As a fitness enthusiast and a tech aficionado, I eagerly awaited the chance to test out the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. After a month of intensive use—both during runs and in daily life—I’m sharing my impressions of this new smartwatch and its impressive new features.
Sturdy Design and Stunning Display
The Galaxy Watch Ultra features a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display with an impressive resolution of 480×480 pixels. The screen is protected by ultra-durable sapphire crystal glass, which provides excellent scratch and impact resistance. The watch’s titanium frame offers remarkable strength while maintaining a relatively light weight. In other words, you won’t need any additional screen protectors or covers. These materials are tough enough to withstand any impact or scratch.
The watch is also water-resistant up to 100 meters and meets military-grade standards, making it ideal for use in tough environments and a variety of extreme sports activities.
New Bioactive Sensor: Impressive Heart Rate Accuracy
Samsung has upgraded its bioactive sensor, and the difference is noticeable. In testing against a chest strap (considered the gold standard in heart rate monitoring), the watch delivered perfectly accurate results. Even during intense running sessions, the deviation was minimal. This means you can trust the data the watch provides, helping you plan your workouts more effectively.
Advanced Fitness Features: Not Just for Professional Athletes
The new Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with a wide array of advanced fitness features to elevate your training:
1. Multi-sport Mode: Perfect for triathlons or mixed training, this feature allows you to switch between activities without fiddling with settings during your workout. You can even create personalized workouts combining up to three different activities, such as running, swimming, cycling, or even walking, strength training, and yoga.
2. Race Mode: Want to compete with your past performance? The watch lets you race against your previous times on the same running or cycling route. It displays real-time comparisons of distance and time, motivating you to improve your personal bests.
3. Dual-frequency GPS: This enhanced GPS system offers better accuracy when tracking your location. It's especially useful for runs or rides in challenging terrain or busy urban areas.
4. Tracking Over 90 Types of Workouts: The watch can detect and track a wide range of physical activities. This includes popular exercises like running, cycling, and swimming, as well as less common ones such as rock climbing, water skiing, or even juggling.
5. Custom Interval Training: You can plan complex interval workouts directly on the watch, such as running and walking, weightlifting combined with walking/running, and more. Define work and rest times, repetitions, and even heart rate or pace goals for each segment.
6. Advanced Performance Analysis: After each workout, the watch provides a detailed analysis, including data on heart rate zones, average pace, cadence (running and cycling), and more.
Health Tracking
The watch doesn’t just focus on fitness performance—it also keeps an eye on your overall health:
1. Sleep Apnea Detection: This new feature, which has even received FDA approval, can be life-saving. The watch monitors blood oxygen levels during sleep and alerts you to potential signs of sleep apnea. After two nights of monitoring, it generates a detailed sleep quality report and flags any risk of sleep apnea. If a risk is detected, it recommends consulting a doctor for further tests.
2. Energy Index: This helps you balance activity and rest. The watch analyzes your daily activity, sleep quality, and stress levels to give you a daily energy score. Based on the score, it provides suggestions for your workout intensity. For instance, if your energy score is low, the watch might recommend a rest day or lighter exercise.
3. AGEs Measurement: A new feature that attempts to measure your metabolic health. AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products) are molecules formed during oxidative processes in the body and are linked to aging and chronic diseases. The watch uses its advanced optical sensor to estimate your AGE levels. Though this feature is still in its early stages and a bit confusing, it promises to be a useful tool for tracking metabolic health in the future.
4. Stress Monitoring and Breathing Exercises: The watch tracks your stress levels throughout the day based on changes in heart rate. When high stress levels are detected, it suggests breathing exercises to help you relax.
5. Menstrual Cycle Tracking: For women, the watch allows comprehensive tracking of your monthly cycle. You can enter data manually or let the watch predict your cycle based on previous patterns. It even provides predictions for ovulation and the next menstrual period.
6. Blood Pressure Measurement: Using the Samsung Health Monitor app, the watch can even measure your blood pressure daily. It's important to note that initial calibration with a real medical blood pressure monitor is required before first use.
7. Blood Oxygen Level Monitoring: The watch measures your blood oxygen levels, an important indicator of overall health. You can take on-demand readings or enable continuous monitoring during sleep.
8. Body Composition Tracking: Using the BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) sensor, the watch estimates your body composition. It provides data on body fat percentage, muscle mass, and bone mass—great for tracking changes in body composition over time, especially for strength training or dieting.
Advanced Smartwatch Capabilities
1. Pay and Listen to Music Without Your Phone: The Galaxy Watch Ultra supports LTE for calls and messages without the need for a phone. You can make payments with the Google Wallet app, and handle calls using the built-in microphone and speaker (with excellent quality).
2. Apps and Software: Running Wear OS, the watch provides access to the Google Play Store, so you can enjoy a wealth of apps designed for smartwatches, including Google Maps, Spotify, WhatsApp (though messaging is a bit cumbersome), and more. There are also extensive customization options for watch faces and widgets.
3. Safety Features: Fall detection with automatic alerts to emergency contacts, plus an SOS button for quick emergency assistance.
4. Other Useful Features: Digital compass, barometric altimeter, control of smart home devices via SmartThings, and the ability to store boarding passes, cinema tickets, coupons, and more.
Battery Life: Too Short
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is equipped with a larger and more efficient battery compared to its predecessor. Battery life varies depending on use. In normal usage, the battery lasts up to three days, maybe slightly more. However, with more intensive use—such as activity tracking and sleep monitoring—it drops to about 24-48 hours.
And that's a bit frustrating. Charging the watch from 0 to 100% takes about two hours. Once you get used to the watch's seamless integration into your daily life, it's hard to part with it for a full day or even a day and a half to two hours.
The Bottom Line: Should You Buy It?
The new Galaxy Watch Ultra (officially distributed by Sany Communication) is undeniably an impressive product. It offers an excellent combination of advanced fitness features, crucial health monitoring tools, and a highly durable design. So if you're looking for a smartwatch that can handle intense workouts while also serving as a tool for managing your daily health, it’s certainly a solid choice.
However, all these great features come with a hefty price tag—around NIS 2,600. While it’s cheaper than its main competitor, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, it’s still not exactly budget-friendly.
If you don’t need all the advanced features and are willing to compromise on looks, you could opt for the standard model in the series—the Galaxy Watch 7, priced at around NIS 1,395—or go for a cheaper brand.