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Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra Review: Samsung's Ultimate Smartwatch Technology - A Review by Trung Kien Techdevinco
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a "masterpiece" in Samsung's lineup of smartwatches. With excellent build quality and a host of outdoor-focused features, it promises to satisfy both adventure enthusiasts and loyal Samsung fans. However, its large size and relatively high price might be barriers for some. The battery life is also not as impressive as expected, but with many notable improvements, it remains an appealing choice.
Pros:
Robust titanium casing
New programmable Quick button
A wide range of useful features
Cons:
Battery life needs improvement
Screen size is not larger than the 44mm version of the Galaxy Watch
Quick Review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is considered Samsung's best smartwatch to date, technically speaking. With a larger, more durable design and longer battery life, it offers a completely new perspective compared to previous designs. Every design detail has been changed to give a sturdier and more durable feel. The strap is thicker and more durable, and the casing is made of scratch-resistant titanium. The round watch face is mounted on a squared frame called a “cushion” along with a new orange Quick button.
Despite many similarities to the Apple Watch Ultra, the Galaxy Watch Ultra still stands out with features like more accurate GPS, an emergency siren, a Night mode with red light, and decent but not exceptional battery life. After a week of testing, this watch was easy and comfortable on the wrist, offering many attractive features.
Samsung's Galaxy AI upgrades in sleep and recovery scores also make this watch quite effective if you can wear it overnight. However, its price is quite high considering the lack of significant screen upgrades and its resemblance to Apple’s Ultra concept. Nonetheless, when considered on its own, it remains the best smartwatch Samsung has ever produced.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra Specifications
Component | |
Price | $649 / £599 / AU$1,299 |
Dimensions | 47.4 x 47.4 x 12.1mm |
Weight | 60.5g |
Case/Bezel | Titanium |
Display | 480 x 480 full-color AMOLED |
GPS | Dual-frequency GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
Battery Life | 590mAh, up to 100 hours |
Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi |
Water Resistance | 10ATM + IP68 |
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra will be available on July 24th and is currently available for pre-order starting at $649 / £599 / AU$1,299. Although it is the most expensive Galaxy Watch to date, it is cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra and some of the most premium Garmin models.
SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ULTRA: DESIGN
SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ULTRA More durable than ever, extremely reliable Convenient new Quick button
Some design elements inspired by the Apple Watch Ultra
The Durable and Sophisticated Design of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Super Durable and Reliable
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is designed to be more durable than ever, capable of withstanding harsh conditions. The scratch-resistant titanium casing ensures high durability, keeping the watch looking new even when used in extreme environments. The thick silicone strap, specially designed for the Watch Ultra, partially made from recycled plastics, not only protects the environment but also enhances durability.
Convenient New Quick Button
Another noteworthy feature is the new programmable Quick button, allowing users to easily start workouts, switch between segments, or skip to the next workout. This feature is particularly useful for sports enthusiasts and those who like to train in various disciplines, such as triathlon.
Influences from Apple Watch Ultra
It’s undeniable that the design of the Galaxy Watch Ultra draws influence from the Apple Watch Ultra. The full-color round AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 480, using always-on Sapphire Crystal glass, offers an excellent visual experience. Samsung has kept the screen size the same as the 44mm version of the Galaxy Watch 7, which helps reduce production costs without compromising display quality.
Waterproof and Resistant to Extreme Temperatures
The titanium casing of the Galaxy Watch Ultra meets IP68 and 10ATM water resistance standards, allowing the watch to withstand depths of up to 100 meters for 10 minutes and at a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. The watch is also designed to endure extreme temperature conditions, meeting the MIL-STD-810H military standard.
User Experience
Although we couldn’t test the Galaxy Watch Ultra in extreme conditions like Everest or in a fireplace, initial impressions show that the watch is very solid and more premium compared to aluminum Galaxy Watch versions. The 60g weight is not overly heavy, and the battery can last up to 100 hours in power-saving mode or several days with moderate usage.
Interface and Features
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra retains the traditional two buttons, combined with a powerful AMOLED touchscreen, providing a smooth user experience. Samsung users will feel at home with this interface, despite the design changes. The watch offers a range of options, from starting workouts to switching between training modes easily and intuitively.
Aesthetics and Style
The design of the Galaxy Watch Ultra can be a matter of debate when it comes to aesthetics. The all-white version actually looks quite sleek. However, the version with a bright orange strap and gray titanium casing might stand out too much and may not be suitable for all situations. Nonetheless, this is more of a personal preference issue.
Outstanding Durability
What cannot be denied is that the Galaxy Watch Ultra can withstand temperature conditions and impacts that would destroy a regular Watch 7. This opens up many new applications for the watch, especially when using third-party apps. Although it lacks a dedicated dive computer feature like the Apple Watch Ultra, using Komoot on a snowy hike or wearing it during mountain biking just became much safer with the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Design Score: 4/5
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is not just a stylish wearable but also a powerful assistant for outdoor enthusiasts. With its superior features and design, it deserves to be one of the top choices in today’s smartwatch lineup.
SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ULTRA: FEATURES
Dual-Precision GPS
All Samsung's Usual Smart Features
Gesture Controls
High-Accuracy GPS and Smart Features
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is equipped with high-accuracy GPS, utilizing dual technology for more precise positioning than ever. This is particularly useful for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy running, cycling, swimming, and hiking. This new GPS feature allows you to track your route and location accurately, ensuring you never lose your way.
Programmable Quick Button
The programmable Quick button is one of the most valuable upgrades on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. You can program this button to start a workout immediately, switch between segments, or skip to the next workout. This feature is particularly useful for activities such as running, swimming, cycling, and various other sports, helping you train more efficiently.
TrackBack Functionality
The TrackBack feature, first introduced on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, is an excellent tool for adventure lovers. It allows you to retrace your steps on a GPS-driven route, helping you easily find your way back to the starting point. This is particularly useful when participating in activities such as hiking or cycling in unfamiliar environments.
Dive Mode and Water Resistance Features
The dive mode on the Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with a water lock and a water ejection feature, accompanied by a series of very conspicuous beeps. This feature was tested during a surfing session and worked perfectly, ensuring your watch remains safe and functional in water environments.
Comprehensive Health Monitoring
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is equipped with an upgraded BioActive sensor array, allowing for heart rate, blood oxygen, heart rate variability, skin temperature, electrocardiogram, and body composition analysis using BIA. These measurements provide detailed information about your overall health, helping you better understand your physical condition and adjust your lifestyle accordingly.
Samsung Health and One UI Watch 6 Applications
Samsung Health and One UI Watch 6 are powerful tools that assist you in tracking and improving your health. This app aggregates the information from your watch and processes it to provide personalized insights and detailed health and fitness analyses. The Energy Score in particular helps you track workouts and determine whether you’ve hit your movement, exercise, and calorie burn goals.
Third-Party Apps
The Wear OS operating system on the Galaxy Watch Ultra allows you to install and use many third-party apps, expanding the watch’s functionality. Apps like Komoot, AllTrails, and Strava can take advantage of Samsung’s high-accuracy GPS to provide a better experience for outdoor enthusiasts.
Gesture Controls
The Galaxy Watch Ultra also features gesture controls similar to those on the Apple Watch. You can use a double-pinch gesture to take a photo or dismiss an alarm when paired with a Samsung phone. This is an interesting feature, although somewhat niche, but more gesture controls are likely to be updated in the future.
Features Score: 4.5/5
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is not just a premium wearable with a durable design and smart features but also a powerful assistant that helps you effectively monitor and improve your health.
SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ULTRA: PERFORMANCE
Hardy, reliable, and adventure-readyGreat running metricsBattery life still not impressive
I tested the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra over a week, draining the battery and testing as many features as I could during that time, taking calls, replying to WhatsApp messages, using third-party integrations like AllTrails, and trying out the body composition tool. Samsung’s full suite of smartwatch and fitness features are all present and correct here, and they work very well. But in terms of testing its adventure credentials, my first port of call was a morning spent surfing.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra’s water lock held up just fine under my wetsuit for over an hour in the water. Although Samsung has dedicated profiles for windsurfing and kitesurfing, there isn’t one for surfing. The best Garmin watches get a surfing profile with GPS, which can estimate the number of waves you catch, how fast and far you go, even identifying your best wave of the day.
I created a custom workout using the standard template to track heart rate and calorie expenditure, naming it ‘Surfing’ in the Samsung Health app. That was enough for the watch to send an approximation of my efforts to Samsung Health to monitor my recovery. The Ultra also synced up wonderfully with the Samsung Galaxy Ring to estimate my Energy Score based on the Ultra’s workout recording and the Ring’s sleep tracking. Samsung’s purported ultra-durable watch held up well in the water, withstanding waves, salt, and a few tumbles off the board. I’d feel very safe taking it out again.
Running was even better. During a 5K around London’s Hyde Park, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra was able to estimate a whole host of metrics, including heart rate (sorted into heart rate zones for easy at-a-glance reading), cadence, elevation gain, and all the usual GPS-driven metrics. As usual, I’m satisfied with Samsung’s GPS accuracy based on comparisons with the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Samsung’s advanced running metrics also merit mention: the watch showed me a neat real-time graph of my running symmetry, allowing me to see if I was favoring one leg over the other. As I was running across an incline, I deliberately swerved over to the edge of the path to accentuate that incline and was rewarded with a change in the symmetry graph. Really good stuff here.
On Samsung’s basic workout profiles, there are still no real-time map views to show positioning or offer directions (you have to use another app and track workouts in the background for this), and I didn’t love the constant touchscreen swiping I had to do to change screens while working out, as you can’t cycle through views with any of the three buttons. This issue reared its head again during my third outdoor workout that week: circuit training.
After a warm-up run, I was doing pull-ups on outdoor bars and mountain climbers on the ground, and I had to smear the Watch Ultra’s touchscreen with my dirty, sweaty hands to cycle through screens. I could pause the workout with the Quick button, but I wished that the new button had a rotation functionality like Apple’s digital crown, but this was my only gripe. In terms of metrics, the watch held up fine.
Another issue is that damn battery life. During my chat with Samsung’s VP of MX, James Kitto, he said the watch will top out at about 100 hours of battery life, and if it’s in low-power mode and you disable some functions like the always-on display, I could certainly see it reaching those heights. But with the always-on display enabled and a couple of GPS workouts undertaken, it barely lasted into day three. That’s enough for existing Samsung Galaxy Watch or Apple Watch fans to be satisfied, but this is a watch that’s being marketed as a high-performance device, and I yearn for something I can take away for a weekend adventure, safe in the knowledge that I won’t need to charge it.
Performance Score: 3.5/5
SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ULTRA: Price and Availability
Price: $649 / £599 / AU$1,299.
Cheaper than premium Garmins and Apple Watch Ultra
Still quite expensive for a design upgrade
With a price of $649 / £599 / AU$1,299, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is in the premium segment, cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra but still more expensive than many other smartwatches. This product will officially be available on the market on July 24th and is currently available for pre-order.
Value Score: 3.5/5
SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ULTRA: Should You Buy It?
Buy it if:
You want a big Wear OS watch with adventure features.
You need better battery life than the Galaxy Watch 7.
You love outdoor activities.
Don't buy it if:
You use an iPhone; go for the Apple Watch Ultra instead.
You need long battery life; consider Garmin, Coros, or Polar models.
You want a dedicated sports watch without third-party apps or WhatsApp.
Similar Product Comparison
Attribute | ||||
Customer Reviews | 4.1/5 stars (34 reviews) | 4.1/5 stars (34 reviews) | 4.5/5 stars (4,327 reviews) | 4.2/5 stars (7 reviews) |
Price | $649.99 | $299.99 | $339.99 | $199.99 |
Colors | Gray, Silver, White | Green, Cream, Silver | Black, Silver | Black, Silver, Pink Gold |
Bluetooth and LTE | Yes | Yes | Yes | Bluetooth only |
Operating System (OS) | Wear OS Powered by Samsung | Wear OS Powered by Samsung | Wear OS Powered by Samsung | Wear OS Powered by Samsung |
Size | 47mm | 40mm, 44mm | 43mm, 47mm | 40mm |
Bezel Material | Titanium | Aluminum | Stainless Steel | Aluminum |
RAM / Memory | 2GB / 32GB | 2GB / 16GB | 2GB / 16GB | 1.5GB / 16GB |
Display | Sapphire Crystal | Sapphire Crystal | Sapphire Crystal | Sapphire Crystal |
Battery | 590mAh | 40mm: 300mAh, 44mm: 425mAh | 43mm: 300mAh, 47mm: 425mAh | 247mAh |
Durability | 10ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H | 5ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H | 5ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H | 5ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H |
User Interface | 3 buttons + digital bezel | 2 buttons + digital bezel | 2 buttons + rotating bezel | 2 buttons + digital bezel |
Other | 2 mics, speaker, haptic motor | Mic, speaker, motor | Mic, speaker, motor | Mic, speaker, motor |
Customer Reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Rating: 4.1/5 stars from 34 reviews.
Feedback: The product is praised for its robust design and numerous useful features, but some customers have complaints about the price and battery life.
Rating: 4.1/5 stars from 34 reviews.
Feedback: Customers appreciate the value and performance relative to the price, though some complaints about the battery and screen size persist.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars from 4,327 reviews.
Feedback: Users love the classic design and modern features, with battery life and durability highly rated.
Rating: 4.2/5 stars from 7 reviews.
Feedback: The product is praised for its reasonable price and stable performance, but it lacks LTE and some premium features.
Additional Value for Customers
Comprehensive Health Monitoring
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is not just a physical activity tracker; it is a comprehensive health assistant. With features like heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen, heart rate variability, and skin temperature tracking, the watch helps you monitor important health indicators. The BIA body composition analysis feature provides detailed insights into your body fat, muscle, and bone ratio, helping you adjust your training and nutrition regimen accordingly.
Advanced Sleep Analysis
Sleep and recovery scores from Galaxy AI give you detailed insights into your sleep quality and recovery status. This information helps you adjust your sleep habits for a healthier lifestyle.
Diverse Workout Support
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra offers various workout modes from running, cycling, and swimming to other sports. The programmable Quick button helps you start or stop workouts easily. The TrackBack mode helps you find your way back during outdoor activities.
Smart Features
Smart features like taking calls, replying to WhatsApp messages, and controlling music help you stay connected without having to pull out your phone. Gesture controls and compatibility with third-party apps on Wear OS further expand the watch's usability.
Better Battery Life
Although the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s battery life is not the best, it is sufficient for daily activities and short trips. The power-saving mode helps extend the usage time up to 100 hours.
Durable Design
The titanium casing and sapphire crystal glass help the watch resist scratches and withstand harsh conditions. This is an ideal watch for adventure lovers and outdoor activities.
For more detailed information and to purchase the product, please visit the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra on Amazon.
Overall Review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Category | Comments | Score |
Value | Cheaper than other premium watches in the segment, but still an expensive design upgrade. | 3.5/5 |
Design | Bulky and bold, but robust, durable, and well thought out. | 4/5 |
Features | Packed with a wide range of smart features. | 4.5/5 |
Performance | Offers great metrics, but there are a few frustrations in everyday use. | 3.5/5 |
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