To test the Galaxy Watch Ultra, I had to remove the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (8/10, WIRED recommends) with only two days left before I finish my 28 day preliminaries Training load analysis. Training Load is a new feature of WatchOS 11 which takes cumulative calorimetric data such as heart rate, pace, effort, and age to assess whether or not your efforts are improving your physical performance. It was annoying to be so close and not finish. However, it wasn’t as annoying as it could have been, as I’ve tried this feature before. Garmin has already had a training load functionality for years.
In the race to create the most complete outdoor smartwatch that works best with your phone, Apple is clearly in the lead. Apple Watch UltraThe Galaxy Watch Ultra’s design is visually more distinctive. The software is better, with more sports like diving, better algorithms like Training Load, and a better user interface. It’s also hilarious how closely the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s design mimics Apple’s, with an orange safety band that looks exactly like Apple’s Ocean Bracelet ($99) and a quick button on the side where you can assign a function, like Apple’s Action button. There’s even a gesture-based feature very similar to Double Tap, called (I’m still laughing) Double Pinch.
That said, Samsung has the resources to catch up quickly, and I found no major flaws. If you’re pretty happy as a Android If you’re a power user and want to experience what it’s like to wear an Apple Watch Ultra, this is a great start. It can only get better.
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The Galaxy Watch Ultra is very pretty. It’s not as visually distinctive as the Apple Watch Ultra, but its design echoes the look of a premium watch. Garmin Or Coros watch. It’s a 47mm smartwatch, which makes it slightly smaller than the Watch Ultra’s 49mm case, but it feels bigger because it is square instead of rectangular.
It has a titanium case with a sapphire crystal face that is rated at 10 ATM (meaning it can withstand the pressure exerted by 100 meters of water) and IP68and can withstand altitudes up to 30,000 feet and temperatures up to 131 degrees Fahrenheit. I haven’t had a chance to put one on Colorado 14er during testing, but I stupidly rode my bike to races in temperatures well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit during a heat wave, and the watch worked fine (I didn’t).
Photography: Adrienne So
Battery life is my main issue with these smartwatches-turned-extreme-fitness-trackers. The Watch Ultra can last a little over two days, which is great for a smartwatch, but well short of what you’d need for your average camping weekend. It took three hours every other morning to charge the watch from 10 to 15 percent. With power-saving mode enabled, the watch could last up to three to five days. I like that I can tweak the settings to determine what to turn off and what to keep on to extend battery life.
Samsung notes that the watch has a new and improved BioActive sensor, which increases the accuracy of the heart rate sensor and other new health metrics. That’s remarkably consistent with what I’m getting on my Oura Ring—for example, if the Oura said my heart rate was 69, the live reading on the Galaxy Watch Ultra was 70.
The other new feature is the AGE Index. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra can measure your advanced glycation end products (AGEs). (Diagnoptics is the company powering the tool, which take measures via a light source that excites specific fluorescent fragments, or parts of molecules, on your skin). Your AGE score is important because it can help predict the risk of diabetes and stroke; the way most people do it now is to take a test called an A1C, which is a more invasive blood test.
