The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is Samsung’s most ambitious smartwatch to date, boasting a rugged design and an impressive array of features. With a hefty price tag of $650, it’s clear that this smartwatch is not for the faint-hearted.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve tested this behemoth extensively, from its robust construction to its performance in tracking a myriad of fitness activities.
While its size and cost might make it a hard sell for some, the Galaxy Watch Ultra promises durability and functionality in spades. So, does it live up to its Ultra moniker, or is it just a pricey accessory? Here’s my full review.
Design and Build Quality
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is far from compact, coming in a single, enormous size—47mm, to be exact. On my wrist, it looks massive. Unsurprisingly, it has a bit of heft, but after wearing it for a fortnight, I’m used to it. The circular screen is surrounded by a “squirkle” frame, adding to its bulk and inviting comparisons to the Apple Watch, although it more closely resembles older Samsung smartwatches.
You can choose from gray, white, or silver frames. The default wristband for the gray model is a striking Tango orange. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is no lightweight in durability either. Its chassis is made from grade 4 titanium, and the sapphire glass screen has withstood my clumsiness without a scratch.
The watch meets military standard 810H tests, handling extreme humidity, vibrations, and temperatures from -20°C to 55°C. It’s also IP68 water and dust resistant, and can withstand pressures up to 10 atmospheres, making it suitable for scuba diving or a spontaneous swim.
Strap Build
As for the strap, it’s almost as chunky as the watch itself, but I found it comfortable enough to wear 24 hours a day. It’s also fine for exercising, especially when you’re super sweaty, thanks to its silicone finish. Samsung has implemented a new dynamic lug system for easily swapping out the straps, which is straightforward if you have fingernails and haven’t chewed them down like I have. If not, a SIM tray tool will come in handy.
However, this new system means you’re limited to using only the straps Samsung has produced for it, which aren’t particularly cheap if you check their website.
Display
Now, the display maxes out at 3,000 nits, which is absolutely blinding—literally. I had no trouble seeing it while I was out in Milan, where the sun was so intense I felt like I was melting. The auto-brightness is pretty decent and cranks up when you go outdoors, but it can still be a bit too bright when I’m just sitting in my living room in the dark.
Fortunately, Samsung has added a night mode watch face that turns red and black at night, so the screen doesn’t startle you. This feature only works with the Ultra-specific watch faces, and it takes a while to kick in, often around 10 to 20 minutes. However, it’s much easier on the eyes, which is great for night hikes or, in my case, staggering home in the dark.
The display has excellent viewing angles and is perfectly sharp, so there’s no trouble reading tiny text.
Buttons and UI
The Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with a new programmable Quick Button, the bright orange one on the side. A quick tap starts a boxing exercise for me, and I can tap it again to pause or resume the workout. A long press finishes the workout, which is handy if you get particularly sweaty and don’t want to mess up the touchscreen. This action button is fully customizable; you can bind it to any exercise, load up the stopwatch, activate the torch, or use the water lock feature.
In emergency situations, press and hold the action button for five seconds to kickstart the siren feature. There’s also a fall detection feature, which is useful for those late-night stumbles from the pub. Additionally, the watch has the usual home and back buttons, and long-pressing the home button summons Bixby, though I haven’t found much use for it.
My major gripe with this watch is that despite its size and cost, there’s no rotating bezel to navigate menus. You have to swipe or run your finger around the rim of the screen, which can get messy if you’re sweaty. Even the action button looks like it should be a rotating crown, but it’s not.
The UI is as expected: swipe left for notifications, which you can fully respond to, and swipe right for various customizable widgets. Swipe down to access quick toggles, which are also fully customizable, allowing you to swap, add, or remove them as needed.
Apps and MIC
Lastly, if you swipe up, you access all of your apps. There’s the usual variety pre-installed, including fitness tracking, timers, stopwatches, photo viewing, photo taking, and voice recording. You can add extra apps thanks to Play Store access. For example, I have the Audible and Spotify apps, though Spotify can be a bit slow and occasionally janky.
Apps like Calm are great for helping you relax after a stressful day. Meditation is incredibly beneficial. The WhatsApp app is particularly helpful for quickly responding to messages using voice input, the tiny on-screen keyboard, or presets. Surprisingly, the tiny keyboard works better than expected.
The microphone and speaker can also be used to take calls on the fly or interact with Bixby, although I don’t find Bixby very useful. You also have the usual features like contactless payments.
Performance
The chip powering the Galaxy Watch Ultra is Samsung’s Exynos W920, their first 3-nanometer watch processor. It’s reportedly up to three times faster than the previous generation. Generally, everything runs smoothly on the Watch Ultra, though it occasionally has a slight hiccup when you’re swiping through the various widgets. It’s not completely seamless, but overall, performance is quite good.
Fitness Tracking
Samsung has reportedly tripled the number of LEDs in the bioactive sensor compared to other Galaxy smartwatches, which enhances the accuracy of heart rate monitoring and health tracking. It seems to accurately capture spikes and dips during workouts. The Watch Ultra also features a new dual-band GPS system that performs well, maintaining a strong connection even in built-up areas. Although I haven’t tested it in a place like New York, it handled Milan’s large glass buildings without issue and stayed accurate indoors.
The watch effectively maps your routes during a stroll, though I haven’t tested it for running—running is not my thing. For exercise tracking, the Watch Ultra does a stellar job with all major activities, including running, cycling, swimming, and various gym exercises. The multi-sport feature is customizable for different exercise routines, and the auto-detect exercise function is impressively responsive. It detects activities like walking and running and tracks them seamlessly.
I also tried using the watch on a treadmill, and it recorded all seven sweaty minutes of that experience. While I didn’t get to test features like Track Back, which helps you retrace your steps if you’re lost while hiking or cycling, it should be useful in unfamiliar areas. Another feature, the new Race Mode, tracks your past routes and encourages you to beat your previous performances by providing real-time status updates. However, as someone who generally avoids running, I haven’t used this feature much—my exercise routine is more about gentle strolling.
Samsung Health
If you take a look at the Samsung Health app, it records all your fitness data, including your energy score, which for me is generally not stellar. This score is based on your sleep quality, activity levels, and other factors. You can also review your previous workouts, including heart rate zones and other relevant details, such as my treadmill mishap.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra excels at sleep tracking, although I usually know if my sleep is poor just by how cranky I feel. It also features snore detection, which is an optional but deeply disturbing feature. Trust me, you don’t want to hear that you sound like a hyperventilating alpaca when you sleep.
After a week of monitoring, you’re assigned a sleep animal—I’m a lion, apparently. The Samsung Health app provides tips for improving sleep, though they’re not groundbreaking. For example, it might suggest avoiding staggered bedtimes after consuming too many espresso martinis and vodka Red Bulls.
Battery life
The battery life of the Galaxy Watch Ultra is decent but not exceptional. On a full charge with regular use—including occasional app interactions, media controls, auto-tracking, and an always-on display—the watch typically lasts around 2.5 days. It will see you through a weekend away, but if you’re away for a long weekend, you might need to bring the compact charging dock with you.
Samsung has included a good power-saving mode, which is fully customizable and lets you keep certain features active, such as auto-detection for workouts and heart rate monitoring. There’s also a Watch Only mode that extends battery life significantly if you only need to check the time. Charging is not particularly speedy, taking around 2 hours to fully recharge if completely drained. A quick 10-minute charge won’t give you a full day’s use like some other watches offer.
Comparatively, the OnePlus 2 and presumably the new 2R offer longer battery life despite being about half the size. However, if you’re looking for an ultra-rugged smartwatch packed with smart fitness features, the Galaxy Watch Ultra delivers well on that front. It’s generally easy to use and responsive, though it lacks a rotating bezel or alternative UI navigation options beyond swiping the touchscreen.
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The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a robust and feature-rich smartwatch that caters to those who need durability and advanced fitness tracking. While it doesn’t come cheap and has a few usability quirks, it delivers on its promise of being a high-performance, rugged wearable. If you're willing to invest in its premium features, the Watch Ultra is worth considering.
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Design8
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Display9
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Buttons & UI7
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Apps and Performance8
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Fitness Tracking9
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Samsung Health8
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Battery Life7
