Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch Ultra created quite a buzz at the Unpacked launch event in Paris, and I was there to witness it. While some noted its resemblance to Apple’s Watch Ultra, the overall response was one of eager anticipation.
For those who have no interest in joining the Apple camp but really, really like its Watch Ultra, Samsung’s version means that they can finally get their hands on it, only an Android version, and this is no bad thing.
As an Apple Watch Ultra 2 daily driver, I’ve spent some time with Samsung’s new outdoor activity focused “Ultra” to see how it compares.
What’s it for?
So what’s an “Ultra” watch anyway? The term has come to denote a premium device that gets special features and functions (and of course titanium) along with a higher price. Thanks to Apple, this means a version made for “extreme” outdoor pursuits such as triathlons, mountain climbing, long distance running, diving and the like.
And to live up to its rating, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is tougher, more accurate and has greater endurance than Samsung’s standard watches. This includes a sturdy titanium case, Quick Action button, dual-frequency GPS, powerful 3nm processor, improved BioActive sensor, Race and Multisport modes, and a long battery life.
Look and feel
There’s no doubt that the 47mm Ultra has rugged good looks, along with beefy buttons and a thick band. It also still resembles a mechanical watch, with its large circular dial, and this is something that the Apple Watch Ultra lacks.
Samsung’s Ultra comes in Titanium White, Titanium Silver and Titanium Grey, which is the version on my wrist. It’s quite durable too, with a US Military Standard (MIL-STD 810H) rating, and can be used from -20C to 55C and up to 9000m in altitude. For water, it has an IP67 rating and can be used up to 10ATM underwater. This is about the same as Apple’s Watch Ultra 2, in terms of durability.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is the first to use Samsung’s Dynamic Lug system, and this makes it easy to swap bands by pressing small release buttons located at the base of each side. The bands can be clicked into place and seem quite secure when pulled quite firmly from each end.
While I liked the bright orange Marine band, this is fairly thick and long. For my medium wrist, the band’s end sticks out a little more than it should, and it seemed either a bit too loose or too tight due to the band’s hole placement.
I prefer the more comfortable cloth and velcro strap on my Apple Watch, however, there are similar band options like Trail and PeakForm, with more to come from 3rd parties, so you can always choose something that suits you.
Overall, the design is quite pleasing and suits the rugged aesthetic, and ideal for people who like that big-watch look on their wrists. Size and weight-wise, it’s a little lighter (1 gram) than Apple’s counterpart, shorter by 2mm, wider by 3.4mm and thinner by about 2mm.
One thing I would still like to see, however, is a rotatable bezel like the Galaxy Watch6 Classic, but I imagine there’s a technical reason why they didn’t include this, such as water resistance or other durability concern.
Watch faces
There are some attractive Galaxy Ultra-specific watch faces to choose from, and these are very customizable. You can assign a kitchen sink’s worth of functions thanks to “complications”, which are small areas on the face dedicated to battery level, weather, moon phase, compass, UV rating, and more, along with other more detailed zones for your activity, weekly forecasts, and the like. I also quite enjoy the Night Mode view that turns the watch face into an amber-only colour scheme. This is meant to keep your eyes adjusted for darkness but I think it just looks cool too.
Galaxy Watch Ultra (LTE, 47mm) specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Price | $1,299 (LTE only) |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Official Samsung website | Product page |
| Color 47mm | Titanium Silver, Titanium Grey, Titanium White |
| Dimensions & Weight 47mm | 47.1 x 47.4 x 12.1mm, 60.5g |
| Display | Sapphire Crystal 47mm: 1.5-inch (37.3mm) 480×480 Super AMOLED Full Color Always On Display |
| Processor | Exynos W1000 (5 Core, 3nm) |
| Memory & Storage | 2GB memory + 32GB storage |
| Battery (typical) | 590mAh |
| Charging | Fast Charging (WPC-based wireless charging) |
| OS | Wear OS Powered by Samsung (Wear OS 5) |
| UI | One UI 6 Watch |
| Sensors | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Bio-signal sensor + Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) Temperature Sensor Accelerometer Barometer Gyro Sensor Geomagnetic Sensor Light Sensor |
| Connectivity | LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS(L1+L5)/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo |
| Durability | 10ATM+IP68 / MIL-STD-810H / Ocean Swimming, Operation Temperature / Altitude Guaranteed |
| Compatibility | Android 11 or higher and with more than 1.5GB of memory |
Display and interface
Samsung is already very good at making TVs and monitors, and the 1.5-inch (37.3mm) Super AMOLED screen on the watch is very nice to look at too. It’s the full-colour, always-on variety, with 3000Nits of brightness. I found it to be very clear and sharp, and easy to see, even in direct sunlight. Compared to Apple’s Ultra 2, which is also a 3000Nit screen, they seem about the same, however, I prefer the Samsung’s circular shape.
While this is the first of Samsung’s watches to run Google’s new Wear OS 5, it really doesn’t look or operate differently than previous models. Samsung’s One UI 6 has a similar layout, where you swipe right for applications, left for notifications, up for settings and down for apps.
You can scroll the screen with your finger and tap to make selections, however, I kept trying to turn the Quick Button to scroll the screen like Apple’s Digital Crown dial. I think a dial is more initiative, while the Quick Button is as it sounds, a button, but you can assign single, double and long press functions to get more capabilities from it. For example, a short press can start the stopwatch, with a double press for recording a lap, and a long press to reset.
Sport
While the basic sports functions are similar to Samsung’s other Galaxy Watches, there are specific modes designed for more serious athletes. For example, the Race mode lets you compare past results with your current session. So if there’s a particular running route that you like to do, you can see how you’re shaping up against your fastest time, and it will indicate how far ahead or behind you are. This function is only available for running and biking, however.
Then there’s the Multisport mode, which allows you to track multi-course workouts like triathlons. This is handy as you don’t need to stop one workout and start another, and it gives you combined results, per sport type. You could also use it for a duathlon where you run, cycle, and run again.
Cyclists will also be happy to be able to calculate their FTP metrics on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. FTP is Functional Threshold Power, and a point of reference that cyclists use for training. While I haven’t tried this myself, you can get your rating by cycling for at least 4 minutes, but your bike needs to be connected to a Power Meter via your Samsung phone as well.
However, compared to Apple Watch Ultra 2, I really miss its integrated dive computer. I’m not sure why this feature is not included on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and I found this invaluable for recording the duration, depth and water temperature for each of my dives. It’s fantastic for snorkeling and free diving too. The Samsung Ultra can still be used for swimming of course, and reports your distance and time, but not depth. Perhaps this is why the Apple Ultra is $100 more expensive.
Location tracking
Regardless what sport you’re into, the new dual-frequency GPS is intended to improve location and distance tracking, especially in dense areas like a city centre with tall buildings, so this is a plus. In tested this in Sydney’s central business district, where I was able to navigate directions via a map without any loss of location or strange results.
Also, there’s a Back Track mode that will give you detailed instructions about how to find your way back to a waypoint, including altitude, along with the ability to create your own detailed routes for hikes, climbs, runs and rides.
Safety
It’s good to see that when you’re out doing your extreme sports, the Galaxy Watch Ultra can ‘watch’ your back. It has fall detection, which will dial emergency contacts and share your location if you can’t get back on your feet, and there’s an SOS mode too that you can trigger manually.
Also, a 5-second hold of the Quick Button will trigger an 86 decibel siren to get attention, and this can be heard from up to 180 meters away.
Wellness
The Galaxy Watch Ultra has an improved BioActive sensor that is designed to be 3.2 times more accurate than the one used in the Galaxy Watch6, according to Samsung. Otherwise, it tracks the same body-related metrics such as heart rate (optical) and EPG (electrical), blood oxygen saturation, sleep, temperature, stress levels and body composition.
There’s a blood pressure monitor too, and I was excited to try this out, however soon disappointed to discover that it requires calibration from an external blood pressure monitor, so it can’t work on its own.
With the help of Galaxy AI, Samsung has developed a new Energy Score. This is intended to give you an at-a-glance total measurement of your health from a variety of data points such as sleep, activity, heart rate and other biometrics, so you can compare it against previous results.
In use
Like previous watches, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is a very capable smartwatch, with loads of functions. It has an integrated LTE eSIM for stand-alone capabilities like streaming music or making calls without your phone, along with tap-and-pay functionality.
It integrates very well with Samsung phones, and is easy to make settings and change watch faces using the Wear app, or manage your health with the Health App. It can also be used with other Android phones, but I’m told it may not be able to perform all of its functions.
Also, thanks to the new 3nm processor, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is very snappy and responsive, and it can perform Galaxy AI tasks like creating suggested replies to text messages “on-device”. Samsung says that its new chip is 3 times faster than the old model, offering 30 percent greater power efficiency too.
In terms of battery life, it’s rated at 100 hours with Power Saving mode enabled, or 48 hours of Exercise Power Saving. This is significant, as workout tracking can use up a lot of energy for continuous timers, GPS location and heart rate monitoring, and needs to last the entire length of a triathlon or ultra-marathon. There’s nothing worse than running out of battery before you’re done your workout!
In my use, I ran the watch for an entire day without charging it overnight, and it still read that I had 2 days and 1 hour of battery left, and this wasn’t even with a power saving mode enabled.
You can charge it with the inductive charger supplied in the box, but there’s no power plug included, a common omission with Samsung’s smartphones as well. I also paired it with Samsung’s new Buds 3 Pro earbuds, and thanks to Bluetooth 5.3, the connection was quick and the sound quality was excellent.
Should you buy it?
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a perfect option for those who want a smartwatch that can keep up with demanding outdoor activities or just a more rugged and durable device. Plus, it builds on Samsung’s already solid Galaxy Watch foundations, with an even more advanced GPS, chip, larger battery and brighter screen. It’s also the Android twin for Apple’s popular Watch Ultra 2, giving people who want ‘Ultra’ but not the Apple, the smartwatch they’ve been waiting for.
More smartwatch news and reviews on Gadgetguy.com.au
The post Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review: the ‘ultra’ Android alternative? appeared first on GadgetGuy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment