Galaxy Watch Ultra Review

Tom's Guide

In all the years Samsung has complemented its flagship smartwatch with some kind of secondary model, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is definitely the one that made me the most excited.

Transcript

00:00In all the years that Samsung has complimented its flagship smartwatch with some kind of

00:04secondary model, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is definitely the one that's made me the most

00:09excited.

00:10But now that I've actually been able to test it out for a couple weeks, do I think it's

00:14worth $650?

00:17I would like to start with addressing the elephant in the room, and that is how blatantly

00:21Samsung drew inspiration from the Apple Watch Ultra success for its own Ultra watch.

00:26But hey, if something worked out really well for Apple, why wouldn't another company take

00:30a stab at it?

00:31Besides, there are some ways Samsung tried to make the Galaxy Watch Ultra special that

00:36I think have worked out well.

00:38However, there are also some peculiar limitations that you won't find on the Apple Watch Ultra

00:432 or other premium sport watches for that matter.

00:46Let me take you through the biggest pros and cons.

00:49My favorite thing about the Galaxy Watch Ultra is how it looks.

00:52In order to maintain Samsung's circular smartwatch legacy, we basically get a 3,000-nit, 44-millimeter

00:58rounded display cushioned inside a squircle-shaped chassis.

01:03It's not quite as square-like as the Apple Watch Ultra, but the visual similarity is

01:07clearly there.

01:09You can get the Galaxy Watch Ultra in titanium white, titanium gray, or titanium silver,

01:14which presents some of the best-looking finishes I've seen for any smartwatch ever.

01:19What's more, the watches are meant to be worn with a collection of three new sporty

01:22straps, all interchangeable, of course.

01:25From a durability standpoint, which obviously matters a lot for a watch like this, it's

01:29meant to withstand harsh conditions under military-grade testing standards, and the

01:33aerospace-grade titanium is highly scratch-resistant, so you won't have to worry too much about

01:38roughing it up during your outdoor activities.

01:41Another reason to get the Galaxy Watch Ultra is the added orange quick button nestled here

01:45between the two other control buttons.

01:48This button can be used to assign a function such as launching a workout, logging intervals,

01:52opening the flashlight, or triggering the watch's 85-decibel safety siren.

02:06You can assign this function in the Galaxy Watch Ultra's settings pretty easily.

02:10I alternated between a few during testing and ultimately landed on the flashlight function

02:14as my favorite.

02:16More importantly, I really like using buttons in lieu of a touchscreen when possible.

02:21This way, the display stays fingerprint-free, and if you're wearing gloves or have wet

02:25hands, buttons are also more reliable to use.

02:28I will say I wish Samsung took things one step further by including the physical rotating

02:32bezel, but I suspect the fan-favorite mechanism might have limited the watch from a durability

02:37standpoint.

02:38Either way, the addition of the quick button gets a thumbs up from me.

02:42Accurate health tracking is also a selling point of the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

02:46Now, I know some reviewers have had mixed experiences, but in terms of things like step

02:50counting, heart rate readings, my watch matched my controls very closely.

02:55Backing up a bit, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra delivers Samsung's holistic health tracking

02:59experience, incorporating the basic you'll find on most smartwatches with some special

03:03features that you can read more about in my in-depth review linked below.

03:07But what you need to know is that health-based features on the Galaxy Watch Ultra are powered

03:11by Samsung's updated Bioactive Sensor, which is a combined PPG heart rate sensor, ECG blood

03:17oxygen reader, and BIA sensor.

03:19These points of data collection feed a slew of new Galaxy AI features like Energy Score

03:23and the latest Sleep AI algorithm.

03:26Energy Score is pretty neat, and I especially liked competing with myself daily to get higher

03:30scores.

03:31Samsung is also quite advanced when it comes to sleep tracking insights, and I appreciated

03:35the various sleep markers and generally accurate reflection of my own sleep quality.

03:41Alternatively, what I'm a bit more confused by within fitness tracking is the new Advanced

03:45Glycation End Products, or AGES Index, and it's basically a score of metabolic health

03:49and biological aging informed by lifestyle and dietary habits.

03:54Of all the health and activity features, this is the one I'm most iffy about.

03:58On one hand, your AGES Index can be a sign of potential health risks, but on the other,

04:03it's very questionable to serve up a metric that many people don't have a basic understanding

04:08of.

04:09I do lots of my own research to only kind of understand.

04:12A lack of understanding of what your baseline should look like could potentially cause alarm

04:16based on the results.

04:17I also have no way of checking whether the readings were accurate against a control unless

04:22I make an appointment with a specialist.

04:24A final reason I would buy the Galaxy Watch Ultra is because of battery life.

04:29According to Samsung, the Galaxy Watch Ultra lasts up to 100 hours in power saving mode,

04:34or just over 4 days.

04:36With exercise power saving, which still uses continuous GPS to track workouts, the watch

04:40can last up to 48 hours.

04:42That said, under normal use, my Galaxy Watch Ultra lasted just about 2 days.

04:47It's just a bummer that the Galaxy Watch Ultra can't accept reverse wireless charging from

04:51a Samsung phone like previous gen watches.

04:54I recharged the watch with the included magnetic charger and it took about 2 hours to get the

04:58watch charged back up.

05:00In my humble opinion, fast charging should be standard for the premium tier of smart

05:03watches, but at least the watch itself lasts long enough.

05:08Quickly before I get into reasons to skip, I wanted to call out that we've featured almost

05:12all of the new Samsung products in videos already, reviews, tech takedowns, you name

05:17it, so be sure to go check those out.

05:19Now, for reasons I'd skip the Galaxy Watch Ultra, starting with the fact that many features

05:24require you to own a Samsung phone.

05:26Though the Galaxy Watch Ultra is technically compatible with any Android smartphone, for

05:31a majority of the best features like FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection and ECG readings, you

05:36need to download the Samsung Health Monitor app.

05:39Irregular heart rate notifications and all of the Galaxy AI features, such as that energy

05:44score and wellness tips, require a Samsung phone with up-to-date software.

05:49But then to use the new double-pinch gesture, you need to have a Samsung smartphone running

05:52One UI 6.1.1.

05:55At launch, that only includes the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, so I couldn't

06:01use the Z Fold 5 that I normally use for Android watch testing.

06:05I don't think Samsung customers should be encouraged to buy a new phone just to be able

06:09to use all of the new features from day one.

06:12I also would avoid the Galaxy Watch Ultra if you're a diver or fan of water sports.

06:17Although I am not personally a deep-sea diver, who would have guessed, I have enjoyed speaking

06:22to Apple Watch Ultra users in recent years about how the watch functions as a dive computer.

06:27Despite the Galaxy Watch Ultra being rated for similar 1080M depth abilities, it's not

06:32actually suitable for things like water skiing and, yes, diving.

06:36Not suitable is Samsung's own words from Samsung.

06:39Let me read.

06:40Galaxy Watch Ultra is water-resistant with an IP68 rating based on the lab test conditions

06:45for submersion in up to 1.5 meters fresh water for up to 30 minutes.

06:49It is not suitable for high-pressure water activities and diving.

06:53Considering the first Galaxy Watch Ultra image that pops up on Samsung's website is the watch

06:58bubbling in water, I would say the limitations are a serious miss.

07:02Sure, if you're just going swimming in the pool or ocean for a bit, the Galaxy Watch

07:06Ultra can track that workout, but many smartwatches can do the same for hundreds of dollars less.

07:13That brings me to my last and maybe the biggest reason to skip the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and

07:18that is it's not all that much different performance-wise from the flagship Galaxy Watch 7.

07:24Think about the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra versus the standard S24.

07:28While it's true they have the same Snapdragon processor, the Ultra model gets better cameras

07:32and included S-Pen.

07:33I don't know that the Galaxy Watch Ultra offers enough to create a true distinction between

07:39the Galaxy Watch 7.

07:40They have the same 3-nanometer processor, same bioactive sensor, same Wear OS 5 software

07:45with One UI, same Galaxy AI features, and same double-pinch gesture.

07:50It's just in a different package, albeit a nicer-looking package, but are looks enough

07:54to justify spending $650 versus $300.

07:59Everyone has their own priorities, but for me, even one exclusive software feature or

08:04app would help the Ultra's case.

08:06So should you buy or skip the Galaxy Watch Ultra?

08:10I know I say this a lot, but this one is actually a tough one for me.

08:13I really, really like how it looks, although I'm a little bitter Samsung didn't loan me

08:17the white titanium version I tried at the hands-on session, because that one is stunning.

08:23I also love the fact that I don't have to charge it every day, that's a convenience

08:26that matters a lot to me personally.

08:28Although I'm kind of skeptical whether the Galaxy Watch Ultra is truly more premium than

08:33the Galaxy Watch 7 to justify the higher price, it's still a successful smartwatch overall.

08:38Perhaps I wouldn't be so tough on it in this review if it didn't beg to be compared to

08:43the Apple Watch Ultra.

08:44At $649, it's an investment, and I don't ultimately foresee the Galaxy Watch Ultra reaching the

08:51same type of popularity as the Apple Watch Ultra, especially among non-athletes.

08:56Either way, my biggest question now is whether this watch is just going to be a one-off,

09:00or if we're going to get a Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 next year.

09:03If we do, what features would you want to see?

09:05Be sure to let me know in the comments.

09:07As I mentioned, we have tons of other reviews and stuff up now with all of the latest Samsung

09:11gear, including my Galaxy Ring review that you should definitely check out if you haven't

09:15already.

09:16Otherwise, thanks for watching, I'll catch you next time.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended