Don’t dismiss the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra as a meaningless Apple Watch Ultra clone. I reviewed the new watch, and it surprised the heck out of me.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra a shameless Apple Watch Ultra clone? Is it nothing more than a copycat without any original ideas? Those were the initial thoughts going through my head when I first saw it, and I think it’s what a lot of people’s first reaction to the watch is, too.
For its part, Samsung is leaning heavily into the similarities. Between the similar watch band styles, the “Ultra” naming, and even the Night Mode option that turns some watch faces red and black, it’s impossible not to draw Apple Watch Ultra comparisons.
But here’s the thing. After using the Galaxy Watch Ultra for this review, I don’t see it as an Apple Watch Ultra clone at all. Instead, I think it’s one of the most original and unique Android smartwatches you can buy in 2024 — as imperfect as it may be.Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: design
Upon first seeing the Galaxy Watch Ultra, I hated how it looked. The circle display and bezel on top of the square body? It’s a jarring, polarizing aesthetic that I didn’t think I could get behind. However, after wearing the Galaxy Watch Ultra for over a week, I love it.
For all the comparisons people want to draw to the other Ultra smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s design is wholly and unabashedly unique — and it’s a big reason why I’ve enjoyed wearing it so much. There’s a real sense of character with this design. It looks unlike any other smartwatch on the market today, and that’s not something I get to say very often.
With a 47mm titanium case, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is quite large, but even this hasn’t bothered me. The titanium design keeps the watch lightweight and comfortable (slightly lighter than the Apple Watch Ultra 2), and I’ve even found it comfy enough to sleep with. That certainly won’t be the case for everyone, but as someone with very tiny wrists, I was pleasantly surprised with how accessible I found the Ultra. The new watch band system is great, too. It’s a proprietary design, similar to the Apple Watch, and it’s incredibly easy to pop watch bands on and off.
I also quite like all of the buttons. In addition to the usual Home and Back buttons, there’s a new Quick button in between them. By default, the Quick button opens the Exercise page in Samsung Health. You can customize it to perform another action in Samsung Health (such as starting a specific exercise type), start a stopwatch, turn on the flashlight, or enable the water lock mode before you go swimming. Pressing the button during a workout pauses/resumes it, double pressing while running or biking records a lap, and holding it during an exercise ends it.
Similar to other Samsung smartwatches, you can also customize the Home and Back buttons to open specific apps, prompt a virtual assistant (Bixby or Google Assistant), and more. It means you can do a lot on the Watch Ultra without ever using the touchscreen, and I love it.
What I don’t love, though, is the absence of a physically rotating bezel or crown. Considering the importance of the crown on the Apple Watch Ultra — and even Samsung’s own expertise here on watches like the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic — not offering this type of navigation is a huge miss. You can move your finger along the edge of the screen to use the “digital bezel” to more quickly navigate through screens/menus, but it’s not the same.
As annoying as the crown/bezel situation is, it’s also my only real bone to pick with the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s design. It’s unique, eye-catching, comfortable, and incredibly functional. Samsung really won me over here, and I did not see that coming.Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: durability
As the Ultra name implies, this is a smartwatch designed for people with “ultra” lifestyles. And by almost every account, the Galaxy Watch Ultra can accommodate those lifestyles. Here are the main things to note:
The Galaxy Watch Ultra can operate between temperatures of -4 and 131 degrees Fahrenheit.
It has an altitude resistance of up to 29,527 feet.
It has 10 ATM and IP68 dust/water resistance.
It has MIL-STD 810H military standard durability.
These are all great traits to have, and they mean the Galaxy Watch Ultra is ready to withstand harsh environments better than non-Ultra smartwatches. However, there’s one important thing to note here.
Although the 10 ATM water resistance is double that of the 5 ATM rating for the Galaxy Watch 7, Samsung’s fine print clearly states that the Galaxy Watch Ultra isn’t suitable for “ultra” water activities.
Here are Samsung’s own words: “It [the Galaxy Watch Ultra] is not suitable for high-pressure water activities and diving. It may be used for shallow-water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean.” By comparison, the Apple Watch Ultra is a great diving smartwatch and can effectively be turned into a full-fledged dive computer with the Oceanic+ app.
While this doesn’t affect me personally (I’ve never been diving a day in my life), it does feel disingenuous to market the Galaxy Watch Ultra as an “ultra” wearable, yet omit a feature like this — especially when it’s one of the Apple Watch Ultra’s most unique qualities.
