Alongside the new foldable smartphones, Samsung has announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9 in its wearables department, featuring updated health tracking capabilities, larger batteries, brighter displays, along with new penta-core Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite (SDW6100) chipsets powering them.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2
Samsung’s new wearable flagship arrives in the form of Galaxy Watch Ultra2, replacing the 2-years-old original with some upgrades onboard. For starters, it is now IP69K-certified, and it also gets EN13319 certification to accurately measure diving depth – though the same 100m depth (or 10ATM) rating is carried over from the original. Note that a dedicated Ultra2 Diving app co-developed with diving equipment manufacturer Mares is expected to add ascent and descent speed tracking along with safe dive limit alerts later this year.
The new flagship smartwatch also includes a Trail Run feature that tracks elevation, climbing progress and terrain impact, alongside a Nutrition Alert function that estimates sweat loss relative to body weight and provides hydration guidance during runs. Software is running on Wear OS 7-based One UI 9 interface, with five years of software update support, meaning until 2031.
Hardware-wise, the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 is equipped with 2GB RAM, 64GB storage, a silicon-carbon 800mAh battery (35% bigger than the original Ultra model), and a 1.52-inch 498 x 498 display reaching 5,000 nits of brightness (the highest recorded on a Samsung smartwatch to date). The device retains its titanium build but has been redesigned to reduce thickness by 12% (now at 10.7mm) compared to its predecessor, with lighter bands intended to improve wear comfort.
Samsung Galaxy Watch9
Samsung’s mainstream wearable lineage welcomes the Galaxy Watch9, though changes are much less pronounced. It retains the same aluminum casing designed to retain cushion silhouette while fitting closer to the wrist, available with a range of interchangeable band materials, including silicone and fabric. The wearables includes a 390mAh (40mm) / 445mAh (44mm) battery along with a 1.34-inch and 1.47-inch 3,000-nit display, and both features 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage onboard.
Both watches use Samsung’s BioActive sensor to collect biometric data, which is processed into features including Vitals (sleep baseline monitoring with deviation alerts), Heart Health Score (a cardiovascular wellness score with lifestyle recommendations), Daily Cardio Load (training volume and recovery guidance), Fitness Index (a general fitness assessment tool) and Hearing (noise exposure alerts and reporting). Like the Watch Ultra2, it features One UI 9, with five years of promised software updates.
Pricing & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 will be offered in 47mm only with Titanium Silver or Titanium Gray colors, at RM3,399; meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy Watch9 will be available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, the former in Cream and Graphite, while the latter comes in Graphite and Silver. Pricing starts from RM1,499 for the 40mm Bluetooth-only model, while the 44mm counterpart starts from RM1,599; LTE versions costs RM300 more in both cases.
Pre-orders for both devices begin 22 July, with general availability starting 14 August. Both watches also include a 60-day free trial of Strava, activated through the Strava mobile app.
Pokdepinion: I do wonder, what’s the next development direction for smartwatches going to be?
