Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: Bold design and ultra smart features for Android users
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra available in Titanium gray, Titanium white and Titanium silver. Picture: Samsung.
It was only a matter of time before Samsung would follow Apple’s lead in launching an Ultra version of its highly successful smartwatch line. The new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a rugged smartwatch designed with elite athletes in mind. The square body with a round display might sound like an odd combination, but I must admit I love how it looks on the wrist. While it might not appeal to everyone, for Android users, it combines all the best in activity and health tracking with all the best smart features.
The Watch Ultra is bulky and bold — especially with the orange strap — but there’s something undeniably striking about it. It resembles an evolution of Samsung’s long-standing Galaxy Watch series, particularly the sporty Galaxy Watch Active.
While I love the look of the stock orange band, I didn’t find it super comfortable. Made from silicon, it should be very durable, but I’d prefer a sleeker and softer option for general use and sleep tracking. Thankfully, Samsung does sell a Trail band that looks more comfortable, and swapping bands is quick and easy. The new band connector means third-party options are limited, though I’m hopeful more stylish bands will be available.
Fans of previous Samsung smartwatches may lament the absence of the physical rotating bezel. While the bezel is still physically there, it no longer rotates. Samsung likely did this for durability, but they once marketed it as a major feature. That said, unlike many competitors' designs, the touch bezel works surprisingly well and is highly responsive, guiding your finger along the circular edge.
The watch also includes a customisable quick button shielded between two buttons, making it easy to access your most-used apps. While the quick button looks like a dial, it doesn’t rotate, which means no unintentional inputs. It works well, but I’m a sucker for physical buttons and dials and miss them on this gorgeous timepiece.
If you press and hold the quick button for five seconds, it will activate a powerful 86-decibel siren, which Samsung claims can be heard up to 180 metres away.
An area where Galaxy watches have struggled since moving to Wear OS is battery life. Using the watch with all the features I wanted enabled, including the always-on display and every tracking feature, I easily got two full days of use before needing a charge. And that’s with constant notifications, activity tracking, and sleep monitoring.
Samsung claims the Watch Ultra can last up to 100 hours, but this is done with power-saving mode enabled. An exercise power-saving mode can also last up to 48 hours.
Charging isn’t one of the Watch Ultra's best features. It takes almost two hours to go from zero to 100%, which is slow compared to other premium smartwatches.
Samsung also removed the reverse wireless charging option, a feature in their previous models. You can still charge the watch using your phone with the magnet wireless charging puck, but that feels more like a workaround than a solution since you need the charger to hand. This will be even slower than plugging the charger into a power adapter. I used the Z Fold6 to test this, and with the watch at 6%, it told me it would take 3 hours and 15 minutes to charge it fully. Using a standard charger, this went down to 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The Watch Ultra is silky smooth, and responsive. It handles tasks like receiving notifications, controlling music, and seamlessly tracking workouts without lag or stuttering.
A new feature for the Watch Ultra is the double pinch gesture, which allows you to control various functions like answering calls or taking photos by tapping your thumb and index finger together. This was introduced on the Apple Watch, and while I like the idea in principle, I often need to remember to use it.
Samsung plans to support the watch with software updates for four years, so there’s hope this feature will improve over time.
Samsung is generally the class leader in display quality, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra is no exception. It has a stunning 1.5-inch OLED display boasting 3,000 nits of peak brightness. The display is crisp, vibrant, and easy to read, even under direct sunlight. Its size and clarity make it incredibly practical during workouts, where you can view all your stats at a glance without squinting.
As you’d expect, it’s also durable, thanks to the sapphire crystal screen, which has held up remarkably well against scratches and scuffs on my wrist over the last few weeks.
One of my favourite features in health and fitness is the Energy Score, which tells you how ready you are for the day based on your sleep, activity level, and heart rate variability.
The watch also offers sleep apnea monitoring and the new Advanced Glycation End-products (AGES) index, which shows how your diet could affect your metabolic health. Unfortunately, sleep apnea detection isn’t available here yet. It's also worth noting that you'll need a recent Samsung phone to use the ECG, blood pressure, and sleep apnea features.
Heart rate monitoring, ECG, and blood pressure tracking are all incredibly accurate. I compared the blood pressure readings with a traditional monitor, and the results were nearly identical. You must calibrate it with a standard monitor to use it as a blood pressure monitor.
The watch automatically detects various activities, like running or strength training, and provides detailed metrics. It also offers a breakdown of your sleep stages, restfulness, and blood oxygen levels, plus personalised sleep coaching after a week of data collection. It’s one of the most comprehensive sleep-tracking systems I’ve used.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is bulky and may not suit small wrists. However, it has improved battery life over standard Galaxy Watches and excellent health and fitness features. It has a lot going for it. There’s something special about this watch, which performs as well as the top fitness trackers while maintaining all the benefits of a feature-rich smartwatch.
€609 – Samsung
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