Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review: not everything’s ultra fantastic

When a gadget is advertised as ultra, my expectations are correspondingly high. Samsung itself is positioning the Galaxy Watch Ultra in the top segment. At 679 francs, it costs almost twice as much as the Galaxy Watch 7, launched at the same time.

For one hot summer month, the Samsung smartwatch was my daily companion – during beach activities as well as a well-deserved vacation nap. I really liked it – but it was also a bit of a disappointment.

Design: big and bold

To me, no other gadget relies as much on its external values as a smartwatch. After all, I wear them on my wrist, clearly visible. The Ultra is anything but discreet. Its square body with a side length of 4.5 centimetres looks bulky and protrudes around 1.5 centimetres from the wrist. With the strap, the watch weighs 93.4 grams, a noticeable additional weight.

I love its girth. Size and weight have never bothered me in everyday life. On the contrary, I enjoyed wearing, looking at and using the watch every day. But I also realise this is a matter of taste. Not everyone will like a massive device on their wrist.

While the Ultra’s screen is round, its casing is square with slightly rounded corners. I like this combination of classic watch design and technological symbolism. A polarising design is always risky for manufacturers, but definitely worth it in order to stand out from the crowd.

Wrist strap: ultra-comfortable, with the occasional problem

My test watch comes with an eye-catching orange strap. The watch is also available in a discreet black or white. Although I don’t usually like silicone on my wrist, the perforated strap with a honeycomb pattern won me over. It’s comfortable, and I didn’t sweat despite the summer temperatures.

Even after swimming in a pool, lake, river and sea (I really tried everything on vacation), skin under the watch dries quickly, so I wore the Ultra all day long. The dark case and orange strap are also an excellent visual pairing.

The Ultra isn’t a diver’s watch. It’s water-resistant up to 10 ATM or 100 metres, but that’s a theoretical value. Here’s the watch industry standard: 10 ATM is enough for swimming and snorkelling as well as jumping from 3 metres. From 20 ATM up, you can also leave the watch on for scuba diving.

However, the eye-catching strap is also an image problem for Samsung. Apple already advertised its Watch Ultra in this same colour two years ago. And last year, the Ocean strap was also perforated with a honeycomb pattern. It all seems very much like a copy – albeit a well-made one.

There are big differences between Samsung and Apple when it comes to the casing itself. The American company opted for an angular screen, a bright case and an offset crown. For the latter, the only similarities are in colour accents.

Important: Samsung is using a new clasp on the Ultra. Wrist straps can now be changed quickly and easily – and are very stable. However, you can only use straps with the same clasp; ones from other Samsung watches aren’t compatible.

Screen: ultra bright, but surprisingly small

My first disappointment comes with the display. It measures just 1.5 inches – making it barely larger than the much more compact Galaxy Watch 7. The bezel and angular case waste a lot of space. This is all the more annoying, as the ring around the screen does nothing. It can’t be rotated, nor does it serve as a touch surface.

Given the extra price, I’d have expected more. Still, the AMOLED screen with a resolution of 480×480 pixels is impressive. The brightness in particular is outstanding. Samsung specifies a peak brightness of up to 3000 nits. My report after everyday testing (beach, pool, 30 degrees): the watch is perfectly readable, even in maximum blazing sunshine.

Night mode is beautiful: the dial is displayed in a red, slightly muted version. That way I can read it easily and it doesn’t bother anyone. Unfortunately, automatic switch-on hasn’t yet worked reliably. The screen always lit up in the normal, bright dial design, even at night.

Operation: potential not fully exploited

If you prefer to control the watch via the touchscreen, you’ll be fine. Thanks to the new Exynos W1000 processor, I can quickly swipe through menus and widgets. Adjustable complications on the dial give me direct access to important features and allow me to start training sessions. Everything is clearly laid out and easy to use. I particularly like the special dials for the Ultra version.

However, Samsung is also missing out on an opportunity. True, the manufacturer has given the watch a crown. Well, it may look like a crown, but it’s actually just an additional button. It doesn’t rotate, but can be pressed like the two normal buttons.

Shame. A real crown would allow scrolling quickly through long menus or a list of notifications. Precise settings would also be easier to change this way, rather than with the touchscreen. Still, at least the additional button is freely configurable.

I assigned it the flashlight function – and used it surprisingly often. If I need light at night to find my way around, all I have to do is press a button and the watch screen lights up in full white. This way I always have a flashlight on my wrist that’s sufficient in many situations.

As great as the freely configurable button is, Samsung should’ve used the lower or upper button for it in my opinion, not the one in the middle. Why? Well, the fake crown sticks out the furthest and is thus constantly activated accidentally by applying pressure with the back of the hand. I’m also used to the centre button leading back to the watch face on other smartwatches. On the Ultra, however, this is the bottom button, which I still haven’t got used to after a month.

Battery life: huge disappointment

Samsung’s advertising promises a long-lasting battery up to 100 hours. The small print states it’s at least 48 hours with continuous GPS tracking.

I clearly missed both targets in my test. In energy-saving mode it was around 72 hours, and 36 to 40 hours in normal everyday use with an always-on screen. This is a disappointment in two respects.

Although the case contains a large battery, the battery life in everyday use isn’t significantly longer than that of full-size watches. I didn’t record any complicated workouts, swimming, hiking and sleep tracking only. Nevertheless, I had to recharge the watch after one and a half to a maximum of two days. The competition from Huawei, Garmin and other manufacturers manages significantly longer runtimes.

If I switch to energy-saving mode in the drop-down menu, efficiency doubles, but only with significant restrictions. For me, the always-on screen is actually a must for a modern smartwatch. I want to be able to read the time without having to activate the display at the very least.

Another no-go for me: power-saving mode also switches off wake-up detection. If I want to see something on the screen, I have to press a button or touch it. I’d rather charge every two days than live with these restrictions. Especially since the watch is so massive that I probably wouldn’t wear it at night for sleep tracking, except for testing purposes.

Tracking: a wealth of possibilities

The watch impresses in daily tracking. The BioActive sensor seems precise. I haven’t been able to verify this scientifically, but I’ve taken control measurements with a smart ring that I’m also testing. Heart rate, resting heart rate, sleep patterns, stress – I get similar results with both trackers.

Feedback from Galaxy AI via the app is discreet. For example, you’ll receive tips for better sleep. I had to launch other things actively, such as stress measurement.

Automatic training detection is impressive and worked excellently for me both when swimming and hiking. Unlike with Apple, the watch immediately records activities without me having to confirm anything. So, it recorded the admittedly short sessions (remember, beach, pool, 30 degrees) independently and accurately.

The watch tracks both individual sports as well as duathlons, triathlons and aquathlons. However, I didn’t test this – my triathlon consisted of applying sun cream, drinking water and looking for shade.