Samsung has wonder Unpacked launched the smartwatches Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9. We start with the new Ultra, which offers two significant upgrades: a larger battery and the powerful and low-power Snapdragon Wear Elite chip. According to Samsung, the new Ultra is the most powerful and advanced smartwatch they have ever created.
The battery capacity has been increased from 590 mAh to 800 mAh – an increase of almost 36 percent. In combination with a more energy-efficient system circuit and the fact that Wear OS 7 can extend the battery life by ten percent, the Watch Ultra 2 should have an unusually good battery life.
Sensors
Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Bio-signal Sensor + Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon Wear Elite offers up to 30 percent longer battery life, five times the single-core performance and up to seven times more powerful graphics. The numbers are relative to the predecessor Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 and not to the Exynos in Samsung’s previous smartwatches, but the improvements are big regardless. The chip partners with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
Watch Ultra 2 has received a 1.52-inch AMOLED screen with 498 x 498 pixels, sapphire glass and up to 5000 nits. We don’t know how long the screen can pump out 5000 nits, but regardless, the panel has become brighter. The construction is exceptionally durable and waterproof by meeting 10ATM+, IP69K, MIL-STD-810H and EN13319. The new Ultra appears to be the G-Shock of smartwatches.
The software includes a trail running function (trail running) and later this year Samsung will release a special app for divers. The watch offers Bluetooth 6.0, wifi, NFC, dual-band GPS and wireless charging.
Galaxy Watch 9
The Galaxy Watch 9 sibling has a lot in common with the Ultra. The watch is sold in the sizes 44 mm and 40 mm. That means screen sizes of 1.47 inches (480 x 480) and 1.34 inches (438 x 438), respectively. The highest brightness this time is 3000 nits.
Watch 9 has the same amount of working memory (2 GB) but 32 GB of storage instead of 64 GB. The battery capacities are significantly lower: 390 mAh for the 40 mm and 445 mAh for the 44 mm. The last notable difference is that the Watch 9 isn’t quite as durable, but the construction still meets 5ATM+, IP68 and MIL-STD-810H.
Price and availability
The watches run One UI 9 Watch, which is based on Wear OS 7. The Galaxy Watch 9 40 mm costs SEK 4,490 without LTE and SEK 4,990 with it. The corresponding prices for the larger edition are SEK 4,790 and SEK 5,290 respectively. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 costs significantly more: SEK 8,190.
The devices are available for pre-order and appear to be released on August 6.