Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Review: Life-Changing?

We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.

80%

80%

A meaningful upgrade

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 fixes the original's two biggest weaknesses - battery life and performance - and adds genuinely useful proactive health features. It won't replace a Garmin for serious athletes, but for everyone else, it's one of the best smartwatches money can buy.

The Good

1. 35% bigger battery with noticeably longer real-world life
2. Snapdragon Wear Elite chip makes it faster and snappier
3. Proactive health monitoring is genuinely useful
4. Brightest smartwatch display available at 5,000 nits

The Not So Good

1. Still only one size option (47mm)
2. Battery life still no match for Garmin

• 8
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks wearing the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, and I’m impressed.

I appreciate you need more of a review than that, though, which is why I’d like to elaborate a little and explain why, at this moment in time, health devices like the Watch Ultra 2 are incredibly important to me.

I’ve always been someone who opts for the ‘best’ smartwatch in the lineup, even if it’s usually called the ‘ultra’ and usually struggles to deliver ultra-like stuff when you most need it at the top of a desolate mountain top ridge.

I’ve never found myself in that situation, obviously. But you get the point. Most people who do end up in those pickles (although they don’t see them as pickles, because they’re hard as nails) just buy a Garmin.

Samsung’s latest contender for the ultimate smartwatch crown delivers in a couple of key areas that will matter to most people and which fix two of my biggest issues with the first version.

But it means more to me than that for one very personal reason.

What’s actually new?

The problem I had with the original Galaxy Watch Ultra was that I really liked it. It had a circular face (always my preferred watch style), a purposeful, chunky design, and an orange watch strap. This was a problem because the less-than-stellar battery life and sluggish performance (when compared against the Apple Watch Ultra) meant I didn’t wear it as much as I wanted to.

I was, therefore, delighted to hear that two of the primary updates to the Watch Ultra 2 were focused on battery life and performance. And it has made a noticeable difference.

Samsung has put its biggest smartwatch battery ever into the Watch Ultra 2. It offers 35% more capacity and, while it doesn’t deliver multiple extra days of battery life, I feel like I’m charging the new one far less than the old one. Which is what matters. I don’t do in-depth battery tests, but at a rough estimate, it feels like I’m getting around three days from a single charge. Not Garmin levels, but this isn’t a Garmin.

When it comes to performance, Samsung has switched chip suppliers from itself to Qualcomm. The original Watch Ultra was powered by Samsung’s Exynos W1000. The Ultra 2 is running the Snapdragon Wear Elite. The latter is better, clearly, because the new watch is faster, snappier, and feels far closer to Apple’s wearable.

Job done?

Not quite.

Samsung has also chucked the brightest smartwatch display on the market into the Ultra 2. It’s capable of pumping out 5,000 nits of peak brightness, and while I believe we hit the noticeable threshold for nittery on smartwatch displays a while ago, it’s nice to know it’s there.

Samsung has worked on the band, too, which is softer than it was before, and to a noticeable degree. It’s more pliable, too, yet still manages to sit securely on your wrist without choking all of the blood from your hand. If you sleep with your smartwatch on, it’s a considerate upgrade from Samsung.

The watch itself still comes in one size (47mm) but is slightly thinner and has a marginally bigger screen thanks to a reduction in bezel size. As a package, it’s noticeable if you had the previous version, but not overwhelmingly so, because it doesn’t need to be.

If you’re wondering – yes, it’s still made from titanium.

This is, essentially, the same watch as before, but it’s faster, lasts longer, and is easier to wear. As updates go, that’ll do very nicely.

Weighing up whether to go Samsung or Apple for your wrist? Check out our Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 hands-on for more on Samsung’s latest wearable lineup.

The market positioning

Time to address the elephant in the room. Although it’s one I’m more than comfortable talking about, because it doesn’t really matter.

If you’re a serious runner, hiker, trail runner, athlete, or endurance person, you’ll buy a Garmin watch. You won’t buy an Ultra watch from Samsung or Apple. Well, maybe you will for the daily convenience of the ecosystems, but when things get serious, you’ll always grab your Garmin.

That’s fine. We’re a long way from devices like the Watch Ultra 2 fully competing with the best fitness watches.

Samsung’s watch is still a fitness watch – but there’s a reason you’re reading this review. There’s a reason I’d opt for a Samsung or Apple watch over a Garmin. It’s because I’m the person this watch is designed for, and we don’t need to over-analyse why that’s the case. Because it doesn’t matter.

Speaking from my point of view, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is the perfect example of a smartwatch that delivers exactly what I need at this point in my life.

Why the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 matters to me

Without going into too much detail, I’ve recently encountered a health event that has knocked me back a bit. The good news is I’m fixed, but the challenge is getting back to where I was, both physically and mentally.

This isn’t an insurmountable task, but it requires more focus on my health, mindset, and my approach to life than ever before.

I’m suddenly far more interested in my sleep patterns, my heart rate and heart rate zones, and how ready my body is each day to exercise. I’ve got countless smartwatches, rings, and bands that can help me with this and, if I’m honest, they all do the same thing. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is just the latest in a long line of rather helpful health tech that can keep an eye on my body relatively accurately.

This is partly why I don’t need a Garmin (although I have several, obviously). Those watches go into too much detail – far more than I’d ever need to know about my aerobic performance. Samsung delivers, in my opinion, just the right amount of data for me to work from.

Which brings me to the latest health updates.

New health stuff

At the press briefing for its latest ‘Unpacked’ products this summer, Samsung revealed that it is switching to a ‘preventative’ approach to health monitoring. They want to make it more proactive and capable of helping you spot the warning signs of potential health problems.

There are four ways the Ultra 2 can do this for you. Vitals establishes a baseline across five metrics (blood oxygen, heart rate variability, heart rate, skin temperature, and respiratory rate), and if it spots something adrift, such as the early signs of you becoming ill due to rising skin temperature overnight, you’ll get an alert. It’s not a doctor, but it might suggest it’s worth visiting one.

The Heart Health Score gives you a single number indicating your cardiovascular health, based on your sleep and your heart’s reaction to working out. You can also find out whether you’re overtraining with the Daily Cardio Load scale, and a Fitness Index will reveal how you score compared to people within your age and gender bracket. Which will either be depressing (read: motivating) or extremely satisfying.

These features join a whole host of health tracking Samsung has built into its smartwatches over the last couple of years, and it is all very welcome indeed.

How accurate is it? If you’re ever worried, speak to your doctor. Trust me.

If the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 feels like overkill, it might be worth reading our Redmi Watch 5 review for a look at the lighter end of the wearable spectrum.

Conclusion

Samsung has added yet another superb smartwatch to its lineup and, more importantly, it has fixed the issues inherent within the previous generation.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a genuine competitor for the Apple Watch Ultra and adds some really impressive and useful proactive health features that have caught my attention at just the right time.

It may be for you. It may be too much for you (in which case, it’s definitely worth checking out the cheaper and eminently less in-your-face Galaxy Watch9). You might be a Garmin person. It’s all cool. At least the choice we have these days is getting better and better – and far more likely to be a genuinely helpful health companion.

Shop the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 below!