Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review: All-weather premium fitness companion

The new Galaxy Watch Ultra has everything to help us understand our eating habits, physical activities and how much more effort is needed to improve our overall health and fitness.

During the recent Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event, Samsung unveiled Galaxy Z Fold6, Flip6 series premium foldable phones along with Galaxy Watch Ultra, the company's first-ever ultra series rugged smart wearable.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra (Bluetooth + 4G LTE) comes only in one variant for Rs 59,999. It comes with state-of-the-art advanced health tracking sensors to help owners get in shape and develop a disciplined lifestyle. I spent more than a week with the device and here are my thoughts on Samsung's latest offering.

Design and build quality

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a top-end smart wearable model in Samsung's product portfolio, which also includes the Galaxy Watch 7.

There was a lot of talk on social media platforms about the Galaxy Watch Ultra having the same design elements as Apple's Watch Ultra. But, it's not.

Except for the orange-dark grey colourway, the Galaxy Watch Ultra has several unique features to stand apart from the crowded smartwatch market.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra's straps.

It comes in three colours-- titanium silver, titanium white and titaniu grey. Our unit is the latter. It features a gorgeous curvaceous square case and has a circular bezel with 12 well-marked spokes in orange colour. It houses two physical side buttons with orange and white streaks, respectively and a quick action button at the centre with an orange ring. The latter can be used to launch the favourite app and the top side button takes the users to the home screen.

The device comes with bright orange-hued high-quality soft and sturdy wristbands.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

The big 1.5-inch AMOLED display is super bright. It supports a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. It is more than enough to view notifications and most importantly read time with less hassle outdoors.

Also, the display is super sensitive. It responds quickly to swipe gestures.

Also, the big display on the Galaxy Watch Ultra is wider and better than other rival brands,

Users can send texts and even reply to the messages right from the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

This Samsung watch is tailor-made for outdoor junkies. It is capable of functioning in extreme environmental conditions. On the top of the super bright display, there is a sturdy sapphire glass shield for protection against scratches. It comes in handy whenever the user goes out trekking near rocky riverines, there is the constant threat of the display getting gashed by rocks.

Also, the enclosure is made of grade-5 Titanium, which again is a high-strength material, stronger than stainless steel found in most premium smart wearables.

It comes with MIL-STD 810H certification. It is capable of working in extreme weather conditions— up to -20 degrees Celsius and 55 degrees Celsius. Also, it can withstand water pressure up to 100-metre depth.

Performance

It is powered by a 3nm Exynos W1000 processor, which is said to deliver three times faster CPU 32 per cent and 30 per cent improved power efficiency over the predecessor.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

During the testing period, the device was fast in terms of time taken to load apps and register swipe gestures. Also, the super-sensitive sensors were able to automatically know I was walking every single time. If it senses I have been walking for around 10 minutes, it turns on the walking session and once I come to rest, it pops a message to confirm if I am done walking, and it stops tracking.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra feature a Dual-frequency GPS, which can more precisely track location 35 even in dense urban environments. This is a first for the Galaxy Watch series to date.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra runs on custom WearOS jointly developed by Samsung and Google. The User Interface is simple and easy to navigate through the watch to find apps and settings.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra runs Google WearOS.

The only qualm is that the user has to install three apps-- Samsung Wearable, Health and Health Monitor. The latter is only available for Samsung phones to check Blood Pressure and Electrocardiogram. It would be easy for users if all the health tracking features are placed in just one app. I understand that, like Apple, Samsung wants to build a closed ecosystem around Galaxy phone devices.

But, it should open up for all Android phones, as this will allow non-Samsung phone users to experience all the health and fitness features of Galaxy Watch Ultra. They are more likely to buy Samsung phones than those owning iPhones.

Besides the ECG to detect for atrial fibrillation (AFib), and Blood Pressure, the Galaxy Watch can offer IHRN (Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification).

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra offers motivation to compete the activity rings for the day.

The latest Galaxy Watch Ultra features an all-new BioActive sensor. It sheds light on the owner's body fitness and health condition than the previous iteration.

The BioActive sensor is capable of offering advanced glycation end products (AGEs) index. It provides deep insights into body’s metabolic health and biological ageing, which are strongly influenced by the overall lifestyle and dietary habits of the user.

BMI on Galaxy Health app.

Users can get the BMI (Body Mass Index) details such as skeletal muscle mass, fat mass and body water content. Also, there is an option to add what food you eat. It has a chart listing all the popular foods consumed in India such as chapati, curd, rice, milk, lassi, fruit juices and more.

With the information, users can see the BMI change over time and this will help in improving the body's fitness and health.

The Quick Button on Watch Ultra allows the owner to instantly initiate and control workouts and map other functions to suit your needs.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra can track hundreds of physical activities.

Post-workout, users can check stats at a glance with dedicated watch faces for Galaxy Watch Ultra. It also supports Night mode, which automatically turns on after sunset, for optimal readability in the dark.

Activity rings on the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

It can track sleep patterns. If it senses the owner is not getting proper sleep (minimum of 7-8 hours a day), it offers sleep coaching programm tailored to the user's sleep needs. The owner has to wear the Galaxy Watch Ultra at night for at least seven days, and based on the result, it will assign an animal symbol (such as deer, shark, lion, hedgehog, mole, penguin, crocodile and walrus) which has similar sleep pattern. And, with a sleep coaching programme that lasts for three to four weeks, users can improve their sleep. This will have a profound effect on mental health, reduce stress-induced health issues and probably help balance work and personal lives.

Samsung Health app can offer good insights on Sleep Pattern.

Also, the Galaxy Watch Ultra can track menstrual cycles for women. Recently, Samsung received the official nod from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring Sleep Apnea detection to the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Galaxy Watch7.

Sleep Apnea is a silent killer. This is a serious health issue where breathing repeatedly stops and starts. People diagnosed with Sleep Apnea are vulnerable to coronary artery diseases, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. And, the older the person, the higher the risk of sudden death.

It is easy setup the Galaxy Watch Ultra via Samsung Wearable and Health apps.

Samsung is expected to enable Sleep Apnea on the Galaxy Watch Ultra soon in select markets including the US and South Korea. After getting approval from local health agencies, it is expected to bring the same feature to eligible watches in India.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra supports ECG and Blood Pressure reader. Soon, Sleep Apnea detection feature will be coming via software update.

However, I advise users not to make any drastic changes in their dietary habits and physical exercises purely based on the data available on the Samsung Health app.

As a precautionary measure, always consult a doctor and certified nutritionist before changing your food intake and physical activities to get fit and healthy.

Samsung Health app can offer insightful details of heart rate and blood-oxygen saturation reading.

Also, it comes with new Energy Score. It is powered Artificial Intelligence tech--Galaxy AI. The Watch can analyse key indicators of the overall condition of the body and gives a daily score. Higher it is, the better and user can go for extra session of workouts.

Daily activity details tracked by the Galaxy Watch Ultra can be viewed on the Galaxy Health app.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra also comes with an Emergency Siren for safety. Users can trigger it by just tapping the quick button continuously five times.

It can go as loud as 86 decibels and can be heard from up to 180 meters away. And, sends out emergency messages with location to loved ones (mentioned in the contact list in the Watch settings).

SoS emergency feature of Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

The device can even detect sudden falls. If it senses the user has suffered an abrupt fall on the ground, it can send location details to loved ones for timely help.

Samsung Galaxy Health Monitor app helps set up Blood Pressure reading feature.

With LTE support, users can make the call directly from the Galaxay Watch Ultra from the wrist and even speak as well.

It comes with a 590 mAh battery capacity. Under normal usage, it can last for 48 hours. And, under low power mode, it can go for 100 hours.

And, with a full charge, it can last for two days of normal usage. With power saving mode, it is close to 100 hours.

It supports 10W wireless charging. And, the company offers the charger with a retail box. It needs more than 90 minutes to fully charge from to zero to 100 per cent capacity.

Final thoughts

The latest Galaxy Watch Ultra ticks all the checkboxes we look for in a true premium watch. It has the brightest display I have seen on a watch. It supports critical potential life-saving features including ECG and irregular heart rhythm notification.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

It can also read out blood pressure. It also offers body fitness with energy score, insightful data on sleep patterns and can track hundreds of sporting activities and physical exercises including Yoga.

Also, it has an SOS emergency feature and accurate GPS, which comes in handy while out trekking deep in to forests or secluded hiking routines. It can work in extreme weather conditions. And, it has an impressive battery life.

It has everything to help us understand our eating habits, physical activities and how much more effort is needed to improve our overall health and fitness.

However, the only qualm, I noticed in the Galaxy Watch Ultra is that ECG and Samsung Health Monitor app is not available for non-Samsung phones. I hope Samsung offers access to this to all Android phone users. As noted earlier, they are more likely to buy Samsung phones than those owning iPhones, who rather go to the Apple Watch Ultra series.

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