Galaxy Watch Ultra wants to be the ultimate Wear OS 5 smartwatch, starts at $649

Ben Schoon | Jul 10 2024 - 6:02 am PT

Samsung has just revealed a new addition to its Galaxy Watch lineup, with the Galaxy Watch Ultra bringing the company’s most advanced wearable to date, and also its most expensive at $649.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra brings a totally new design to Samsung’s lineup. It still has a circular display, but in a “squircle” body shape. Samsung calls this a “cushion design,” saying:

Echoing Galaxy Watch’s circle design legacy, a new cushion design enhances protection and visual completeness…

That update also brings a new band system, “Dynamic Lug.” This works similarly to the Apple Watch’s band system.

One of Samsung’s big points, though, is durability. The Galaxy Watch Ultra features a titanium build and 10ATM water resistance, double that of most other smartwatches. Samsung also says the Ultra can operate in more extreme variants 500 meters below sea level and up to 9,000 meters above sea level. This extends to the fitness tracking, which includes AI-powered features from One UI 6 Watch such as FTP Metrics. There’s also a new tile for tracking multiple types of sports. Like the Galaxy Watch 7, it also features improved health tracking features including AGEs Index.

The other big hardware change is to the buttons. There’s a top and bottom button as on previous models, with a “Quick Button” wedged in between. This acts independently, with the same navigation as previous models. Galaxy Watch Ultra is also equipped with a siren.

As far as specs go, the Watch Ultra measures 47.1 x 47.4 x 12.1mm and weighs 60.5g. The 1.5-inch display is covered in sapphire glass and hits up to 3,000 nits. Under the hood, Samsung’s new 3nm Exynos W1000 is paired 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It also has a 590 mAh battery and is running Wear OS 5 with One UI 6 Watch.

Galaxy Watch Ultra will cost $649 in the US and comes in Titanium Silver and Titanium Grey color variants. The Watch is 25% off if you pre-order it alongside a Galaxy Z Fold 6 or Flip 6.