The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is among the most capable Android smartwatches available, provided you own a Samsung phone. After a month of daily use, the hardware impresses on several fronts, though the wider experience carries a handful of frustrations that require tweaking before things work as expected.
One early example: queuing a podcast in the YouTube Music app before a run only to have the watch drop its connection to the phone mid-session, because auto-downloading is not enabled by default. Small issues like this recur across the experience, and many of the best features are limited to Android owners who use Samsung phones.
Design and performance
Samsung’s design and build quality make a strong first impression. The circle-within-a-squircle layout looks better in person than expected, and the watch relies on buttons rather than a crown that can get in the way during workouts.
Apps run well, and the watch handles multitasking with ease thanks to the Snapdragon Wear Elite processor and the strengths of Wear OS. Juggling messaging apps, checking a calendar, and logging workouts all happen without losing progress. Gemini is on hand for hands-free tasks, and broad gesture support means you can operate the watch without touching the screen.
Fitness features
The new trail run workout mode stands out. Unlike outdoor running, it offers turn-by-turn navigation and an easy way to load routes from apps such as AllTrails, with voice guidance that proves notably attentive. Several workouts now support rep counts and weight measurements, addressing a long-standing gap in most Wear OS watches.
The Running Coach feature is another highlight, guiding first-time training for a half marathon. Setting it up is straightforward: open Running Coach and follow the prompts in the Samsung Health app.
The trade-offs
Not every change is an improvement. The hardware is faster, but battery life is worse and charging is much slower than before. Samsung has fixed some of the weakest points of the workout experience, including the previously missing rep count feature, yet certain aspects remain more complicated than they need to be.
The combination of a premium build, capable processor, and expanded fitness tracking makes the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 a strong choice, with the caveat that its full feature set depends on pairing it with a Samsung phone.
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Image: androidcentral.com
