Aside from releasing the spectacular Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the awesome Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, this year Samsung also introduced its latest, and by far, greatest wearables so far.
Both the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch 9 fall in nicely in the line of succession established by previous Samsung smartwatches. Instead of the minor intergenerational upgrades that we're usually treated to, however, these two wearables give us a trove of sensible improvements.
And while the much slimmer profile is definitely something to be amazed by, there's one crucial metric that has been greatly improved on the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 that I can't stop gushing about, and that's the exceptional battery life.
Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: up to $250 off
$449
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$699
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$250 off (36%)
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a premium wearable with a rugged yet lightweight design and all sorts of high-end features. It's also equipped with an 800mAh battery, offering plenty of battery life on a single charge. Right now, you can get it with a $250 discount, but an eligible device trade-in is required.
I will be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is equipped with a massive 800 mAh battery. That was just about unheard of in the smartwatch world, where tinier batteries were the norm. The previous record holders were the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the slightly older Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which featured 590 mAh batteries.
Both of these were battery champs, don't get me wrong, but the new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 was already set for success from the get-go.
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Samsung has somehow made the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 thinner while also giving it the biggest battery ever. | Image by PhoneArena
What also stood out was the more powerful and efficient Snapdragon Wear Elite chip on board, which introduces faster clock speeds, specialized low-power Wi-Fi, newer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, and much better graphics performance which leads to less visual stutter. Efficiency is key with wearables, and Samsung absolutely nailed the correct silicon for the job.
All of that, combined with the much larger battery, suggested to me that the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will be a device that I'd love for the battery life.
And I was absolutely correct to expect that!
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 put an end to my battery life woes
In my personal experience, this smartwatch lasts me a good three days and a half. This is a fantastic result and far longer than any other proper Wear OS smartwatch I've used.
Of course, with smartwatches you can't just say a device lasts you three days and end on a cliffhanger. There are quite many variables included and settings that may vary between users, so it's always worth mentioning those.
I get three and a half days of battery life on the regular. | Image by PhoneArena
My regular smartwatch usage, bar the initial short honeymoon phase, always involves disabling the always-on display functionality. To me, there's no use having the screen constantly lit up as a simple hand raise does the same while saving battery juice. I also never take off the smartwatch at night as one of the main reasons to wear it in the first place is sleep tracking.
Now, if I were to constantly do heavy workouts and rely on the GPS all the time, as well as use the smartwatch under the glaring sun where its 5,000-nit screen would be maxed out, I'd definitely get slightly lower battery life, which is completely normal.
But for my personal and slightly more conservative use case, three days and some change is what I can consistently expect from the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.
Fast charging is another blessing
While my three-and-a-half-day battery life is the best-case scenario, I don’t usually run down my wearables down to 0% before I plop them up on their charger, and neither should you.
Aside from lasting me a long time, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 also charges quite rapidly. | Image by PhoneArena
While I’m working, I typically put the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 on its charging puck and leave it there for at least half an hour, which is often sufficient for at least a 40 to 50% charge. That’s enough to last me a day or so, which is just about perfect.
One thing I always make sure of is to have enough juice before going to bed, as you don’t want your smartwatch to die on you while it’s supposed to be tracking your sleep, that’s for certain.
Galaxy Z Fold 8: save up to $800
$1299
99
$2099
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$800 off (38%)
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is Samsung's first-ever passport-style device, offering a unique approach to the foldable experience. Right now, you can get the device with a maximum trade-in discount of up to $800. Alternatively, you can get it with a $250 Samsung Instant Savings, no trade-in required.
Peter is a skilled writer with over 13 years of experience at PhoneArena. He has published nearly 300 phone reviews and comparisons. This vast experience helps him navigate the mobile tech landscape with ease. He enjoys everything Android but relies on a MacBook Pro daily.
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