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Design & Comfort8
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Display9
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Features9
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Battery6
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Power8
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Value for money8
The Apple Watch Ultra is the one Apple device from which I’ve switched for the longest period in 2024, and I don’t miss it at all.
This isn’t because I suddenly despise the Apple Watch, or think it pales compared to the competition. Far from it – the Apple Watch, thanks to watchOS and the Apple ecosystem, remains one of the most complete, accessible, and useful smartwatches on the market.
Samsung has, in my opinion, always lagged behind Apple in the wearable stakes. Every Galaxy Watch I’ve tried previously has delivered a disappointing experience thanks to subpar internal hardware and a lacklustre operating system. This is hugely frustrating because the external appearance of Galaxy Watches is right up my street (they’re circular!).
Now, we have the Galaxy Watch Ultra. It’s the most blatant two-fingered salute we’ve seen thus far directed towards the Apple Watch Ultra, and the good news for Samsung is that it definitely isn’t all talk.
Specs and pricing
The Galaxy Watch Ultra comes in one size – 47mm. It’s made from grade 4 titanium (in either white or grey) and, just like so many tech products these days, is military tested to a standard with lots of letters and numbers none of us understand (although we won’t question them).
Samsung’s super watch is also IP68 and 10ATM water resistant and can work in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 55°C. Cellular connectivity comes as standard, too.
It’s clearly built for action of some kind.
Inside, there’s an Exynos chip, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of user-addressable storage (for music and apps, basically). Dual-frequency GPS ensures the watch can play with L1 and L5 bands, and a 590mAh battery keeps everything running for up to 100 hours (I’ll get to that later).
The display is a 1.5” Super AMOLED unit with a 480×480 resolution and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
Running the show is an amalgamation of Wear OS and One UI.
This is, basically, a Galaxy Watch 7 on steroids.
Design, display, and performance
Of the comments I received following my initial Galaxy Watch Ultra hands-on videos, “Wow, that’s a big watch” was one of the most common. I even blurted it out myself when I spotted the new watch on a fellow YouTuber’s wrist during a press event in Italy. It looked massive on his wrist.
This is the problem with ‘Ultra’ watches: they are massive on certain wrists. Whether you’re up for that is entirely a personal preference, but on my wrist, it fits perfectly for my taste. Yes, it’s big (far chunkier than even the Apple Watch Ultra), but it isn’t too big for me – that’s what matters. If it’s too big for you, there’s a Galaxy Watch 7 with your name on it.
Oh, and if you’re interested, the circumference of my wrist is about 7.5 inches. Chuck Norris I am not.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra display is great. I’d be worried if it weren’t, to be honest, but it’s bright enough with an Apple Watch Ultra 2 matching 3,000 nits peak, and plenty fast enough. It also has the obligatory Knight Rider Mode (my nickname for the feature which turns the entire user interface a deep shade of red). Which is nice.
Performance? It’s spot on. As it should be. This is the first Galaxy watch I’ve enjoyed using and that hasn’t felt hamstrung by internal components. Wear OS zips along speedily, and the entire experience feels very watchOS-like. Big thumbs up from yours truly.
Samsung led with Galaxy AI for every product announced at Unpacked last month, including the Galaxy Watch Ultra. On the wrist, this extends as far as the creation of an Energy Score (an amalgamation of your various health metrics), a functional threshold power (FTP) calculation for cyclists, and suggested replies to messages. Nice, simple, and not at all Terminator-like. Happy days.
‘Ultra’ features
So, what sets the Galaxy Watch Ultra apart from the Galaxy Watch 7?
Ultra stuff, obviously.
This is, according to Samsung, the “toughest Galaxy watch ever”, thanks to the aforementioned choice of materials and an ‘impact-ready cushion design’. I’m not sure what the latter means, and I haven’t tested the Watch Ultra for long enough to provide any meaningful feedback on durability, but I will see how it goes. It certainly looks tough.
We also get ‘high endurance battery power’, which I’ll cover in the next section (it demands its own section).
There’s 10ATM of water resistance on which divers can rely (this means you can plunge as deep as 100m without damaging your Galaxy Watch Ultra), and a BioActive heart rate sensor which ensures your heart rate measurements will remain accurate while down there. I haven’t tested any of this stuff, because I live in Warwickshire.
Operating temperatures are far more impressive on the Galaxy Watch Ultra compared to its lesser-specced siblings; it’ll happily continue working in conditions from -20°C to 55°C. Once again, because I live in Warwickshire, I can only test a tiny – and entirely unspectacular – segment of that range.
You also get an 86dB siren that can be heard 180 meters away, and the aforementioned Knight Rider mode. Oh, and the Quick Button which absolutely isn’t an Action Button. The latter instigates workout tracking by default, but that can be changed to either the torch, stopwatch, or water lock feature.
Does the Galaxy Watch Ultra deserve its naming convention because of these features? Absolutely; it’s a significantly different beast to the Watch 7.
Galaxy Watch Ultra battery life
Why does the Galaxy Watch Ultra battery life demand its own section in this review? Because it’s the single most important aspect of a watch that has ‘Ultra’ in its name.
I’ve made no secret about the reality checks that are required for anyone who’s tempted by the Apple Watch Ultra’s ‘do anything with this watch’ marketing campaign. In reality, the people featured in those ads running across desert landscapes and checking in with base camp would probably be wearing a Garmin, given the choice. Why? Because of battery life.
We haven’t yet reached a point where proper smartwatches are capable of Garmin-like battery life, simply because they’re mini computers first, whereas Garmin watches are watches first.
I’m yet to test the Exercise Power Saving mode on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which promises 48 hours of exercise recording, but the fact it turns off most of the features you’d want while exercising (for instance, heart rate monitoring and GPS) means it’s clearly only meant for last-ditch circumstances.
What matters is how this watch performs day-to-day without any battery-saving trickery, and I can confirm that the Galaxy Watch Ultra is a two-day watch. With moderate use, you’ll probably make it into day three, but it will need charging pretty early on. This is no different to the Apple Watch Ultra and reaffirms the challenges Apple and Samsung have when it comes to competing with Garmin.
Galaxy Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Ultra 2
The answer to what’s best in the battle of Galaxy Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Ultra 2 is as simple as ever; you’ll sit on one side of the fence already, and your choice of smartphone will dictate which one you go for.
It’s still fun to pick out the differences, though when it comes to the latest Apple watch vs the Samsung watch.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is slightly bigger, weighs more (by 1g), is square, and has just one colour option. But those aren’t the only elements that separate it from the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Apple’s hard-as-nails wearable is made from aerospace-grade titanium (as opposed to ‘lowly’ grade 4), has a rotating digital crown, and a metric tonne more official band choices.
Most of that stuff is aesthetic, though. The two watches are predictably similar elsewhere. The Ultra specs and built-in features are nigh-on identical and they have very similar displays (certainly, in terms of peak brightness and resolution).
However, as I said earlier, you already know which one you want.
Conclusion
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a brilliant Apple Watch Ultra competitor. It unashamedly takes the lead from Apple’s wearable but is different and confident enough in its abilities to stand on equal footing.
Samsung has done it. Battery life is still nowhere near as ‘ultra’ as it should be, but that’s a limitation of current technology, not a failing on Samsung’s behalf. That, and the missing spinny digital crown are the only real gripes I have, and neither matter.
This is just a very cool-looking, sports-focused watch, and I have a feeling it’s going to spend an awful lot of time on my wrist.
Before you go
