I don’t climb, swim, run, or cliff dive. I check the time. No one would describe me as “ultra,” so I’m probably not the target audience for the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. But I’ve been wearing it for almost two weeks (since Paris and Galaxy Unpacked), and I have some ideas.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not the person reviewing this $649 / £599 / AU$1,299 smartwatch for adventurers looking to join our list of the best smartwatches, but I am a watch nerd and have, for the better part of 14 days, set aside my Apple Watch Series 9 and all the fun analogue watches I started wearing again earlier this year so I can experience what has to be the greatest wrist gadget I’ve ever put on my wrist.
This allows me, I would say, to make a few observations about Samsung’s first Galaxy Watch Ultra.
It’s big, it’s bold, it’s heavy
At 47mm wide, 12.1mm thick, and weighing 60.5 grams, this watch is a real eye-catcher. I never forget it’s on my wrist. Sometimes I can feel it resting on the space between my wrist and the back of my hand, a little reminder that this watch is unsubtle and very capable (even if it’s not).
It’s not for sleeping
You could wear it to track your sleep, but I guarantee if you roll over on that big titanium body you’ll feel it in your wrist and any other part of your body pressed against it.
It’s a shame because I’d love to try out the new sleep apnea feature (I have some), but I can’t afford to have a little brick on my wrist disrupting my sleep every night.
The display is gigantic and dazzling
At 480 pixels by 480 pixels and 335 ppi, the Samsung Galaxy display dwarfs almost every smartwatch I’ve worn before, even the Apple Watch Series 9 (484 x 396 at 326 ppi). Naturally, the real comparison has to be with the Apple Watch Ultra, but my experience with that adventure watch is limited to a quick test drive last September, when Apple launched the Watch Ultra 2.
By the way, I understand that many people see an almost uncomfortable level of similarity between the two Ultra watches, but I can also see the differences. One of them is the unusual shape of the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which is a perfectly round dial in a square body. The Apple Watch Ultra takes its cues from the rectangular shape of its non-Ultra predecessors.
Regardless, I think the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s display, with its nonexistent gap between the screen and the hardware frame, is a real triumph. I love looking at it, switching between watch faces (which have a clarity that almost makes them look like real analog dials), and the way its always-on display is visible from any angle.
The bezel is a marvel
Over the years, Samsung has offered physical rotating bezels, touch bezels, and even no bezels on its Galaxy Watches. In the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, they have the best touch bezel I’ve ever used. First of all, it’s subtle. Instead of a wide band that looks like a design element, it looks like a classic chronograph bezel. Running my finger around the edge scrolls through the watch’s features, offering a small haptic bump for each one.
The group system to beat all others
Samsung’s Dynamic Lug system for adding and removing the band is one I wish every smartwatch had. It’s so simple, secure, and satisfying to use. You just push a button and pull to remove it. It makes attaching the band even easier: just push the band into the slot and it snaps into place. I just wish there were more watch band options to try.
Low battery
One of the headline features of the new Galaxy Watch Ultra is the new Energy Score. It’s an amalgamation of various health metrics, including heart rate, sleep, and activity, and as I’ve learned, it’s not the kind of metric you can compare with others (no, “Hey, what’s your Energy Score? Mine is…”). Basically, it’s a score of how charged your human batteries are for the day ahead, and if the Energy Score is low, the Galaxy AI is supposed to offer tips for increasing it.
The problem is that I never sleep with the watch on – because I want to sleep – and even if I did, it would need 7 days of data before it could give me a score. Even after a week of wearing it, I don’t have an energy score… er… energy. Maybe I’ll buy one if and when I start wearing the Galaxy Ring, which I suspect is much more sleep-friendly.
Familiarity breeds more familiarity
The art of the smartwatch is now almost as rigid as that of the traditional analog watch. Much of what I’ve discovered and can do with the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is obvious to me because I’ve done it or something similar before on the Apple Watch Series 9 and various other smartwatches.
Yes, it notices when I sit too long, prompts me to move, and of course, congratulates me when I do. In the world of smartwatches, there may be no other way to do it. I imagine a future where people will never get up again without their smartwatch telling them to do so.
When I call up my favorite workout with the quick button (yes, just like the action button on the Apple Watch Ultra), running, pausing, and ending the workout doesn’t feel much different from what Apple offers.
The Watch is equally as clever at recognizing workouts. Unlike the Apple Watch, it doesn’t ask you to track them, but simply tracks them.
Activities are not circles, but rather heart contours that you close like circles.
When I wanted to take a screenshot, I didn’t have to guess how to do it; I just pressed the top and bottom buttons. It’s a combination of smart design and familiarity.
Battery life is off the charts
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Days and days of battery life is what you can expect from the Galaxy Watch Ultra, even without power saving mode enabled. As of this writing, I’ve been charging the Watch Ultra for over a day, and I have over two days of charge left. If I were to enable power saving, I’d get four days of battery life.
One thing I find odd is that the watch didn’t warn me that it was running low on power. It just turned off. I prefer a little visual call for help like the Apple Watch gives you.
I don’t know if the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra will be my long-term smartwatch. I like its bold look, but I’ve never been a fan of a giant watch, even back when I used an analog watch. Still, it looks like a solid entry into the ultra watch realm. If I ever become an Ultra Man, maybe I’ll wear it full time.