Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review: (2024)

Last Updated on November 19, 2024 by Luis Cooper

Are you thinking about getting the Galaxy Watch Ultra?

We’ve worn it for several days for an honest, in-depth review.

Discover if this premium smartwatch lives up to the hype.

We dive deep into battery life, performance, features, and design.

Is it the ultimate smartwatch for tech enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers?

Find out now.

There it is—the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review.

In this guide, you’ll get my full rundown review after using this watch for a few weeks, which is not long.

Still, it is enough time to go for many different runs with this watch, use it in my everyday life, and get a feel for it.

I’ll cover all of the smartwatch features. 

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review

This watch deals in accuracy, connectivity, and user-friendliness, though it’s a modest update over the first generation.

It’s perfect for fitness enthusiasts and those looking for longer battery runtimes in Samsung Ultra. 

Hardware Overview: 

If you want the best experience with this watch, you must use a Galaxy phone.

Let’s get deeper and talk about the hardware itself.

As you can see, we are dealing with a pretty chunky watch.

This is a 47 mm square-ish form factor and is pretty big on my 165 mm wrist circumference.

However, it’s not uncomfortable or unusable, and I’ve been wearing it to bed without a problem.

It will boil down to your preference and how significant of a watch you can wear.

For me, this is right on the edge of what I find comfortable regarding the weight of this watch.

It weighs 61 grams without the attached band; however, if you do attach the band—in my case, the marine band here, which is probably one of the heavier ones—it weighs 93 grams, which puts it at the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to weight compared to other sports watches out there, like a high-end Garmin watch. 

Let’s talk about the build quality of the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

This thing is built like an absolute tank; just feeling it in your hand inspires confidence.

I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with this watch regarding scratches or dings.

I like that it has a sapphire display, which makes it scratch-resistant.

The body itself does feel like it’s made of DLC-coated titanium.

The top and bottom pieces here are made of titanium, and then the sort of Oreo stuffing between them is plastic, but even the plastic does feel high-quality.

It has a matte finish, and even though I can’t scratch it with my fingernail, it doesn’t feel like a mark.

So overall, I’m pretty impressed with the build quality, and I feel like this will last a long time and take a beating.

Now, flipping the watch to right here, you have three buttons.

You have a top button with an orange accent, a lower button with a white accent, and a middle button, which Samsung calls its quick button.

This middle button can be mapped to various actions for me.

I’ve mapped it to the exercise app, so if I want to go for a small run, I have to tap the button once it brings up the exercise menu, and I can drop into a run very quickly.

Again, in terms of build quality, these buttons feel solid, like they have an excellent haptic click.

What I like about the quick button is that it’s got some protection around it, like a shroud that protects it from accidents and bumps.

I do have one wishlist item with the quick button.

When I first saw this watch, I thought it would be a Digital Crown that you could roll with your fingers to scroll through menus, but that’s not the case.

It’s just a button, not a wheel.

Like many Samsung watches, you can scroll through the menus quickly by dragging your finger around the display’s perimeter.

Still, it’s not the same as using a wheel because your finger is kind when scrolling, flipping the Galaxy Watch Ultra over.

We’ve got a new and improved optical heart rate sensor on the back that aims to give you better accuracy than older Samsung devices.

There’s also a blood oxygen saturation sensor and a wrist temperature sensor on board, so there’s a lot of sense happening on the back of the watch that relates to all the advanced wellness metrics we’ll discuss.

Jumping back to the included marine band I got with my particular watch, I like this band quite a bit, and it is very comfortable. 

The one thing I don’t like about this is that it’s a bit long for my wrist, so like I mentioned, I have a 165 mm circumference wrist.

Because of its length, the watch band almost overlaps itself, making it a one-size-fits-all band.

I wish the edge of the band were more into black, but it’s a minor complaint. 

Moreover, this watch is water resistant to 10 atm or 100m; however, it’s not rated for diving, so if you are a scuba diver or something like that, you’ll probably want to look for a different device.

On top of that, under the hood, in the Galaxy Watch Ultra, you do get a super fast processor.

The CPU here is the swift GPU, rendering different text and animations.

There’s no lag; it’s just a superfluid, super-fast experience, and that’s expected from a watch like this.

There is 32 GB of internal storage inside, but with all the system software and stuff for installing apps and music, there is only 21 GB available. 

Looks and Aesthetics: 

After I explain the specs and hardware features, I want to give you my opinion on the design of this watch.

I like some things about this watch, like having all the buttons on one side; the build quality and the feel of the materials are all nice.

My only criticism of this watch is the look.

I’m not a massive fan of it; I wouldn’t say I like the squirrel design.

I feel like a little bit of a waste of real estate, like the little portions in the corner that are just flat pieces of metal.

It could be a display, and you could get more screen real estate with a square display.

Again, that is just my opinion. 

Specs: 

Brand	Samsung
Special features of the product	Touchscreen, Lightweight
Model name of the item	Samsung Galaxy ultra
ASIN	B0D1YL96ND
Batteries	1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included)
Dimensions of the product	7.4 x 2.76 x 2.13 inches
Connectivity feature	‎Cellular, Bluetooth
Weight of item	10.2 ounces
Size	Standard
Compatible devices	Smartphones

Display: 

I also noticed an excellent display on this watch.

This is a 1.5-inch super AMOLED display, and it can reach 3000 nits of brightness, which is exceptionally bright but probably overkill for most situations.

However, that 3000 nits is quite helpful if you’re in super bright, glaring direct sunlight because the watch will boost the brightness so you can see it very clearly, even out in the middle of the day, which is lovely.

This display is also always on directly out of the box by default.

One awe-inspiring thing about the Galaxy Watch Ultra is that the gesture raise-to-wake functionality is high-speed.

It’s probably one of the best gesture-raised wakes on the market and may be hard to demo.

When you raise your wrist, it illuminates quickly, and there’s no hesitation.

It never misses even while I’m running, which is a problem with other watches; this one is just one of the best on the market in terms of that gesture. 

User Interface/Wellness Features: 

Let’s dive into the user interface of this watch.

I like it quite a bit because it just has a ton of data on it. Again, you can customize all of the complications individually for what you want to see, so I’ve got a rain percentage on the left side.

I’ve got my step count, the day of the week, the date, the time of the day, and a lot of other information available here.

The cool thing about these watch faces is you can tap on any bit of data and dive directly into that app to see even more, so if I want to know the weather for the day, I tap on the temperature here, and that brings me into the weather forecast dropping back into the app list here we’ve also got the Google play store installed on this watch so within here you can download a whole bunch of different apps there’s like thousands to choose from out there.

You’ve got my summary of my activity for the day, which includes my active time, my calories burned, and my step count, which is not very high.

I got to go for my run later today.

I’ve noticed with the Galaxy Watch Ultra that the step count and calories burned on this watch seem a bit generous.

For example, most days, my Garmin and all other test devices I’ve been wearing report a lower step count and lower burned calories than the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

This is not something super crucial, such as the accuracy of step count. 

Activity Profiles/Running:

So, let’s talk about activity tracking when you are using your watch to go out on a run or bike ride and all its features under the hood.

I’ve been only using the built-in native exercise app, as you can see here, and that is accessed once again by simply pushing the quick button on the right if you’ve got it mapped that way.

This isn’t the only app you can use to record activities.

There are many on the Google Play Store, but I’ve been using the Samsung native app.

The native Samsung workout app covers all the basics, so you’ve got that multi-sport mode for the Iron Man triathlon.

You’ve got walking, running, cycling, strength training, swimming, hiking.

When you dive into any particular workout, if you choose running, you can start the workout. Now, a setting enables the quick button to begin workouts.

By default, there’ll be about 321 countdowns, and then you’ll go for your run.

I like having a hardware button to push to start my run, so I make the quick button, and now my workout will start.

I’ll get some data pages showing my heart rate, duration, pace, calories, average speed, and cadence.

If I scroll down, I’ll get more information.

All these data pages are customizable within the Samsung Health app on your phone, and you can change what data you’re viewing on any page.

You can also set goals if you want to run at a target pace or duration.

Unfortunately, the only thing missing from the native workout app is that it doesn’t support external sensors.

I’ve tried pairing an external heart rate sensor and power meter that doesn’t seem to be available in the workout app.

The exciting thing about the native workout app is that it records many advanced running metrics when going for a run, which I didn’t expect. 

Our Verdict:

I think this is a watch that needs to exist. We finally have a ruggedized utilitarian smartwatch with tons of features, lots of wellness tools like that new energy score, a great display, good battery life, and above-average GPS and heart rate accuracy made by Samsung for Android devices. This is something that didn’t exist before this watch. If you are a team Android and love your phone, the Galaxy Watch Ultra should be at the top of your list of watches to buy. For this price range, it’s worth getting the product. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

FAQs:

What is the difference between Samsung Galaxy Watch and LTE?

Samsung’s smartwatches range includes Bluetooth and LTE-compatible models, offering users a versatile wearable tech experience. The LTE models stand out by allowing users to receive calls and messages without being tethered to a smartphone.

Can Galaxy Watch Ultra make calls?

When a call is placed from the watch, the recipient’s caller ID displays the phone number of your companion smartphone when used with Number Share or Bluetooth. From the watch screen, swipe up to access the app screen. Then, dial the 10-digit number.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra worth buying?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a beast of a smartwatch. The build quality is excellent, and it’s packed with outdoor-focused features. It promises to be great for casual adventurers and serious Samsung fans alike. However, it’s too big, perhaps too expensive, and battery life remains frustrating.

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