The goal for both is “permanent watch.”
Since they aim to create products that you won’t want to take off once you try them on, we decided to put the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra head-to-head in a comparison after wearing them for two weeks straight !
Sometimes I wore both, sometimes I switched between them, but there was never a minute I wasn’t watchless. I wanted to know which one I preferred, but the results were a 50-50 tie .
Samsung has made waves by taking the best parts of Apple and even borrowing the name “Ultra,” but Samsung has managed to make it $150 cheaper despite being such a complete copycat. It’s a relief from the buyer’s point of view .
The Galaxy Watch Ultra offers a wider selection of customizable Ultra-exclusive watch faces, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has analog controls , and both last nearly two full days on battery life with the always-on display. In a detailed comparison, the Samsung comes out on top and has some unique health-tracking features, but the differences are not noticeable.
Both have titanium frames, dual-frequency GPS, programmable buttons, are water resistant up to 100m, and can track multiple workouts. Samsung claims it has improved the accuracy of its fitness tracking, so that’s where the comparison comes in.
To test it out , I wore both while working out and on a three-hour hike up Breakneck Ridge in New York State, but there was so little difference that by the end I was scrubbing sand in a river to find the difference.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra has a blood oxygen monitor (the Apple Watch Ultra 2 had this feature disabled after being sued for patent infringement ) and a body composition scale, which the Apple Watch Ultra 2 does not have, so there will be a difference in the health management sensors, but unless you need these features, you probably won’t notice any difference in how you use the watch or the data it reads.
Design and comfort
Breakneck Ridge is a famous spot where you can see the spectacular view of the Hudson River and the Hudson Highlands, but along the way, my eyes are glued to the watch. I like both because they look cool . Especially when you switch to dark mode, the red neon lights make you feel good. If anything, I prefer the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The reason is simply because it’s round . Another point is that you can customize the button and compass combinations in various ways.
The screen brightness is adequate and works fine even in direct sunlight.
The screen size of the Galaxy Watch Ultra is 47mm, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is 49mm . Including the frame, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is larger and 12.1mm thick, so it takes up a lot of space on your wrist. That doesn’t mean it’s a nuisance, and I almost forgot I was wearing it. Well, it weighs 60.5g , so the weight is well distributed over a large area.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is thick, but not as wide, so the weight of 61.4g feels concentrated in one spot. It’s counterintuitive, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the one that bothers me on my wrist . That said, neither of them make my wrist feel heavy. The difference is so small that you won’t notice it unless you wear them frequently.
The digital crown on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is truly amazing , and you can use it to operate apps and choose the color of the watch face. I like the Galaxy Watch Ultra’s widget-like UI “tiles” for quickly viewing apps and weather forecasts, but I thought it would be easier to operate if it had a dial.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 doesn’t have tiles, but it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything. The strength of tiles is that they allow you to quickly see your frequently used widgets and exercise data, but it’s a pain to have to swipe between them. On the Apple Watch Ultra 2, you can turn the digital crown to see new notifications and health data in the ” Smart Stack .”
software
Both have tough processing power and long battery life ( although the Galaxy Watch Ultra has a slightly longer battery life ).
The processor of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the S9 SiP . Processing is fast and apps do not slow down. On the other hand, the Galaxy Watch Ultra uses the latest 3nm process processor, which has evolved three times the processing speed of the previous generation, and the sensor has been redesigned and renamed to ” BioActive Sensor “, improving the accuracy of reading data.
I was using watchOS 10 on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. watchOS 11 is currently in beta and is likely to be officially released in September. watchOS 11 is packed with useful features, such as the ability to temporarily pause the “Activity Ring” (a function that encourages you to exercise when you are lazy) when you want to take a break. You can also track your sleep with the “Vitals” app and manage your health with “Training Load” every 28 days.
Both are positioned as new features to compete with Samsung Health’s “sleep tracking”. Samsung has released new sleep apnea and ECG detection features for the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra , but Apple does not have sleep apnea detection (yet). Some people may buy the watch just for that. Of course, it cannot diagnose the condition.
If there is something abnormal, the watch will tell you, so you can get a doctor’s diagnosis if necessary, but Samsung ‘s new detection technology is more accurate than ever before . Samsung also has a “body composition” function, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 cannot measure body fat percentage unless you buy a separate peripheral device.
According to Samsung’s research, the accuracy of the body composition measurements is 97% accurate , but some people say that the results are uncertain, so if you’re concerned, it’s best to consult a medical or nutritional expert.
Both new watches let you double-pinch to control notifications and apps, and while you might have to try a few times before it gets recognized, I found the Apple Watch Ultra 2 had a better success rate than the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
There are other smaller differences, too, like the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s better compass app and the ability to use a “backtrack” mode to help you get back on track . I wasn’t able to test it underwater, however.
As for battery life, both are excellent. Apple’s official “36 hours” is a conservative estimate, and when I tested wearing both at the same time, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 lasted about 42 hours on a single charge , while the Galaxy Watch Ultra lasted nearly 46 hours .
Fitness
Breakneck Ridge is a popular “long loop” that is 4.5km long, so it can be completed in a few hours, but it is famous for giving amateurs muscle pain. My heart was pounding as I suddenly had to climb a series of rock passes. After that, I went down via a mountaintop with trees, but this was a rocky path that was extremely dangerous.
I was able to track my elevation on both watches, but there was a discrepancy between the numbers . For example, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 showed “Elevation Gain: 1,218 feet,” while the Galaxy Watch Ultra showed “Maximum elevation: 1,270 feet.” (I wonder if the Apple Watch Ultra 2 subtracts the elevation of the starting point.)
The heart rate counts are also different, with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 recording an aerobic heart rate of 145-158 bpm, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra recorded a heart rate of 134-152 bpm. Of the 2 hours and 10 minutes of hiking time, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 recorded 24 minutes of aerobic heart rate exercise, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra recorded 33 minutes of vigorous exercise .
More specifically, the Wilkinson Trail Loop is a 3.2 mile (5.2 km) loop with all trails starting and ending in the center of the loop.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra showed a distance of 3.13 miles , which is pretty accurate, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 showed a distance of 3.45 miles for some reason.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 measures speed in minutes to walk one mile, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra measures speed in miles per hour, which may be due to the way the GPS location tracking works on the devices.
Even more odd is the difference in the calorie burn : The Apple Watch Ultra 2 says 546 active calories and 738 calories burned (including calories burned while resting), while the Samsung Watch Ultra says 1,126 climbing calories.
I tried my usual exercise of swinging a sword at the gym, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra showed a calorie burn of 709, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 showed 616. The average heart rate was also 72 bpm for the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and 85 bpm for the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Well, neither of them use sensors to measure the number of calories burned, instead basing their calculations on my personal data and exercise routine . They both have the same data about my health, but somehow Apple’s assessment is more rigorous than Samsung’s.
A 2017 paper from Stanford University researchers also pointed out that energy consumption is a weak area for wearables, and more recent tests also showed that no fitness wearables, not even rings, watches, or bands, could accurately calculate calories burned .
In tests by fitness-loving YouTuber Rob Ter Horst, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 was generally a few percent more accurate than the Galaxy Watch Ultra . That’s consistent with a recent study looking at the accuracy of the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s ECG , which also turned out to be pretty accurate. With that in mind, the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s heart rate tracking feels more reliable than the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
But I think that’s missing the point. Neither of them are as accurate as medical devices . Let’s not use smartwatches as medically acceptable high-precision medical devices. It’s OK to use them as a barometer of health improvement.
Both Samsung Health and the Apple Fitness app show your heart rate recovery after exercise, but Apple’s time intervals are more granular, so if you want to have more control over your exercise routine, Apple might be a better choice.
Verdict: Both are expensive, but extremely powerful.
In terms of price and battery life, the Galaxy Watch Ultra wins by a small margin . In terms of ease of use, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 wins (simply because it has the digital crown). If I could be greedy, I would love to see the Galaxy Watch Ultra bring back the rotating bezel. Then the battery would last a full two days, making it a perfect sports watch. It could easily compete with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and maybe even surpass it.
I’ve written about a lot of small differences, but there’s nothing wrong with either one. They’re so similar that I got confused when checking the data during testing . Some people may be waiting for sleep tracking to arrive in WatchOS 11, but whether you choose the Galaxy Watch Ultra or the Apple Watch Ultra 2, you’re unlikely to regret it.
