Competition
The new Galaxy Watch Ultra2 now starts at $700/€750, which is $50/€50 more than its predecessor from two years ago. For the price hike, we’d say the hardware upgrades are somewhat worth it. Not to mention the 64GB storage variant is the standard and only option. You also get two months of free Strava and iFIT premium subscription.
Still, the Watch Ultra2 is an expensive gadget and perhaps only adventure enthusiasts will be willing to pay the price premium for the unique features. Okay, maybe unique is an overstatement as there are a couple of Garmin alternatives that will do the job and match the Ultra2’s feature set, but lack a full-fledged OS and deep Android integration.
Luckily for Samsung, there aren’t many ultra-level Wear OS smartwatches on the market, if at all. The only direct competition comes from the Apple Watch Ultra 3, but that’s an entirely different ecosystem, so we doubt that many will be having this dilemma. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 won’t work with your Android phone and vice versa.
There’s also the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2, which also comes with a Trail run mode and extensive diving features, among which is a dedicated longer diving band in the box and even basic underwater communication with other divers wearing the same model of smartwatches. This watch, however, is not based on Android Wear, so you miss out on some of the operating system perks. It also offers about the same battery life as the Galaxy Watch but charges in about an hour.
And as for the Xiaomi S5 Pro, it gets pretty close to the Galaxy Watch Ultra2’s battery life at a lower price, but it’s not for the adventure seekers.
Last but not least, do consider the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which gets you a lot of the way there at a fraction of the price, as long as you are okay with the shorter battery life.
Not really the sporty type, but still in the Samsung ecosystem or you just like Galaxy Watches in general? Well, last year’s Galaxy Watch Classic8 might be the right fit for you. It has most of the features and will appeal to anyone looking for a more stylish fit.
Verdict
Finally, a Wear OS-powered smartwatch with a week-long-ish battery life. While we got around 5 days with heavy use, we believe you can squeeze out almost 7 days if you disable a feature or two. The display is, as always, great, the new sports and health features will appeal to the health nuts, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 is thinner than before.
Samsung’s One UI Watch 9 is feature-rich, offering advanced tracking and cool functionalities with 5 major OS upgrades promised. That’s a pretty sweet deal as long as you are okay with spending that much on a smart wearable. If you are a trail runner, diver or just a sports enthusiast looking for deep Android integration and proper OS running on your wrist, the Galaxy Watch Ultra series is essentially your only choice.
While not all, some of our long-time complaints remain. We would like to see future Galaxy Watches charge over third-party chargers and Samsung stop gatekeeping some cool features like ECG and Blood Pressure measurements only to users who have Galaxy smartphones.
Pros
Tough premium build, slimmer body, certified as a dive computer up to 40m.
Improved performance, brighter display.
Excellent battery life for a Wear OS device.
Advanced features for activity and health tracking.
Unrivaled feature set and functionality from One UI Watch 9, expect 5 major upgrades.
Cons
Quite expensive at launch.
Uses proprietary strap attachment, making standard straps incompatible.
ECG, irregular heart rate, sleep apnea risk and blood pressure measurements work only with Samsung phones.
Body composition measurements have questionable accuracy (like most home-grade devices anyway).
Incompatible with older Galaxy Watch chargers and reverse charging from Galaxy phones.