Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is Samsung’s latest entry in the premium smartwatch market, aiming to deliver a cutting-edge experience for fitness enthusiasts and tech lovers alike. This device builds on the success of previous Galaxy Watch models but comes with several key hardware improvements that position it as a top contender in the competitive world of wearables. In this review, we will take a closer look at its hardware, sensor suite, and battery life to see if it truly lives up to its Ultra moniker.
Hardware and Sensors
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra appears similar to the Watch6 Classic, especially with its 1.5-inch OLED display. This display, protected by durable sapphire glass, offers a 480 x 480px resolution, ensuring crisp visuals and excellent legibility even under bright sunlight. While some may have expected a larger display given the “Ultra” branding, the screen size remains unchanged, which may be a minor letdown for those hoping for a larger viewing area. Nevertheless, the quality of the display is superb, offering vibrant colors and sharp details, making it a pleasure to use both indoors and outdoors.
Where the real changes lie, however, is under the hood. The Galaxy Watch Ultra debuts the new Exynos W1000 SoC, a significant upgrade from the W920 and W930 SoCs that powered previous generations of Galaxy Watches. This new chipset is based on an advanced 3nm manufacturing process, which brings improvements in both performance and power efficiency. It features five cores—one high-performance Cortex-A781 core running at 1.6 GHz and four Cortex-A551 low-power cores running at 1.5 GHz. The Mali-G68 GPU also makes a return, carrying over from the W930 SoC used in earlier models.
The result is a watch that feels smoother, faster, and more responsive compared to its predecessors. The W1000 chipset is purpose-built for wearables, and it shows. Whether you’re navigating through the UI, using apps, or tracking your fitness, the Galaxy Watch Ultra handles it all effortlessly. The 2GB of RAM remains unchanged from previous models, but the storage capacity has doubled to 32GB, providing more room for offline music, apps, and data. This is particularly beneficial for those who want to store media for workouts or travel without relying on their smartphones.
In terms of sensors, Samsung has packed the Watch Ultra with almost every sensor a user could need in today’s smartwatch market.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the sensor suite:
- Accelerometer: For tracking movement and fitness activities.
- Barometer: Useful for altitude tracking during hikes and other outdoor activities.
- Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Sensor: Measures body composition, including muscle mass, body fat percentage, and water weight.
- Electrical Heart Sensor: For electrocardiograms (ECGs) to monitor heart health.
- Gyro Sensor: Helps in detecting orientation and tracking motion.
- Geomagnetic Sensor: Assists in navigation and tracking direction.
- Infrared Temperature Sensor: Monitors skin temperature, useful for detecting sudden changes in body temperature.
- Light Sensor: Automatically adjusts screen brightness based on ambient lighting.
- Optical Heart Rate Sensor: Continuously monitors heart rate during exercise and rest.
What’s missing, however, is the hall sensor, which is typically used for precise positioning detection. While this may not affect the average user much, those relying heavily on certain positioning features might notice the absence. Nonetheless, Samsung compensates for this by incorporating L1+LG dual-frequency GPS, a significant upgrade over the standard L1 GPS. This dual-frequency setup greatly improves GPS tracking accuracy, making the Watch Ultra more reliable for runners, cyclists, and other outdoor adventurers who need precise location tracking.
Additionally, the much-hyped BioActive sensor from previous models returns. This sensor uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to offer insights into your body composition in terms of lean muscle mass, body fat percentage, water weight, BMI, and basal metabolic rate. These measurements take just 15 seconds and use 2,400 data points to give you a detailed picture of your body’s health metrics. This is a standout feature for fitness enthusiasts who want more than just basic activity tracking and are serious about monitoring their overall health.
Battery Life
One of the major highlights of the Galaxy Watch Ultra is its battery life. With the move to a larger 590 mAh battery, Samsung promises longer usage times compared to previous models. However, it’s important to note that this battery is the same size as the one used in the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, so while there are improvements, they aren’t groundbreaking in comparison.
Under standard conditions—with the always-on display turned off, raise-to-wake enabled, heart rate monitoring set to measure every 15 minutes, and a few workouts and walks sprinkled in—the Galaxy Watch Ultra managed to last about 72 hours. This usage included notifications, sleep tracking, and general navigation, which is quite impressive for a Wear OS-powered watch. It’s worth mentioning that most of the competitors with longer battery life, like Garmin, do not run on full-fledged operating systems, which typically consume less power.
When we switched on the always-on display and kept all other settings the same, the battery life dropped to around 48 hours, which is still decent for a smartwatch of this caliber. However, for users who engage in intense, long workouts or hikes, Samsung offers a dedicated exercise power-saving mode, which can push battery life up to 48 hours of continuous workout tracking. Additionally, the power-saving mode for general use can extend battery life to as much as 100 hours, making it a viable option for those who prioritize endurance over features.
That said, there’s one major downside when it comes to charging. The Watch Ultra supports wireless charging, but it is painfully slow. Using the bundled wireless charger, it takes nearly two hours to charge the watch from near 0% to 100%. This is slower than many competitors and could be a deal breaker for users who want quick top-ups. Worse still, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is not compatible with third-party wireless charging pads or reverse wireless charging on non-Samsung smartphones, meaning you’re stuck using Samsung’s charger if you want to juice up the device.
Final Thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is an ambitious attempt to create a premium, feature-rich smartwatch for serious users. Its Exynos W1000 chipset, combined with a large array of sensors and upgraded battery life, makes it a strong competitor in the high-end wearable market. The 1.5-inch OLED display is still one of the best out there, with excellent outdoor legibility and sapphire glass for added durability.
While the improvements in battery life are welcome, they’re not as revolutionary as Samsung might want you to believe, especially when compared to some non-OS-powered competitors. The slow charging speed is another potential downside, and the limited compatibility with third-party charging solutions could frustrate users who prefer a more versatile setup.
For fitness enthusiasts and tech lovers looking for a powerful, fully-featured smartwatch with excellent health tracking capabilities, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is a strong contender. However, for users prioritizing battery life or fast charging, there may be better options available, particularly from brands like Garmin or Fitbit.
If you’re in the market for a Wear OS-powered watch that strikes a balance between performance, health features, and durability, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra could be the perfect fit.