For a long time, there was a clear dividing line between smartwatches and fitness and outdoor watches. The two categories were distinctly different, and you had to choose which features were most important to you. There has been more crossover in recent years, with brands like Garmin and Coros offering very basic smartwatch functionality in the form of notification support and smartwatch companies upping their fitness offerings. Even still, a dividing line remained.

When Apple released the Apple Watch Ultra , and subsequently the Apple Watch Ultra 2, it was the first smartwatch with a tough build quality and features that were more worthy of outdoor adventure. And not long after, Samsung followed suit, recently releasing its own rugged smartwatch: The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

I’ve been exclusively using outdoor fitness watches for years, but I always wondered if I was missing out on smartwatch features. As a Samsung Galaxy phone user, I thought maybe the Galaxy Watch Ultra could be the perfect way to get the best of both worlds, bridging the gap between a smartwatch and an outdoor watch. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of testing, I can’t say that the Galaxy Watch Ultra completely encompasses the ‘Ultra’ promise, leaving a clear division between smartwatches and true outdoor adventure timepieces.

Price, availability, and specs

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is widely available from Samsung’s website, Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, and more. You can opt for a Titanium Silver, Titanium White, or Titanium Gray case color, along with three band styles, which Samsung calls Marine, Trail, or Peakform. The Marine option is a thicker silicone and comes in orange, dark gray, white, or green. The Trail band is made of fabric and comes in dark gray or white sand. Finally, the Peakform band is a soft-touch fabric and durable rubber material and comes in orange, dark gray, or white sand. No matter which color or band you choose, the watch is priced at $649.99.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra design

Aggressive styling with a unique design

When it comes to the design of Samsung’s first adventure watch, it’s almost like Samsung was trying to combine the square design of the Apple Watch Ultra with the round shape of its Galaxy Watch. The result is a square case with a circular screen and bezel. The Titanium Gray colorway features orange marks around the bezel for use with the compass, whereas the other case colors feature more subtle markings. Design is decidedly subjective, so while I am very much not a fan of how the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra looks, my husband quite likes it.

No matter your thoughts on the design, there’s no denying the bulk. Granted, I have smaller wrists, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra is massive. It doesn’t feel heavy to wear, but it isn’t subtle. The plus, of course, is quite a bit of screen real estate (1.5 inches, to be exact), though the large square bezel eats up a lot of potential display room. It’s actually the same display as the 44mm Galaxy Watch 7, even though it looks smaller.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra’s display is one area where it indisputably shines. The 480 x 480 full-color Super AMOLED display is incredibly bright, sharp, and vibrant. It offers up to 3,000 nits of brightness, which makes it easy to see even in the brightest sunlight. For comparison, that’s 1,000 nits more than the Galaxy Watch 7 and the same brightness as the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It also dims nicely in darker conditions.

There are three buttons on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which you can orient on either the left or right side, depending on how you attach the band. The center button, which is orange regardless of the case color, is dubbed the Quick button. It is customizable, though the options are quite limited. I have mine set up to go to my exercise profiles with a quick press, but you can also set that to go to a stopwatch, flashlight, water lock, or leave it as just a non-functional button that’s merely there for looks. Holding the Quick button for five seconds plays an emergency siren, which can help in multiple situations. The other two buttons are also slightly customizable, though with similarly limited options.

Samsung sent along the orange Marine band with the watch, which is a statement like the watch itself. I don’t have an issue with the orange color, but the silicone is very bulky. There are holes to help prevent trapped sweat and water, though the bulk inevitably keeps moisture on my wrist. The holes on the side are an interesting choice and were perfect traps for sand when I wore it to the beach. As a result, I had to rinse those out to clear all the sand.

Adding to the issue with the strap is that it only comes in one size. Again, my wrists are tiny, and the strap doubles back nearly all the way.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra durability

Increased durability for adventurous types

Durability is a must as a watch marketed to outdoor enthusiasts and adventure lovers. Samsung’s solution was to make the watch with titanium instead of aluminum. It also uses a sapphire crystal lens to protect the display. I haven’t been doing anything too rugged during my testing, and living in Florida doesn’t put me in contact with much rock. But there are no scratches or marks after a few weeks of regular daily life and some long bike rides.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra earned a MIL-STD-810H certification, just as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has. This certification means it can handle blowing sand, extreme temperature changes, vibration, shock, and more. Samsung says the watch will also be able to operate in extreme temperatures and at a wide range of altitudes.

Samsung also boasts about its waterproofing, but things aren’t quite what they seem when you look into the fine print. It offers a 10ATM water-resistance rating, which is double the 5ATM of the Galaxy Watch 7. Sure, you can take the watch down to depths of 328 feet in fresh or salt water. However, that rating relates to pressure only, and the device is only suitable for those depths for up to 10 minutes. There’s also an IP68 rating, which means it can handle six feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is fine for snorkeling, swimming, and other water sports mostly done near the surface. But it’s not meant for anything deeper. Confusingly, there is a scuba diving activity profile on the watch, even though you wouldn’t be able to use this watch for scuba diving. Looking at the inspiration for the Galaxy Watch Ultra, though, Apple says its Apple Watch Ultra 2 can be used for scuba diving to 40 meters and even boasts an EN13319 certification (the international standard for diving accessories).

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra software and adventure features

Impressive performance, but lacking adventure tools

The Galaxy Watch Ultra runs Google’s Wear OS 5 with Samsung’s One UI 6 interface. This is a newer generation of software than the Galaxy Watch 6, resulting in performance upgrades from the previous version. Indeed, the watch is extremely responsive, with no lag or delay when moving between screens. It’s snappy and easy to use, even when typing or moving quickly between menus. I can even use Swipe Mode to input text, making it faster to type messages.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra offers LTE connectivity, though I’ve been using it without. As expected, it also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC for mobile payments. You can choose between Samsung Wallet or Google Wallet for payment, which is appreciated. The watch as a whole is highly customizable, with useful gesture controls. For example, I set the knocking motion to turn on the flashlight (though it’s a rather sad flashlight). Apple’s double-tap motion is also available.

Dual-frequency GPS is a welcome upgrade that also made its way to the Galaxy Watch 7. This system allows for much more accurate location data during GPS-tracked workouts. I took the watch on a bike ride that I also tracked with two different bike computers (both with multi-band GNSS), and it provided exactly the same distance and speed data as both bike computers. The mapped route even captured little wobbles where I had to go around things on the trail.

Interestingly, the elevation gain and elevation profiles seem off on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. For example, on a route I created for a walk in my neighborhood, the watch has the average gradient at 6.3%. Other than the bridge that goes over the river in our area, there are no 6.3% grade climbs anywhere near me (or anything close to that), so where this data comes from is beyond me.

On top of gradient issues, the navigation tools on the Galaxy Watch Ultra are limited compared to adventure watches. You can upload GPX files to import routes or save routes from completed activities, but there’s no way to create a route from scratch within the Samsung interface or simply sync routes from the likes of Strava . You can also only see a map during a workout if you choose to follow a route at the beginning of the session or use the TrackBack feature during a workout. I frequently use the map functionality of my Garmin epix Pro Gen 2, so not having the same option on the Galaxy Watch Ultra is really disappointing.

The location data allows you to see real-time weather for your current location, but again, this is rather limited. You can see basic weather information but no radar map. The Galaxy Watch Ultra isn’t much cheaper than my favorite Garmin watches that offer radar functionality to check for rain and storms nearby, and as an adventure watch, I would have hoped to have access to such a tool.

Health & fitness features on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

Well-rounded health tools for daily life

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is packed with all the health sensors you expect on smartwatches today. That includes an accelerometer, barometer, compass, gyro sensor, and temperature sensor. Those sensors allow you to track your heart rate, sleep, stress, activity, and more. Samsung Health gathers all the sensor data, which has proven to be a robust platform for all my health features.

As someone used to Garmin’s extensive list of health and fitness features, I’m usually disappointed by other watches and watch platforms when it comes to that. Samsung Health is a pleasant surprise, though. It provides an Energy Score based on your sleep, HRV, heart rate, blood oxygen level, and more, and then offers guidance on improving the score to feel better. I can also set medication reminders that show up on my wrist, a feature I’ve found incredibly helpful.

While Samsung Health is feature-packed, I’ve found that I have to open the phone app for just about everything. I can see my Energy Score on the watch, and what’s impacting it, but to find out more in-depth insights, I need to use my phone. Likewise, I need to have my phone to see more than how long I slept and my sleep consistency for the week. The same goes for just about everything else. While this is somewhat true on other watches, my Garmin at least provides some valuable insights right on the watch, so I can get tips without having my phone nearby.

The fitness features are slightly better than those of a typical smartwatch but still lag behind those of a dedicated fitness watch. I can track a wide range of activities, including multisport activities (clearly a focus of the watch, as it’s the first activity in the list of profiles), running, cycling, weight machines, track runs, and many more. There’s even a running coach activity that will provide guidance on runs.

You can customize the data screens that show up during a workout and adjust voice guidance, split guides, heart rate zones, and more. You can also create new activity types, which I found necessary for strength training purposes. An activity for weight machines exists, but it doesn’t count reps or sets, which I rely on quite a bit when lifting weights. When you create your own, there is an option to record sets and reps, though why Samsung didn’t build this into the existing weight machine activity is a bit confusing.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra does nail heart rate accuracy for most activities, though, which is a must for training, especially if you train based on heart rate zones. On a recent bike ride, I wore my Galaxy Watch Ultra with its wrist-based HRM, the Coros armband HRM, and the Wahoo chest strap HRM. The watch was a little slow to pick up as I started the ride, but it caught up, and for the rest of the ride it was the exact same as those other two monitors.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra battery life

Battery performance is still lacking

One of the things that holds smartwatches back from being advanced fitness watches is battery life, which typically pales in comparison to more fitness-focused devices. If you’re tackling longer activities such as hikes, long-distance running, or epic surf sessions, you need a battery that can keep up.

Samsung says the Galaxy Watch Ultra offers the longest-lasting battery of any Galaxy Watch yet, promising up to 100 hours of life. Of course, actual battery life is incredibly dependent on your settings and how you use the watch.

I have the always-on display turned on, with the display set to fully wake up when I raise my wrist. I also adjusted the heart rate settings to measure constantly instead of every 10 minutes while still, which is the default. Finally, I generally work out in some manner once a day and track the walks with my dog twice a day as well. All of those things drain the battery substantially, and, as a result, I was able to get two days before needing to charge the watch on most occasions.

Two days is far from the 100 hours promised, but when you look in the fine print, that 100 hours is for low power mode. In comparison, my Garmin watch offers roughly a week of charge on a single go, so it’s hard to transition to a device that requires charging every other day.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra?

Samsung aimed to make a smartwatch tailored towards athletes and adventurers, and in some ways, it meets those users’ needs. But it still falls short in most respects, and I’d call it a stretch to use Ultra in the name.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is indeed durable, provided you don’t want to dive with it. Unfortunately, though, the training tools are lacking for serious (or even halfway serious) athletes. There are also limited tools for navigating in the backcountry, which isn’t very Ultra if you ask me, and the battery life still won’t cut it for multi-day hikes, ultramarathons, or any other long activity or event. In short, it simply is not a replacement for a dedicated outdoor or fitness watch.

However, if you look at the Galaxy Watch Ultra purely from a smartwatch perspective, it’s impressive. It is more robust and rugged than your typical smartwatch, and it peforms well, especially for those who enjoy premium smartwatch features. If you are a fitness enthusiast who isn’t focused on performance, it will absolutely meet your needs and then some. Plus, Samsung Health provides extensive health tools for a more well-rounded approach to health and wellness. Just don’t expect a true adventure watch, or you will be ultra disappointed.