When Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra, the obvious comparisons were going to be with a company that is named after a fruit. But generally we have been told that a product’s worth and value is only known once you get to use it. And that’s what we have been doing with the Galaxy Watch Ultra over the past few weeks to find out if the Ultra Watch with a price tag of Rs 59,999, has the bells and whistles to be a rugged smartwatch for a lot of people.
Rugged Looks With Style
It was hardly surprising to see Samsung opt for a rugged look on the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the feature set compliments its purpose. You have military-grade protection, underwater capability is also possible wearing the Ultra and it can withstand extreme temperatures.
Now, we couldn’t try out most of the aspects, but diving into the pool with the Watch Ultra on didn’t give us the jitters. The metal casing is another important part of the durable package on the Ultra, however, you then feel the 60 grams weight of the body which might not be ideal for every one, especially while you are sleeping.
The circular-ish square profile has its own style but we would have liked to see the rotating bezels make an appearance on the Ultra as well. You have three buttons on the right side to activate different modes, the app store and more. The Watch Ultra does its best to give you the best of both worlds.
AMOLED Display Shines High
Once again, Samsung relies on the Super AMOLED panel to showcase its colours and high contrast. Add the higher peak brightness into the equation and you get a display that can work in most conditions, and switch to the jazzy night mode when the light dims. The sapphire display is a looker and the gloss is undeniable when you wear it on the wrist.
We didn’t have any issues using the Watch Ultra outdoors and the screen has the right dimensions to service you with notifications from the phone as well as let you type on it, if ever you feel the need to do it. Samsung has a wide range of watch faces that you can download additionally and save it on the device.
Feature-Packed Alright
Being rugged is never going to be enough for the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Samsung has made sure that none of requisites on a wearable are missing. Be it health features, you get, Be it rugged features, you have it, and be it fitness tools, it’s there. Having said that, if you want to access the full gamut of its features, especially the Galaxy AI element, you need to use it with a Samsung Galaxy phone. Without it, the Watch Ultra is no slouch but you start to feel the limitations with other Android phones. Some of the smarter and more complex health tools are locked and we are hoping that Samsung eventually allows more brands to support it.
Even then, the smartwatch does well and lets you access the crucial fitness/health tools packed onto your wrist. And yes, Samsung has made a Watch Ultra that only works with Android. The company showed how two can play the walled garden game.
The other main issue or friction we felt was the need to download three apps to use one smartwatch. Setting up the Watch Ultra is easy but surely Samsung can integrate all the features and pack them into one app? Moving beyond that, the Watch Ultra supports WearOS out of the box, which means you have the choice of Android apps that can be installed from the Play Store.
How It Performs
Now, coming to the main aspect of any review, how does the Watch Ultra perform, react and run when you put it through the grind. When you get the trio of apps paired up with the wearable, you see the worth of having the deeper integration in play. The wearable app lets you control the logistics and aesthetics of the watch, while the Samsung Health app is the main hub where all the data monitoring and tracking happens. The sleep tracking gives you tons of data that can help you determine the quality of the sleep, the rating give you a better reading of the improvements needed and some more.
Similarly, the active fitness data offered by auto-tracking does well to track your movements, which works effectively even in the sports modes. The WearOS has matured in the last few years and Samsung is clearly benefiting from its good terms with Google which gives it early access to some of the features. We’re keen to see how Samsung plans to bring AI to its wearable lineup and how it behaves on this form factor.
And finally, the battery life. The Watch Ultra from Samsung is claimed to run for 48 hours but those figures include the power-saving mode enabled. So, during our tests we got it to last a little over 30 hours after which you needed to plug the charger onto the back of the smartwatch. We would definitely like the 590mAh battery to deliver longer life and hopefully a few updates can help in making that happen.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra has the premium looks, features and durability which gives you assurance in many ways and even with its price tag, we can see fitness enthusiasts and adventure freaks opting for this one and be happy.
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