Samsung Galaxy Ultra smartwatch review: can it become your next fitness coach?

How much can you actually do with Samsung’s toughest Galaxy Watch ever?

Samsung has released two new smartwatches this year: Samsung Galaxy 7 and Samsung Galaxy Ultra. While both watches are equipped with Wear OS and powered by Galaxy AI to provide users with more accurate information and health-related features, the company claims that the Ultra watch is “Samsung’s most capable smartwatch yet, designed for next-level achievements.”

To find out if the latest Samsung watch is worth the hype, I tested it for a couple of weeks, focusing on how it works during various workouts, including hiking, running, and cycling.

It takes the average user anywhere from two to five years to change their smartwatch. Since new smartwatch models from various manufacturers come out almost yearly with more intelligent updates, a lot can change during that period. But what exactly?

Insights into Samsung Galaxy Ultra’s specifications

First impressions: size and design

The Samsung Galaxy Ultra smartwatch, “the toughest” watch in the Galaxy smartwatch series, was created to resist various conditions, including high/low temperatures, humidity, immersion, dust, etc.

The watch is made from titanium and sapphire crystal glass, which makes it feel quite heavy. If you’re scared that the device might slip off your wrist, you will definitely notice it.

Samsung Galaxy Ultra comes in one size, with a 47mm diameter, which might not be ideal for users with a relatively slim wrist. My friends noticed the change from a 40mm to a 47mm smartwatch, and they jokingly asked why I was wearing a satellite dish.

The Galaxy Ultra also has a 3nm Exynos W1000 processor, 2GB of memory, and 32GB of storage. The display worked quickly and smoothly, hinting at a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Battery life

As the owner of a three-year-old Apple SE smartwatch, one of the most important things I look for in a smartwatch is its battery life. So, I decided to compare the incomparable, understanding that I probably shouldn’t be comparing a watch “in service” to a brand-new smartwatch.

I’ve been using my watch to monitor my workouts, specifically outdoor walks and hikes. The information displayed on the smartwatch helps me check distance, time, pace, and average speed. However, if I go on a day-long hike, my watch dies after half a day of monitoring.

Samsung’s specs boast that its watch lasts up to 80 hours in power-saving mode, with AOD (Always On Display) and exercise power-saving mode off. The battery can hold to 60 hours if AOD is on.

I’ll admit that may be just about accurate, as I didn’t have to charge the watch for almost four days during my less-active days. Before going on my 35-kilometer hike, I fully charged the watch to see how long it would last. I used the watch for nearly two days, during which I was able to monitor a 6-hour hike, a few shorter walks (10km), and a 7-kilometer run.

However, it should be kept in mind that I didn’t use the watch for calls or messages and didn’t receive any social media notifications.

Water resistance

Thanks to its water resistance feature, the Ultra watch can track training in water sports such as swimming, kayaking, water skiing, and more. It can also stay at a 100-meter depth for 10 minutes.

Nevertheless, Samsung warns that the watch is not suitable for “high-pressure water activities and diving,” but it can be used for “shallow-water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean.”

Samsung Galaxy Ultra features up close

During testing, the main focus was on workouts and health metrics that the Ultra smartwatch showed.

Workout tracking

Samsung offers various workout tracking options, including Multisport tile, which can track multiple workouts and help users prepare for triathlons, duathlons, aquathlons, and other events. Users can also create their own workout routines.

But what I found useful during my workout tracking was a simple but handy feature – auto-pause. This feature would automatically detect when I’m going for a break during a hike and pause and resume tracking after I’m on my feet again. This way, I didn’t have to remember to pause and resume the workout every time and still got accurate metrics.

AI-powered health metric statistics

One health-related metric that the smartwatch can track is blood pressure. However, to make this feature work, a user has to have a blood pressure monitor, which is used to calibrate the watch. The calibration has to occur every month to ensure that the readings are accurate, making me wonder whether such a feature is needed after all.

What Samsung Health can show you

The Ultra smartwatch tracks and shows data such as sleep analysis, stress indication, heart rate, and, with the help of Galaxy AI, Energy score. This metric can give users insights into their overall health, letting them know whether they may lack a good night's sleep, should make changes in their workout regime, or just need to rest.

For avid cyclists, the smartwatch can track Functional Threshold Power (FTP). FTP is a personalized power index showing the highest average power a person can maintain in an hour without getting tired. However, similar to the blood pressure metrics, FTP tracking requires a separate power meter sensor.

Safety features

When it comes to outdoor sports, one can never know what unexpected situations they may encounter. For this reason, the Samsung smartwatch has several safety features, including a siren, fall detection, and emergency SOS.

The Siren, which produces an 86-decibel sound, can be heard up to 180 meters away. However, the environment may impact these numbers.

The Fall detection feature, which was created in mind for people who often experience health-related problems, can immediately contact one’s emergency contacts.

While the Emergency SOS feature allows users to contact one another during an emergency, Samsung notes that “a network connection is required. GPS accuracy may be affected by obstructions to the satellite signal, such as buildings.”

Samsung Galaxy Ultra: take it or leave it?

The latest Samsung smartwatch has such a wide range of features that it also serves as an indicator of what I need or don’t need in a smartwatch.

While the Galaxy Ultra offers blood pressure monitoring, FTP tracking, and even the Double Pinch feature, which allows you to take pictures or answer calls with just a simple gesture, I was looking for something much simpler – long-lasting battery life and easier workout tracking.

Its bigger size, durable design, and detailed features make the watch much more suitable for sports and health enthusiasts, especially if they're ready to pay its premium price, which now stands at $650.