Samsung’s July Unpacked event devoted nearly as much time to smart wearables, with the company’s Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 foldable being the focus. Granted, the Galaxy Ring got a lot of that attention, but it’s still clear that Samsung is making a strong push into fitness and health trackers.
But despite the addition of two new products to the Galaxy Watch lineup, you’d be forgiven for feeling a little underwhelmed. We’ve reviewed the Galaxy Ring , which somewhat inexplicably costs more than the 40mm Galaxy Watch7 . The Galaxy Watch Ultra looks quite similar to the Apple Watch Ultra , and we agree it lacks Samsung’s signature features – like a rotating bezel.
Even stranger is the new Quick Button, which is essentially a crown, turns but it’s disconnected from the user interface and doesn’t actually do anything.
But let’s give the Galaxy Watch Ultra a chance to redeem itself. At first glance, this is an impressive smartwatch. The case is made of titanium, and there’s sapphire glass on top of the display. The new watch case looks interesting. Samsung calls it a “cushion” design, and it’s a square on the outside with an integrated circle on the inside – the term “squircle” is used to describe it.
It’s an undeniably interesting design, and goes a long way toward making the Galaxy Watch Ultra stand out among its Galaxy Watch peers and Android watches in general. Apple Watch fanatics might call this a clone of the Apple Watch Ultra, except that device has a rectangular display compared to the Galaxy’s circular display.
A word about buttons. The Galaxy Watch Ultra has the usual home and back buttons on the top and bottom right sides. But it also has the new Quick Button in the middle. You can program a single press to open an app or a workout, and set what a double press does. A 5-second press activates the emergency siren.
We repeat, it’s a shame to have this Quick Button rotate and not move the UI. Instead, you can drag your finger along the edge of the circular display to move the UI screens, like on the bezel-less Galaxy Watch7.
It’s also a bit of a shame that the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s screen isn’t bigger. It’s the same 1.5-inch, 480x480px unit as the Galaxy Watch7. Phone logic dictates that the Ultra in the name means a bigger screen. In this case, that specifically means a sturdier case and a bigger battery.
That last point is crucial: the Galaxy Watch Ultra matches the two-year-old Galaxy Watch5 Pro for the largest battery in a company watch, at 590mAh. Samsung says you can expect 60 hours of normal use, 48 hours in Exercise Power Saving, and up to 100 hours in regular Power Saving mode.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra appears to have replaced the Galaxy Watch Classic in this year’s lineup, giving us a successor to the regular Galaxy Watch6: the Galaxy Watch7.
At first glance, the 7 looks identical to the 6: you’ve got an Armor Aluminum body and a flat sapphire crystal display cover. There’s an improved BioActive sensor on the bottom edge of the Galaxy Watch 7, as well as a more advanced 3nm Exynos W1000 chipset inside.
Samsung is boldly claiming that the new chip offers three times the performance, and we’re eager to put that to the test. Samsung is also saying to expect 30% better efficiency, which should mean the Galaxy Watch7 could squeeze some extra life out of the same battery.
Another improvement over last year’s Galaxy Watch6 is the addition of dual-band GPS, something found on other Wear OS watches like the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro. This makes the GPS lock on faster and more accurate.
Both the Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra pioneer a new “double squeeze” feature, which works when you pinch the thumb and index finger of your watch hand together. It didn’t work during our hands-on, but should be working by the time we get the new watches in for review. It works similarly to Apple’s Double Tap on its latest smartwatches.
Thanks to the power of AI and the new second-generation BioActive sensor, the new Galaxy Watch7 and Watch Ultra can detect potential signs of sleep apnea, which would normally require expensive equipment to monitor.
The new watches also bring a few new watch faces and straps. You can choose between a fabric strap, a metal strap, and the usual silicone straps in a variety of colors and color combinations. Samsung is throwing in a fabric strap to go with your standard silicone strap for free during the pre-order period.
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