Announced at the same time as the new Galaxy Ring and other flagships during the Samsung Unpacked event, the Galaxy Watch Ultra represents a quantum leap in the smartwatch roster for South Korea’s tech giant. Tipped to cost about $650, it packs a stunning design and some next-generation health features that will put stiff competition toward the Apple Watch.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra takes up space with a polarizing “squircle” design that combines a round screen in a 47mm square-ish titanium case. Although lighter than one would have thought, the bulk may not be for everyone, the Galaxy Watch 7 appears sleek in comparison.
It provides differentiated health tools unique to this device, such as advanced sleep apnea detection and serious workout capability, really interesting for athletes or people living an active lifestyle needing something more professional than regular smartwatches.
It’s taking an Apple-like playbook, making the Galaxy Watch Ultra a strategic middle point, very much akin to what we have seen with the Apple Watch SE and Series 9. Joining it was the Galaxy Watch 7—very similar in overall feature set—but for $300, it gives the features to those wanting to dive deep into health tracking without the Ultra’s heavy-duty design.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with an extremely vibrant 1.5-inch AMOLED display that can go up to 3,000 nits of brightness and uses a touch bezel—to the dismay of many—for navigation.
With its robust build, advanced health sensors, and price tag, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra enters as one of the strongest rivals to ever hit the Android smartwatch market. Whether it is going to turn people away from Apple’s ecosystem or not, its features do look promising to win the hearts of tech-savvy users in search of high performance and style.
