// ENGADGET — HARDWARE & GADGET
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review: The new standard for smartwatch battery life
Coupled with a bright display, it hits the sweet spot for smartwatch hardware.
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Samsung's latest Ultra smartwatch hits all the notes of an 'ultra' wearable: a solidly designed timepiece with chunky detailing that puts activity tracking front and center. For the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 ($700), the company has made major improvements to battery longevity and performance, while still forging its own health-tracking path with a bunch of unique metrics (of varying utility). With 13 years of wearable launches behind it, can Samsung pry me away from my Apple Watch Ultra?
It's refreshing to see some major hardware upgrades on this second Galaxy Watch Ultra — perhaps a benefit from taking a year off from offering an upgrade. Starting with the (slightly bigger) 1.52-inch display, it now reaches up to 5,000 nits of brightness, a big leap from the original Watch Ultra's 3,500-nit max — and better than pretty much every other smartwatch out there. It's the same squircle design that most folks either love or loathe. I like it: It looks different from the circular smartwatches and won't be confused for an Apple Watch either.
Speaking of which, Samsung's newest flagship watch is lighter and slimmer than both its predecessor and Apple's latest Watch Ultra 4, but it's still a substantial timepiece, at 10.7mm thick and weighing just shy of 2.2 ounces (61.5 grams). It comes in only one size, 47mm, and it looks chunky and outdoorsy on most folks' wrists. If you're looking for a more subtle, smaller Samsung smartwatch, the company's Watch 9 series might be a better fit, literally. The company has stuck with its proprietary Dynamic Lug System for its watch bands, so you'll be limited to Samsung-made options and a few niche third-party options. on't expect the same range you get with Apple's wearables.
There's still no rotating bezel, which was a mainstay on Samsung's older flagship wearables, and the buttons along the right edge protrude much less, which is one of several small hardware refinements you may not notice at first. Sadly, Samsung also reduced the orange detailing on the main button, which I liked. I'll take anything that adds a splash of color to monochromatic tech.
The lack of a physical dial doesn't ruin the wearable, but it can be frustrating at times. Using picker wheels, which you scroll to choose a number, seem overly sensitive across multiple apps. For example, when adjusting the weight numbers on Hevy, a weight training app that works on the Watch Ultra 2, I found it hard to lock on to the right number.
The hardware seems as durable as it looks, with a shock-resistant titanium casing and IP69K dust and water protection, making it completely dust-proof and able to handle high-pressure, high-temperature water jets. This is arguably the most diving-friendly mainstream wearable, or at least it will be. It has a water resistance rating of 10 ATM, so that you can take the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 as deep as 100 meters (or 328 feet). However, we're still waiting, months after it was announced, for a dedicated diving app that was promised at launch.
Battery capacity is up substantially, from the original Watch Ultra's 590mAh cell to 800mAh. That's over a third more battery. Combined with the latest Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset, it delivers the battery life I want from a smartwatch.
We all use wearables differently: some want constant heart rate tracking and some want fine-grained fitness tracking during daily workouts. Some might want their wearable to track their entire ultramarathon, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will oblige. I am not an ultramarathon runner — yet. With mid-to-light use and the always-on display on, I got three days out of the device before the battery dipped below 20 percent. This included plenty of notifications, tracking an hour-long gym workout most days and using the Watch Ultra 2 controls to play podcasts and music. I also used it to track my sleep each n