Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Review

Samsung's second "Ultra" smartwatch arrives two years after the first, and it is a refinement rather than a reinvention. The rounded-square case that debuted on the original — and has since spread across the rest of the range, including the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic — returns largely unchanged. What sits inside it is new: a far brighter display, a faster processor, a much larger battery and a broader set of health metrics. The result is a watch that excels at the things Samsung has always done well, yet still falls short of the outdoor credentials its name implies.

At first glance almost nothing separates the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 from its predecessor. It comes in a single 47.4 mm case size, and while that footprint is near-identical to the first generation, the new model sheds 1.4 mm of thickness to measure 10.7 mm — a case around 12 per cent slimmer. That does not make it a slim watch by any reasonable standard, but it does sit closer to the wrist and move around less during activity.

The case is again predominantly titanium, with a raised ring encircling the display to protect it from knocks. It is worth being clear about what that ring is: unlike the Galaxy Watch "Classic" models, it is a fixed decorative element, not a rotating bezel. The screen occupies 52 per cent of the watch's face, which is modest, though that is the inevitable compromise of fitting a circular display into a squared-off case.

Look closer and the detailing has improved. The central action button now sits flush within its housing rather than hinting at a crown it never was; the small machined lines on the other two buttons have gone; and the slightly crude plastic protrusion around the button cluster on the original has been tidied up. The bezel is now marked with hour indices, which lends the watch a little more character. Sapphire glass covers the display.

At 61.5 g the Ultra 2 is fractionally heavier than the 60.5 g original, yet it wears more comfortably, largely thanks to that thinner case. Samsung says the shape was derived from physical data covering millions of wrists. Even so, this remains an imposing watch that will suit people who like large watches far more than it suits slim wrists. The supplied strap helps: where the first Ultra shipped with a thick silicone band, the Ultra 2's is noticeably slimmer. The attachment system is unchanged, so straps from the previous model still fit — but Samsung's watches require Samsung-specific straps and will not accept standard watch bands.

Durability is comprehensive. The Ultra 2 carries 10 ATM and EN 13319 certification, making it suitable for diving to 40 metres, alongside IP69K and MIL-STD-810H ratings. In practice it can be worn in any conditions without concern.

The display is the standout. Until now the brightest smartwatch screen available was the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED at 4,500 cd/m², while AMOLED rivals sat well below it: 3,500 cd/m² on the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2, and around 3,000 cd/m² on the Google Pixel Watch 4, the first-generation Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Series 11. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 reaches 5,000 cd/m² while retaining an AMOLED panel — comfortably ahead of everything else on the market.

The practical effect is that the watch stays legible in any conditions, including outdoor exercise in direct summer sun. The panel has also grown slightly, from 1.47 to 1.52 inches, a 3.4 per cent increase in diameter and 6.9 per cent in display area. Resolution rises to 498 x 498 pixels, giving 328 pixels per inch — marginally above the 326 ppi of Apple's "Retina" watch displays.

An ambient light sensor handles automatic brightness, and always-on display is enabled by default. In low light the watch switches to a monochrome red palette to reduce eye strain, though this can be turned off. Focus modes for cinema and sleep automatically disable the always-on display and raise-to-wake; sleep mode can be scheduled on the watch itself or inherited from a paired Samsung phone. Around fifty watch faces come preinstalled, all customisable for complications, colours and background images, with many more available through the Play Store and third-party stores such as Facer.

The Ultra 2 is among the first watches to carry Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite chip. It uses a big.LITTLE arrangement of four low-power Cortex-A55 cores and one Cortex-A78 performance core built on a 3 nm process, paired with 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. Software is Wear OS 7.0 running Samsung's One UI 9 Watch interface.

Because this is Wear OS, the watch works only with Android phones — there is no iPhone support. Pairing requires the Galaxy Wearable app, and health data needs the separate Samsung Health app. Two applications where one would do remains an avoidable irritation.

Navigation follows Samsung's established gestures: swipe down for quick settings, up for the app grid, left for widgets and right for notifications. A short press of the top button returns to the watch face, a long press launches Gemini and a double press returns to the previous app. The lower button goes back, or opens Samsung Wallet when held. The central action button defaults to the workout app but can be reassigned to a stopwatch, torch or voice recorder, and holding it for more than five seconds triggers a siren intended to attract attention in an emergency.

Gemini can also be summoned by raising the wrist towards the mouth, though this is off by default. Other configurable gestures include a double pinch to silence an alarm, a wrist shake to reject a call and a knock to start an exercise. App support is broad, covering Google Maps, Keep, Wallet and Messages alongside Citymapper, WhatsApp, Spotify, Calm, Strava, Komoot and AllTrails. One of Wear OS 7's more useful additions is stackable widgets, which replace the old full-screen app cards and allow several tools — battery, timer and voice recorder, for instance — to share a single card.

NFC supports contactless payment through Samsung Wallet or Google Wallet, and a built-in microphone and speaker allow calls to be taken at the wrist. Messages can be answered using a virtual keyboard, suggested replies, voice input or handwriting recognition. The most conspicuous omission is a real torch: the watch can flood its display with white light, but that is no substitute for the dedicated LED units Garmin, Amazfit and Polar now fit to the top of the case.

The sensor array is extensive, covering optical heart rate, pulse oximetry, ECG, a barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, blood pressure and bioelectrical impedance analysis.

GPS accuracy. The watch uses dual-frequency GNSS across the GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo and QZSS constellations. Measured against a Garmin Fenix 8 over six runs spanning country roads, a running track, city streets and a park, distance deviations came in at −0.01, +0.06, −0.50, −0.01, −1.08 and −0.51 per cent, for an overall figure of −0.39 per cent. That is well under one per cent on average, and the recorded traces hold their line closely throughout each session.

There is, however, a significant gap for a watch marketed at outdoor use: there is no local mapping within Samsung's own workout app. Navigating trails or unfamiliar streets means switching to Google Maps, Komoot or AllTrails and juggling apps mid-session. GPX routes can be imported and shown as a breadcrumb trail on a black background, but the process is convoluted — download the file to the phone, open it in Samsung Health, then push it to the watch — and there is no obvious way to manage multiple routes once they are there.

Heart-rate accuracy. Samsung retains the same BioActive optical sensor used in the Galaxy Watch 8, Galaxy Watch 7 and the original Ultra. Compared against a Garmin HRM 600 chest strap — which uses an electrocardiogram rather than optical measurement — across steady-paced runs, pyramid intervals and short, sharp high-intensity sessions, average deviations were −0.32, −0.30, −0.48 and −0.47 per cent. The sensor is quick to register changes in intensity, with occasional wobbles during the hardest efforts and at the very start of the first session, but the data is reliable enough to train with. Optical sensors remain inherently less precise than chest straps, with accuracy affected by temperature, wrist size, hair and tattoos — and the Ultra 2 cannot pair with an external heart-rate strap natively, even through its Bluetooth menu. Doing so requires abandoning Samsung's workout app for a third-party alternative.

Health metrics. The watch carries over SpO2 measurement, sleep and energy scores, an AGEs index, an antioxidant index and body composition via bioelectrical impedance. It can also record an ECG, detect sleep apnoea and measure blood pressure after calibration — though these three remain restricted to owners of Samsung phones, a limitation Samsung still declines to lift.

The latest version of Samsung Health adds several new indicators: Vitals, which tracks overnight heart rate, SpO2, heart-rate variability, respiratory rate and skin temperature against your own baseline; Daily Cardio Load, which weighs training duration and intensity against your age and weight; a Fitness Index presenting five scores from 0 to 100 across body composition, cardio, endurance, flexibility and strength; and Heart Health, which combines average sleep, activity, vascular load and BMI. AI-generated summaries now sit at the top of the app, and none of this sits behind a subscription.

Sports tracking covers the expected range from running and cycling to gym machines, climbing and trail. Hydration alerts factor in body composition and estimated fluid loss, and trail mode includes elevation alerts ahead of a climb. Cyclists can pair power, cadence and speed sensors — which makes the absence of external heart-rate strap support harder to explain. A diving app developed with Mares is due at the end of summer on a subscription basis. Workout screens are configurable, interval sessions with pace targets can be built on the watch, and sessions export to Google Health Connect, Technogym and Strava.

Samsung has increased capacity substantially, from 590 mAh on the first Ultra to 800 mAh here — a rise of more than 35 per cent. The company claims up to 20 hours of continuous GPS tracking, or 90 hours in standard use with always-on display active.

With every setting pushed to maximum — continuous heart-rate and stress monitoring, overnight SpO2 and skin temperature, snore detection, AGEs measurement and always-on display from 9am to 11pm — three charge cycles returned 51 hours (including 50 minutes of GPS), 53 hours (1 hour 55 minutes of GPS) and 55 hours (60 minutes of GPS). That is close to the 50 to 60 hours the original managed under the same conditions, with the brighter screen and faster chip apparently absorbing most of the larger battery's benefit. It also leaves the Ultra 2 far behind dedicated outdoor watches: a Garmin Fenix 8 runs beyond a week, an Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2 for around ten days and a Coros Apex 4 for eighteen.

Charging uses a USB-C puck on which the watch rests, and a full charge from empty takes over two hours. That is too slow.

Bluetooth 6.0, Wi-Fi and 4G via eSIM are all present, along with NFC. There is no 5G, unlike recent Apple Watches. The more meaningful omission is satellite connectivity: unlike the Apple Watch Ultra 3, Google Pixel Watch 4 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, the Ultra 2 cannot send an emergency message from an area without mobile coverage. That is a pointed gap given the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip supports the feature and the watch is explicitly sold as an adventure device.

In the UK the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is listed at £649 on Samsung's own store, where it is available to pre-order at the time of writing. The UK model code is SM-L715FZSAEUB in Titanium Silver with LTE, and a Titanium Gray finish is also listed. It is sold in a single 47 mm size with Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity. It is not yet stocked on Amazon UK.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is an accomplished smartwatch. Its display is the best on the market by a clear margin, its GPS and heart-rate data are accurate enough to train on, the interface is fluid and the app ecosystem is deep. As a premium Android smartwatch it is easy to recommend.

As an outdoor watch — which is what the Ultra name and the £649 price are asking you to accept — it is harder to justify. There is no on-watch mapping, no satellite messaging, no support for external heart-rate straps and no real torch, while battery life is merely adequate next to purpose-built rivals that last five to nine times longer. Samsung has built a brilliant watch that wears the clothing of an expedition tool without quite earning it.