Galaxy Watch Ultra gets two of the most important basics right

The Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung’s most expensive smartwatch ever, launched in July this year. When my boss Danny reviewed the Galaxy Watch Ultra, we didn’t think it completely justified the Ultra moniker. But we still found it to be an amazing smartwatch that has no equal, except maybe the Apple Watch, though that only works with iPhones.Summarize in one-click with Galaxy AI

A smartwatch that costs $649.99 (INR 59,999 here in India) should go above and beyond the basics. But the basics are important, too. In fact, getting them right is a prerequisite, and all the fancy features—like the ability to survive water pressure equivalent to a depth of 100 meters and work at an altitude of 9000m—come after.

I have had the pleasure of using the Galaxy Watch Ultra for a little over a week, and while I haven't tested everything, there are two basics I think it's exceptional at: performance and battery life.

Samsung's first Ultra smartwatch is fluid and super fast

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is the smoothest and quickest Samsung smartwatch yet. That’s thanks to the new Exynos chip that sits inside it. Called the Exynos W1000, this chip is a huge leap over the Exynos W920 and W930, which powered the Galaxy Watch 4, 5, and 6 series.

Samsung claims that the W1000, built on a 3nm process, has 2.7x faster overall CPU performance compared to the Exynos W930 for faster app switching. Its single-core performance is 3.4x faster, while multi-core performance is 3.7x faster.

This is pretty much the best smartwatch chip available today, and the user experience benefits greatly. The Galaxy Watch Ultra puts all previous Samsung smartwatches to shame when it comes to the fluidity and quickness of the user interface.

The fluidity is particularly impressive. It almost feels like the Galaxy Watch Ultra has a high refresh rate display. But that’s not the case, it just feels like it because of how smooth the UI is.

It’s fast too. Unlike older Samsung watches, there are no random or hiccups or lags when navigating the user interface and launching apps and other functions. This is what you would expect from a watch that costs more than $600, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra doesn't disappoint.

Galaxy Watch Ultra battery life is fantastic

Battery life is another area where the Galaxy Watch Ultra gets top marks. It handily beats the previous battery life champion in Samsung's Wear OS smartwatch lineup, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. The battery capacity is the same on both the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Watch Ultra, so the more efficient processor is likely playing a role here.

My Watch Ultra has features like automatic working tracking, GPS, and continuous heart rate monitoring enabled, and it lasts nearly three days before asking for a charge. I haven't played around with many apps or have Always On Display enabled, but even if those are added to the equation, the Watch Ultra can go two days and two nights on a single charge.

The best part is that I haven't had to make use of the power saving mode or employ any special battery tricks. With the power saving mode enabled, Samsung says the Watch Ultra can last up to 100 hours of battery life. I don't doubt the company's claim is accurate, though I haven't put it to the test.

The Watch Ultra makes me wish Samsung would bring back the Galaxy Watch Pro model for those who want great battery life without paying the premium the Ultra model commands. Battery life on the non-Ultra Galaxy Watch models isn't bad, but it's not very dependable, and a Pro model would offer a good middle ground.