Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra Is a Premium But Solid Fitness Companion for Android Users

When Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra, the obvious comparisons would be to a company named after a fruit. But we are generally told that the value and worth of a product is only known when you use it. And so we have been with the Galaxy Watch Ultra for the last few weeks, trying to find out if the Rs 59,999 Ultra Watch has what it takes to be a solid smartwatch for many.

Stylish Solid Looks

It’s no surprise that Samsung has opted for a rugged look with the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and the feature set does what it’s set out to do. You’ve got military-grade protection, underwater capability is also possible with the Ultra on, and it can withstand extreme temperatures.

Now, we weren’t able to try out most aspects of it, but we weren’t too bothered by diving into the pool wearing the Watch Ultra. The metal casing is another key part of the Ultra’s durable package, but then you do feel the 60g body weight, which may not be ideal for everyone, especially when sleeping.

The circular square profile has its own style, but we wish the Ultra had the rotating bezels. You have three buttons on the right side to activate different modes, the app store, and more. The Watch Ultra does its best to give you the best of both worlds.

AMOLED Screen Shines

Samsung once again relies on a Super AMOLED panel to showcase its colours and high contrast. Add the higher peak brightness to the equation and you have a display that can work in most conditions and switch to a flashy night mode when the light gets low. The sapphire display is stunning and there’s no denying its brightness when you strap it to your wrist.

We had no problems using the Watch Ultra outdoors, and the screen is the right size to serve you with notifications from the phone, while also allowing you to type on it when you need it. Samsung also has a wide range of watch faces that you can download and save to the device.

Feature Packed Complete

Being robust will never be enough for the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and Samsung has made sure that it doesn’t miss out on anything that a wearable should have. Health features, you have them, rugged features, you have them, and fitness tools, they’re all there. However, if you want to access all of its features, especially the Galaxy AI element, you’ll need to use it with a Samsung Galaxy phone. Without it, the Watch Ultra isn’t bad at all, but you start to feel the limitations with other Android phones. Some of the smarter and more sophisticated health tools are locked down, and we hope Samsung eventually allows more brands to support them.

Still, the smartwatch works well and gives you access to important fitness/health tools built right into your wrist. And yes, Samsung has made a Watch Ultra that only runs Android. The company showed how two people can play a game of walled garden.

The other main issue or friction we felt was the need to download three apps to use a smartwatch. Setting up the Watch Ultra is easy, but can Samsung integrate all the features and pack them into a single app? Moving beyond that, the Watch Ultra supports WearOS out of the box, meaning you have the option of Android apps to install from the Play Store.

How It Works

Now, onto the main aspect of any review: how does the Watch Ultra perform, respond, and perform when you put it through its paces? Once you get three apps paired with the wearable, you see the value of having deeper integration at play. The wearable app lets you control the logistics and aesthetics of the watch, while the Samsung Health app is the hub where all the data tracking and monitoring happens. Sleep tracking provides tons of data that can help you determine the quality of your sleep, ratings give you a better read on what improvements are needed, and more.

Similarly, the active fitness data provided by auto-tracking does a good job of tracking your movements, and it works effectively even in sports modes. WearOS has matured over the last few years, and Samsung is clearly benefiting from its good relationship with Google, which gives it early access to some features. We can’t wait to see how Samsung plans to bring AI to its wearable lineup, and how it fares in this form factor.

And finally, battery life. Samsung’s Watch Ultra is claimed to last for 48 hours, but those figures include power-saving mode enabled. That said, we managed just over 30 hours during our testing, after which you had to plug the charger into the back of the smartwatch. We definitely want the 590mAh battery to last longer, and hopefully a few updates will help make that happen.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra has premium looks, features and durability that inspire confidence in many ways, and despite its price tag, we can see fitness enthusiasts and adventure enthusiasts opting for it and being happy.