Note: This feature was first published on 10 July 2024.
Goodbye Pro, Hello Ultra
We were quite bummed that there was no Pro version of the Watch6. Instead, Samsung has gone and completely revamped it into the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which we just reported. Besides the naming convention that stands out, its immediate design and aesthetics—from the new chunky square body to its choice of launch bands, especially that orange Trail band—are reminiscent of the Apple Watch Ultra.
Doesn't the middle Galaxy Watch Ultra with the orange strap remind you of another Watch Ultra? Photo: HWZ
The difference is that the Galaxy Watch Ultra sports a round display within its square chassis. However, despite how deceptively large it looks, it’s actually not too far off in both size and weight from last year’s Galaxy Watch6 Classic. Based on Samsung’s specification sheet, the Galaxy Watch Ultra has a 47mm case, which is the same size as the Galaxy Watch6 Classic, except it’s square. The actual display size and resolution (1.5-inch, 480 x 480 pixels) are also identical to the Watch6 Classic and new Watch7 44mm (more on this below). The only difference is a higher peak brightness of 3,000 nits. And because the Galaxy Watch Ultra uses a titanium case compared to the Galaxy Watch6 Classic's stainless steel, it weighs about the same too (60.5g vs 59g). The Galaxy Watch Ultra is thicker at 12.1mm, but that’s because of its larger 590mAh battery.
Looks can be deceiving. The Galaxy Watch Ultra and Watch7 have exactly the same display size and resolution. The Galaxy Watch Ultra has a higher peak brightness of 3,000 nits vs. 2,000 nits. Photo: HWZ
Once I got past the initial odd first impression of a square Samsung smartwatch, I was of two minds about the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Firstly, the square case and round display were fast growing on me and now have more than a passing resemblance to a Bell & Ross watch than an Apple Watch Ultra. Once I put it on, I found that it wraps around my wrist better than the 47mm Watch6 Classic, does not look too large because of the square design, and maybe it’s psychosomatic, but the titanium case “feels” lighter even though it’s actually slightly heavier than the Watch6 Classic.
New Night Mode watch face on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Photo: HWZ
Because of the square design, there’s also room for a third button, which is also configurable or can be used as a large SOS alarm button. It doesn’t rotate though, so there’s no digital crown-like feature to replace the rotating bezel of the Classic line; it’s just a big orange button.
While I do like the design, the Galaxy Watch Ultra does seem like just an updated square version of the Watch5 Pro. Now, that’s really not a bad thing since a rugged, long-battery-life Galaxy Watch was exactly what I wanted Samsung to bring back, but I was expecting it to have greater functional differences from the standard Watch7 besides a square case and an extra button. Samsung did reset the name after all; it’s called the Galaxy Watch Ultra, not Galaxy Watch7 Ultra.
Specs-wise, the Galaxy Watch Ultra rocks the same new 3nm Exynos W1000 chipset, the new BioActive sensor, memory, storage, dual-GPS, and software as the standard Watch7.
Pre-order the Galaxy Watch Ultra here
Behind the scenes look at the new BioActive Sensor array. Photo: HWZ
New BioActive sensor on the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Watch7 (Right), compared with the previous generation sensor on the Galaxy Watch6 series (Left). Photo: HWZ
Galaxy Watch7
There's just a single model the Galaxy Watch7 now, but still in two sizes 40mm and 44mm. The Classic with the rotating bezel is gone, and the Pro has been revamped as the new Ultra. Photo: HWZ
The Galaxy Watch7, on the other hand, looks and feels exactly like the Galaxy Watch6. It comes in the same two casing sizes (40mm and 44mm), the same screen resolutions, the same construction, and battery capacity. There are almost imperceptible differences in thickness (9.0mm Watch6 vs 9.7mm Watch7) and weight (33.3g Watch6 44mm vs 33.8g Watch7 44mm), which I attribute to the upgraded BioActive sensor.
By and large, the hands-on experience with the Watch7 is identical to the Watch6, so there’s nothing new to note. The only way to physically tell them apart is to look at the sensor array at the bottom. While the Watch7 does feature the new Wear OS 5 and One UI 6 Watch, it’s not drastically different to Wear OS 4 and OneUI 5 Watch. Also, the new AGEs functionality doesn’t seem to have been enabled in our preview units yet, so we couldn’t try it out. I’ll have to spend much more time than what’s allocated to us for the hands-on session during Unpacked in order to deep-dive into the new features and updates. Stay tuned for my full review.
Preview of the new AGEs Index from the updated BIoActive sensor. Photo: HWZ
New software features like Wellness Score will give you a holistic look at your health every day. Photo: HWZ
Pre-order the Galaxy Watch 7 here:
- Galaxy Watch7 (Bluetooth, 40mm)
- Galaxy Watch7 (Bluetooth, 44mm)
- Galaxy Watch7 (LTE, 40mm)
- Galaxy Watch7 (LTE, 44mm)
In the meantime, you can check out the full updated specifications of the Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra from our Unpacked 2024 news coverage here, plus local pricing and promo information here.
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- A rundown of what's new on Z Fold6 and on the Z Flip6
- What's new on the Galaxy Buds3 series
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