There is a good chance Samsung will come at us with a pitchfork for the title because it sounds ambiguous. It’s for a good reason. If you asked us if there’s one product we least expected to review, it’s this Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, because from the get-go, we knew it was not going to leave the right impression. After all, you might want to think before spending RM 3,399 on a smartwatch. It’s not a bad smartwatch, it’s pretty good, but it doesn’t live up to the Ultra name.
Samsung, please read this review till the end. We mean no harm.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra Review
Some Things You Must Know
The Bell and Ross Look is an Acquired Taste
If you immediately look at the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, I must say that the watch has a bold personality right out of the box. Not something many people would dig as it can be an acquired taste. Depending on the colour you are getting, the watch either looks bespoke and rugged or flashy that someone will snatch it off your wrist. We got the White version, and I had to change the “bright” white strap for the “bright but not that bright” orange strap.
But that said, the watch looks similar to a Bell and Ross BR-X1, which makes sense as the Watch Ultra aims to be that “instrumental” smartwatch anyway. But yes, as someone who enjoys Panerai and relatively bulky watches which suit my wrist, I do like how it looks. Samsung nailed the accessories for this. The Nylon strap is amazing and probably the best strap for the most secure fit on your wrist while you embark on your wildlife journey. And this watch is made out of Titanium with sapphire glass.
Women, forget about owning the Ultra
This sucks because if you have noticed, the Watch Ultra is already finding a tough place on the wrists of men because of its big dimensions. And when a woman wears it, it’s hilarious as it looks too out of place. This is where the Cupertino brand got things right with dimensions that work best for both men and women. Our friend, Miriam, tried the Watch Ultra, and it’s safe to say that it is not a great fit on her wrist.
It’s not Dive Certified
I cannot stress this enough – for those who are planning to take this watch on a dive. It is not dive-certified, as Samsung doesn’t list what you can do with the watch. The only thing the watch is capable of handling is snorkelling levels of depth. Samsung claims that it can hit up to 100 meters, but it’s not meant for Scuba Diving. I am glad they mentioned this because Dive Computers from brands like SUUNTO, and Garmin are still the best ones you can rely on.
It’s a Samsung Ecosystem Centric Wearable
Another thing we need to emphasise. If you are a non-Samsung smartphone user, turn away because you won’t be able to utilise the watch features completely. We used the Watch Ultra with our Xiaomi 14 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, which gave us experiences that were too different. This is to retain some level of exclusivity and build an ecosystem for Samsung users. But for those who are entering the Samsung ecosystem with different products which isn’t a phone, it makes it hard for them to enjoy.
What’s Good?
The Experience as a Lifestyle Smartwatch
It’s no surprise that Samsung has nailed the lifestyle experience on a Smartwatch too well. It’s one thing they are very good at, and we tried it with both our Samsung and non-Samsung devices. I’m happy to report that the watch’s lifestyle-centric features like using WhatsApp, replying to messages, attending calls and anything along the lines of those work pretty well. With the new W100 processor, I must say that the performance in this watch is ridiculously fast and downloading apps with WiFi is a lot faster than our Watch6 Classic.
Since it runs Wear OS, you won’t be disappointed with app support as it’s abundant. If you do plan to set custom watch faces through apps like Facer, sadly, because of the WearOS 5 policy change, it restricts you from customising however you want. Users are only allowed to use the “Google Watch Face Format” watch faces – which you will need to pay for separately. Bummer.
The Lack of moving Parts on the Ultra is Genius
The first time we saw the Watch Ultra, we weren’t happy that it didn’t have a rotating crown or a bezel. Then we realised that with a moving part, you can compromise the pressure aspect of the device while you’re swimming, or it could affect the watch’s functionality. So, to avoid that, they have gone completely with the traditional way of interacting: that is ,with buttons and touch control. You still can swipe around the display to “emulate” the rotating dial – not the same, but you get what we mean.
Fitness Centric Features, with new BioActive Sensor
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra has many fitness-centric features, which make it more capable of fitness tracking. That doesn’t mean that the previous wearables are not good. It’s just that the Ultra has improved hardware. The BioActive 2 Sensor does a better job of detecting idle time and, when you are working out, offers 30% improved HR accuracy, and has a dual-frequency GPS that is supposed to track your route better.
We did try it during our 5KM run, and the data it gave us was extensive, so we will do detailed content on that in a different article. But to be frank, it’s pretty good, though it does do phantom step tracking, which is an issue. So, your step counter/pedometer will have a plus-minus of 10 steps difference.
What’s Not Good?
It does not live up to the Ultra Name
Here’s the kicker. While the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is called the Ultra wearable, it doesn’t live up to its name. Now, most of the health features, fitness tracking and lifestyle aspects of it are somewhat the same as the Watch7, and that’s not all. It gets a bit questionable from here on.
Battery Life is abysmal
The biggest “Oof” factor of this watch happens to be the battery life because there’s no other way to describe it but to call it abysmal. Samsung proudly claims that its watch lasts 48 hours easily but in reality, the watch struggles to pass the 18-hour mark. We unplugged the charger from our office with 100% and after a 15-20 minute walk to my home, I saw the battery life go to 91%. The standby time is even more weird because when I go to bed with 38% for instance, we wake up with 15% battery.
There were a few instances where the watch just died – take note, this was just on the counter and not with us wearing it while we were sleeping. We found out one of the many reasons why the battery life takes a huge hit. The BioActive2 Sensor thinks that the strap is a skin and it emits the light consistently at night during certain intervals. Another cause for the battery life is the AOD – which just kills by a lot. Turn the AOD off, you still see this weird battery drain happening from the watch face.
Expect the watch to not last longer than the 15-18 hour mark. At least, the Watch Ultra still retains the Qi Charging, so you can reverse charge it, unlike the Watch7 where Samsung removed Qi Charging entirely.
Lack of Proper LTE Support for Wearables in Malaysia (Not Samsung’s Fault)
In case you didn’t know, Samsung only made an LTE version available. If you are on a carrier that doesn’t support a supplementary line with the same phone number, in our case, U Mobile outright does not support eSIM – this watch is useless. The whole idea of using the Ultra is to have an independent connection from your phone. So, you can rely on your wearable for things and it doesn’t have to depend on your phone all the time.
So, features like Panic Mode, where you press the crown for 10 seconds to enable the siren mode, is useless as it can’t connect you to the emergency contact. Making matters worse, here in Malaysia the watch isn’t programmed to connect you to the local authorities in an emergency.
So, if you chose a Bear over a human (if you know, you know), well, be prepared while stuck in the forest, because the odds of getting the Grizzly Bear’s attention are far higher than a human being. Jokes on all of us because I chose the Bear too. But who are we kidding, there’s a good chance your battery is probably dead to even turn on the siren mode.
From a Healthcare Professional Perspective: Most Health Features are Samsung Exclusive, and Non-Samsung Users will be Sorely Disappointed, myself included
As someone who graduated as a healthcare professional, it’s sad to say that what Samsung has done proves one thing: people who have the most money get the best experience possible. If you choose to get an affordable phone that isn’t Samsung, but you spend on the Watch Ultra to keep your health in check, you will not get all the health features for one. Even though the watch is a device that’s certified for ECG and blood Pressure Monitoring by KKM, you still can’t use it with other devices.
So, if you don’t own a Samsung Smartphone to pair with the Galaxy Watch, you are out of luck.
Conclusion
Spending RM3,399 on a smartwatch is a lot of money and commitment, which a lot of consumers can only dream of. But when Samsung is selling a smartwatch that claims to do “Ultra” tasks but has a hard time delivering it. Not to forget, when I get the same experience with the Watch7, let alone with the Watch6 Classic which I do use on a day-to-day basis – it’s hard to justify paying the Ultra tax for the Ultra moniker.
In this price point, most consumers who do need that “Ultra” experience to match their ultra-lifestyle would resort to Garmin Fenix which isn’t a very lifestyle watch, to be honest, but delivers in being a robust and solid wearable for extreme sports. So, if you think about it – Samsung got certain things right on the paper, though it doesn’t translate well in real life. You could either have a lifestyle-centric watch or a fitness-centric watch, trying to hit both is not quite possible.
That said, if you want a watch that does so well on the Lifestyle front, get the Watch7 or, better yet, get the Watch6. The Ultra needs a lot of work in the software department to get things right. Until they do that, I shall refrain from recommending this Watch.
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