A no-nonsense smartwatch for the very adventurous

What do you want from your next smartwatch? Is it style? 24-hour wearability? Hardcore toughness to keep up with your lifestyle? Or a combination of all this, along with top-notch performance and software?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 wants to be that smartwatch. It’s not only obvious from its name and design, but also from its price. But what the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 wants, and what it actually is, may be quite different.

I’ve been wearing it to find out if this is the only smartwatch you’ll need for the foreseeable future, or if the size, features, and design reserve it only for the very adventurous.

8.5/10

Case size

47mm

Display

1.52-inch Super AMOLED

CPU

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite

Battery

800mAh

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 improves on the original’s size, packs in some more health and fitness features, and has the brightest screen we’ve seen on a smartwatch. But it’ll still prove big and ungainly for many.

Pros & Cons

• Titanium and sapphire crystal
• IP69K and MIL-SPEC certification
• Bright, sharp screen
• Excellent performance
• Easy to use software

• New fitness features have niche appeal
• Samsung Health lacks intelligence
• Slow battery charging

Price, specs, and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 costs $700 and is available in either Titanium Grey or Titanium Silver finishes.

It comes with a 4G LTE connection as standard. You can add it to your carrier’s phone plan and make and receive calls without needing to carry your phone. This often costs around an extra $10 per month, but it will vary depending on your carrier and existing plan.

There’s the choice of three different band options. The Marine Band is the one in our photos, along with the hybrid fabric and rubber Trail strap, and the all-fabric Peakform. Each comes in a variety of colors.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 competes with adventure smartwatches like the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and with models from Garmin, Polar, Amazfit, and Suunto. The cheaper Galaxy Watch 9 is the better choice for those who don’t need the Trail Run or diving features, or the tough materials.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 design

It means business

Have you seen or worn the first Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra? If so, you’ll know what to expect from the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. The reduction in thickness to 10.7mm, down from the Ultra’s 12.1mm is welcome, but not really noticeable day-to-day.

The weight has been reduced, overall, by redesigning the strap. I’ve been wearing the new Marine Band, which is softer and more flexible than the old Marine Band. It’s 10 grams lighter, and this does make the smartwatch easier and more comfortable to wear.

I’ve gradually got used to the top-heaviness, which was initially emphasized by the more pliable strap, but there’s no denying that at 84 grams, this is a seriously weighty device to wear all the time. Wearing it to track sleep takes some getting used to, and while I’ve been wearing it solely with short sleeves during the day, I imagine it’ll get stuck and caught under long sleeves quite often.

I appreciate the tough, no-nonsense design. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 means business, and the square 47mm case attracts attention. The IP69K dust and water resistance rating, 10ATM water resistance, and MIL-SPEC-810H toughness certification mean you’ll have to work hard to damage it.

What it’s not is pretty. It’s a tool watch, and there’s no place for style here. You need to be confident and have the right size wrist to pull it off. For reference, it’s on my 6.5-inch wrist in the photos. This isn’t to say it’s ugly, though.

The titanium case has a texture to it, the polished chamfered edges add some class, and the brushed panels surrounding the screen glint in the light. It’s well-judged, neatly designed, and it suits the smartwatch’s purpose.

But at no point does it feel like a weekend casual watch, or one you’d wear in a dressier situation. Get it with the Olive strap color, like in our photos, and it’ll look good with fatigues and out in the wilderness. Wear it with your tennis whites, and it may look out of place.

Yes, I’m exaggerating for effect, but only to make a point. The Galaxy Watch 9 is Samsung’s true everyday smartwatch, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is made for people who either live the lifestyle it promises to track, or want to look like they do.

Should the design and toughness appeal, be prepared for a big, fairly heavy, and constantly noticeable smartwatch on your wrist. I haven’t forgotten it was there on my wrist once.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 health and activity tracking

Comprehensive feature list

If the shape and design isn’t anything new, what about the general health and activity tracking?

Like the previous model, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 tracks sleep, a host of exercises and workouts, vital statistics, vascular load, stress, steps, heart rate, and blood oxygen levels.

Additionally, the Antioxidant Index returns, along with an Electrocardiogram (ECG), Body Mass Index, and blood pressure insights. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s crown opens the workout menu where you can quickly start to track your activity.

Auto workout tracking reliably recognizes walking and running after about 10 minutes, and it’ll stop automatically too. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 also accurately pauses workout tracking when you stop moving, and restarts when you get going again, alerting you with a subtle haptic tap on your wrist.

I’ve compared sleep and walking tracking with both the Oura Ring 5 and the Fitbit Air. It matched the Oura Ring 5’s results for walking, suggesting it’s mostly accurate, but continues to mark natural movement during sleep as awake time, which skews its REM and deep sleep data. It’s also keen to register downtime, like watching a movie, as napping, which once again can impact daily scores.

There’s an awful lot of features here, and it’s questionable whether they’re applicable to everyone. Almost all, including the ECG, the Antioxidant Index, and blood pressure insights, are also available on the Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 9.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 screen and performance

A rocket, once it gets going

Now we get to two of the best elements of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

The massive 1.52-inch Super AMOLED screen is superb. Not just because of its sharp 498 x 498 pixel resolution, or the sapphire crystal covering it, which limits reflection and enhances the already wide viewing angles, but because of the brightness.

The 5,000 nit peak is a smartwatch-first, and in the recent sunny weather in the UK, it has been visible at all times without the need to find a shady spot. This helps during workouts, and when you want to glance at a notification.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is the first smartwatch to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor, and it’s joined by 2GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage space.

Samsung’s power management hobbles the processor during the first few seconds when you wake the smartwatch up, and at this time, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 pauses and stutters as it gets used to actually doing something.

However, once it’s going, the Galaxy Watch Ultra absolutely flies. It’s really noticeable in power-intensive apps like Google Maps, where when you use the intuitive virtual rotating bezel to zoom in and out, there’s barely any pause at all. It makes understanding your surroundings much easier.

There are some irritating idiosyncrasies to get used to. The delay between haptics announcing a notification and the smartwatch recognizing the raise-to-wake gesture is far too long, and you have to wait a second to look at the screen; otherwise, it won’t show up.

Samsung also turns off some of its gesture features by default. For example, the Double Pinch gesture and Raise to Talk for Gemini need activating in the menu before they work.

It’s the same for notifications, and you have to check the list of apps allowed to send notifications, even after agreeing to receive them. Both Gmail and Threads were turned off for me at first, for example.

This management, and ensuring everything is working, also applies to every health monitoring activity. All the features require you to agree to individual terms and conditions, and some, such as the ECG and blood pressure monitoring, require the installation of the Samsung Health Monitor app.

This does make the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 quite needy, particularly during the first few days and weeks, when features like Vitals and Cardio Load also require long calibration periods.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 apps and software

All the data you need

You need two apps to use the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 with your phone, and a third app if you want to get the most from its health features.

Galaxy Wear and Samsung Health manage the watch and your activity and are available for all Android phones, while the Samsung Health Monitor app deals with sleep apnea, blood pressure monitoring, and the ECG function. It only works with a Samsung Galaxy phone.

Samsung Health is the only app of the three that looks different from before. Its redesign is successful, with a menu at the top of the screen accessing sleep, activity, and vitals, plus information cards giving you bite-sized takeaways about your stats.

The data is both obvious and detailed, and Samsung has taken the wise decision to highlight key numbers and let you dig into graphs to find finer details. Workout data is comprehensive and easy to understand.

Each day you’re given an Energy Score along with a card containing some very general advice about your readiness. However, these cards are often out of date, telling me to get out and move more even when I’ve already reached my target. Also, suggesting I ‘consider trying a new sport today’ is entirely pointless filler, and adds nothing.

When it doesn’t have much to say, it’ll put useless cards up instead. I particularly dislike how it makes me feel lazy when it says how many thousands meet their target on a particular day, and I’m far from doing so.

I like the way it shows the factors it takes into account when generating the Energy Score, though, and also how the previous day compares to your baseline. Unfortunately, despite this, Health lacks the intelligence of Google’s AI Health Coach and Oura’s AI Advisor.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has Google Wear OS 7 and Samsung One UI Watch 9, and if you’re familiar with Samsung’s smartwatches, you’ll struggle to see much that’s new. Samsung Health does not require a subscription to see your data.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 special features

Anything that makes it worth buying?

There are a few special features available on the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, but unless you’re a keen diver or trail runner, it’s hard to say they increase the value of the smartwatch much.

Trail Run is the big new fitness tracking feature. For those who get out into the wilderness, you’ll get turn-by-turn directions with alerts if you go off track, GPX file support, and even reminders to stay hydrated based on environmental conditions and your body metrics.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will work as a dive computer and will get its own special dive app from experts Mares, which is set for release later this year. The smartwatch meets the EN13319 dive standards.

Raise to Talk for Gemini pops up when you raise your wrist almost all the time, but it doesn’t stay active for long, so I haven’t had to dismiss any unwanted eavesdropping.

The Vitals feature takes seven nights’ sleep tracking to calibrate, and once done, it shows heart rate, HRV, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen levels, then lets you know if any are out of your normal range.

This can alert you to any alterations which may signal illness, or signs of stress on your body. It flagged outliers which did not align with the data from my Oura Ring 5 and Fitbit Air, suggesting it may need a longer period of calibration before it can be fully trusted.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 battery life and charging

Good performance, slow charging

Samsung has somehow managed to squeeze in a massive (for a smartwatch) 800mAh battery, which you’d think means it has an extra long use time.

While the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s battery life is good, it isn’t dramatically better than before, or from many other smartwatches.

Wear the smartwatch all day, track sleep, and do a single 30-minute workout, and the battery lasts about two full days on a single charge.

This is good performance, but perhaps not as stellar as some will expect from an 800mAh battery. It’s also not longer than the OnePlus Watch 3, and not a great deal longer than the 44mm Galaxy Watch 8.

You charge the battery using a wireless magnetic puck which attaches to the back of the smartwatch. It takes about 90 minutes to fully charge.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2?

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a good purchase. It’s very durable, packed full of health and fitness features, has just enough to push it past a non-adventure smartwatch’s capabilities, and the screen is superb. However, the tradeoff comes in the large, often ungainly overall size.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s biggest problem is the Galaxy Watch 9. It also has almost the same health features, plus an identical processor and software, but costs less and will suit more people. It should be the model you look at first, before considering the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, unless you really will make use of the trail running and diving features.

Is it the only smartwatch you’ll need for years to come? It’s certainly feature-packed, but although Samsung has worked to make the shape easier and more comfortable to wear, it’s still a statement-making smartwatch. You’ll have to accept showing off its obvious hardcore sporting intentions to the world around you if you want to wear it all the time.

8.5/10

Case size

47mm

Display

1.52-inch Super AMOLED

CPU

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite

Battery

800mAh

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 manages to be more wearable than its predecessor, but is still going to be a lot to handle for many, especially if you’re into sleep tracking.The screen is fantastic, the battery life decent, and the performance and software among the best on a smartwatch.However, its adventure credentials only underline its niche appeal, and many will be better off with the more wearable, lower cost Galaxy Watch 9