Samsung’s Unpacked event in July devoted almost as much time to smart wearables as the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 foldable. It’s true that the Galaxy Ring has gotten a lot of attention, but it’s still clear that Samsung is putting a lot of effort into pushing fitness and health tracking.
But even with the addition of two new products to the Galaxy Watch lineup, you’d be forgiven for feeling a little short-changed. We covered the Galaxy Ring, which somewhat inexplicably costs more than the 40mm Galaxy Watch7. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is quite similar to the Apple Watch Ultra, and we agree that it lacks distinctive Samsung qualities – like the rotating bezel.
Even weirder, the new Quick Button, basically a crown, is turning but it is disconnected from the UI and basically does nothing.
But let’s give the Galaxy Watch Ultra a chance to redeem itself. At first glance, this is an impressive smartwatch. Its case is made of titanium and has a sapphire crystal on the top. The new watch case looks interesting. Samsung calls it a “cushion” design, and it’s a square on the outside with an integrated circle inside – the phrase “vevercle” is used to describe it.
It’s an undeniably interesting design, and it goes a long way toward making the Galaxy Watch Ultra stand out among its Galaxy Watch peers and Android watches in general. Apple Watch believers would call it an Apple Watch Ultra clone, but this unit has a rectangular display with a circular Galaxy display.
A word about buttons. The Galaxy Watch Ultra has the usual home and back buttons on the top right and bottom. But it also has a new quick button in the middle. You can program a single press to open an app or exercise and set what a double press does. A 5 second press will start the emergency siren.
Again, rotating this hotkey and not moving the UI is a travesty. Instead, you can slide your finger along the edge of the circular screen to scroll through the UI screens, just like on the bezel-less Galaxy Watch7.
It’s also a bit of a shame that the display on the Galaxy Watch Ultra isn’t bigger. It’s the same 1.5-inch 480 x 480 pixel unit as the Galaxy Watch7. Phone logic dictates that having Ultra in the name means having a bigger screen. In this case, that usually means having a harder case and a bigger battery.
That last point is key – the Galaxy Watch Ultra ties the two-year-old Galaxy Watch5 Pro for the biggest battery inside the company’s watch at 590mAh. Samsung says you can expect 60 hours of normal use, 48 hours in Power Save mode during exercise, and up to 100 hours in Normal Power Save mode.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra appears to have replaced the Galaxy Watch Classic in this year’s lineup, leaving us with the successor to the regular Galaxy Watch6 – the Galaxy Watch7.
On the surface, the 7 looks just like the 6 – you have an Armor Aluminum case and a flat sapphire glass display cover. On the underside of the Galaxy Watch7 is an improved BioActive sensor, and inside is a more advanced 3nm Exynos W1000 chipset.
Samsung boldly claims that the new chip has three times the performance, and we’re eager to put it to the test. Samsung also says it expects 30% better efficiency, which should mean the Galaxy Watch7 will be able to get more battery life from the same battery.
Another improvement over last year’s Galaxy Watch6 is the addition of dual-band GPS, something other Wear OS watches like the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro have. This makes GPS faster and more accurate.
Both the Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra pioneer a new “dual grip” that works when you pull your thumb and index finger together on the watch face. This didn’t work during our hands-on use, but it should by the time we have the new watch to review. It works just like Apple’s Double Tap on its latest smartwatch.
Thanks to the power of artificial intelligence and the new second-generation BioActive sensor, the new Galaxy Watch7 and Watch Ultra can detect potential signs of sleep apnea – something that would normally require expensive equipment.
The new watch also brings several new dials and bands. You can choose between a fabric band, a metal band and the usual silicone bands in different colors and color combinations. Samsung is including a fabric band that comes with your default silicone band for free during the pre-order period.