The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is Samsung’s top-of-the-line rugged smartwatch, housed in a 47mm titanium case with LTE and a suite of sensors designed to follow you during your runs, during your sleep, and throughout your workouts. This year Samsung made the case slightly thinner than last year’s, added a larger battery, and pushed the display brighter. You can get it in either Titanium Gray or Titanium Silver, with prices beginning at $699.99 and shipping starting August 7.
Head over to Samsung or Amazon to pre-order the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 before it ships August 7. Samsung will take up to $250 off if you trade in an eligible watch or phone, or give you $100 in Samsung credit if you have nothing to trade. Amazon does it differently and includes a $100 gift card with the watch instead.
A powerful smartwatch you’ll love using day to day
Trading in your older watch or phone before August 7 will earn you $250, because that’s Samsung’s maximum trade-in value during the pre-order period. Once the smartwatch becomes available for general purchase, the trade-in value decreases. Depending on what you’re trading in, a good trade-in could bring the cost from $700 down to about $450. If you don’t have anything to trade in, Samsung offers $100 in accessory credit to use when you buy other products. Unfortunately, you can’t use it toward the watch. Amazon has taken a much easier approach by offering a $100 gift card to use as you like.
The battery is where the first Ultra fell short, and Samsung addressed it directly. The Ultra 2 carries an 800mAh cell, 35% larger than the 590mAh battery in the original, rated for up to 60 hours with the always-on display active. A Snapdragon Wear Elite chip and 2GB of RAM handle the software, with 64GB of storage. Fast wireless charging brings it back quickly.
The 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display is protected by sapphire crystal and reaches 5,000 nits, the brightest panel Samsung has put on a watch. That brightness is the difference between reading your pace in direct sun and squinting at a dim screen, and it stays legible underwater. The titanium case adds IP69K and 10ATM ratings on top of the dive certification.
Health and outdoor tracking cover heart rate, blood oxygen, body composition, sleep, and VO2 max, plus a new Trail Running mode with turn-by-turn route guidance and a hydration alert. The Mares dive app is the exception to what ships day one. It arrives later this year, runs on a subscription, and stays exclusive to the Ultra 2 among Android watches.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 starts at $699.99 and ships August 7, and where you pre-order comes down to what you’re holding. Samsung’s route gets you the full $250 trade-in credit, so it wins if you have an old watch or phone in a drawer. Amazon’s $100 gift card is the better call if you have nothing to trade.
