sticky to my skin the way some cheaper vinyl bands do. The band can be swapped out with the press of a button, which triggers the release mechanism. The Watch Ultra supports 22mm lug width, so buying third party bands will be easy.
In person, the Galaxy Watch Ultra differs enough from the Apple Watch Ultra to look like its own thing.
Measuring almost exactly half an inch thick, the Galaxy Watch Ultra does protrude from my wrist quite a bit, but its rounded edges make the fit feel more normal compared to the Apple Watch Ultra’s sharp edges. There are three buttons on the right side: two clicky buttons sandwiching a circular crown that’s both rotatable and clickable. On the left side are speaker grills, which get really loud. I also like the casing’s matte finish.
The Watch Ultra’s 1.5-inch screen reaches a maximum of 3,000 nits (same as Apple’s Ultra) and it’s definitely bright enough to see even under direct Southern California sunlight. The 480 x 480 resolution is sharp enough that reading fine text on a white background is not an issue. The OLED panel produces pure deep blacks, of course; with the right watch face, the screen can be as vibrant or discreet as you like.
The Watch Ultra (along with the Watch 7) has an upgraded sensor which Samsung calls “BioActive.” It enables features including an accelerometer, barometer, blood oxygen monitor, gyroscope, heart rate monitor, pedometer, and a temperature sensor. The BioActive sensor has 16 LEDs (that always appear to be flashing), which is an increase in the number of LEDs and LED colors (blue, yellow, violet, and ultraviolet) which improve tracking.
Powering the watch is the 3nm Exynos W1000 chip, paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Battery size at 590 mAh is actually the same as the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro from two years ago, though the more efficient silicon improves battery life — but not as much as Samsung marketing claims.
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Software and performance
The Galaxy Watch Ultra runs on WearOS 5 with Samsung’s software on top. The good news is Samsung’s OneUI Watch skin mostly stays out the way, as the Galaxy Watch Ultra has a menu interface and overall look that’s stock WearOS. Useful Google apps are all here, from Google Maps to Google Assistant, although Bixby is also present and in fact is the default assistance. It feels smooth to navigate to Google Maps on the watch using the large and vibrant screen, and the loudspeakers can be heard even when I am riding a scooter on the hectic streets of Los Angeles. The UI feels smooth, as apps load instantly. Very rarely did I have to wait for any app or service to run.
New to the Galaxy Watch Ultra are gestures such as pinching your fingers or knocking twice with your fist to trigger actions. This uses a combination of the watch’s sensors to detect your hand/arm movement, and it’s surprisingly accurate. I enjoyed being able to summon Google Assistant with the knocking action, which I can pull off even when riding a bicycle or scooter when I do not have a free hand.
The larger screen also displays a full QWERTY keyboard that is a bit easier to type on than most other WearOS wearables. I was able to type entire sentences in text without issues. Voice dictation also works very well, but not quite on par with Apple Watch or Pixel Watch levels from my anecdotal testing.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra does everything a smartwatch should. It sends me notifications in real-time, and allows me to respond to text messages. It automatically detects my bicycle rides. It’s constantly measuring my heart rate and skin temperature. And it can also track sleep, which was quite accurate from one night of testing, although I stopped because I found the watch too bulky to wear to bed all night.
What I like
I am a big fan of the orange marine band, which feels very comfortable on my wrist. I am a bit finicky (some say snobby) about plastic and rubbery straps, as I find them sticky and they make my skin itchy. But this particular band’s ridged design means the strap isn’t fully closed around my wrist, as the grooves and holes provide small channels for moisture and air to flow through. And while I am neutral about the watch’s looks, the Galaxy Watch Ultra attracted four compliments from friends and strangers over the past few days.
While this is apparently not a new feature, I only just realized that Samsung’s wearables can run a full fledged Samsung Internet web browser, which means I can watch YouTube videos on my wrist. Now, I suppose this is a very niche use case, as most of us have our phones with us at all times, but I did manage to watch a quick video while in the bathroom one evening (as the phone was charging elsewhere).
What I don’t like
To use to its full capability, the Galaxy Watch Ultra needs to be paired with three proprietary apps: Samsung Health, Samsung Wearable, and Samsung Health Monitoring (the latter for tracking sleep apnea and EKG). Even for someone used to Samsung’s software hoops (e.g., how Samsung phones’ first party apps need to be updated via Samsung’s own app store which is separate from the Google Play Store), this seems to be overkill.
Battery life, as mentioned, also falls short of Samsung’s advertised 60 hour claim. My watch only lasted a bit more than two days on a single charge, and a reviewer friend told me that his watch also gave him only about 48 hours of juice. The Watch Ultra also does not support wireless charging from a conventional Qi charger, so you must use Samsung’s proprietary magnetic puck charger. This is not a watch I could take on a three day weekend trip without a charger, and that’s annoying.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra?
You should buy the Galaxy Watch Ultra if:
- You want the most rugged and capable watch for an Android device
- You want a WearOS watch with the most complete health tracking features
- You want a Galaxy Watch with a larger screen and battery
You should not buy the Galaxy Watch Ultra if:
- You want your watch to look sleek and minimal
- You want an affordable watch
- You have been using “normal” Galaxy Watches and never felt you needed more battery or screen
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is the most capable watch for Android phones, but most of the big improvements, from the new Exynos chip to BioActive sensors, are actually also available now on the more affordable ($300) Galaxy Watch 7. This means you should only buy the $650 Ultra if you want the extra battery life, rugged build, or the 10ATM water resistance (the standard Galaxy Watch 7 has just 5ATM).
As I said at the beginning, I see Apple Watch Ultras often on a daily basis worn by people who do not appear to be divers or serious athletes; they seem to just want the biggest and best Apple Watch that’s available. I am not sure if the Galaxy Watch Ultra will have that same effect, because generally speaking, Apple users are higher spenders and thus more open to the Apple Watch Ultra’s $700 price. For Android users, $650 for a watch — even one as awesome as the Galaxy Watch Ultra — seems a bit steep. I think most consumers who do pick up a Galaxy Watch this year would opt for the standard Watch 7. But the Galaxy Watch Ultra won’t disappoint those who decide they want to splurge.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
The most powerful smartwatch for Android users
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a rugged smartwatch with a large vibrant screen, powered by the Exynos W1000 processor. It’s packed with sensors to track exercises, heart rate, and even sleep apnea.
- Battery Life
- 590mAh
- Operating System
- Wear OS Powered by Samsung (Wear OS 5)
- Case size
- 47mm
- Colors
- Titanium Sliver, Titanium Gray, Titanium White
- CPU
- Exynos W1000 (5 Core, 3nm)
- RAM
- 2GB
- Storage
- 32GB
- Connectivity
- LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz, NFC, G PS(L1+L5)/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo
- Price
- $649
Pros
- Rugged design still looks premium
- Gorgeous display
- Zippy performance
Cons
- Battery life noticeably shorter than marketing claims
- You need to pair the watch with three apps to use it fully. Three!
- No Qi wireless charging support