Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025) - Minor Upgrade. Great Watch

Despite the pressure for tech manufacturers to update their products at least once a year, it's not compulsory. In fact, when you think about it, it's not even realistic.

Imagine coming up with something so ground-breaking, so innovative and so desirable it becomes one of the most coveted devices of 2024.

Now imagine being told you need to do it again 12 months later.

Why?

Has the competition suddenly replicated every design element? Every feature? Every function of the software?

Of course not.

I assume that's what Samsung was thinking when it unveiled the 2025 Galaxy Watch Ultra.

That's right. This year's Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra looks exactly the same as the 2024 version. Its the same size and weight. It has the same processor and even the same battery. 

Bearing in mind it's a very powerful processor for a watch and that battery will last more than two days, even if you're using all the features - up to 100 hours in power saving mode.

For once, Samsung has literally said, "If it ain't broke..." and you'd be hard-pushed to break this device of course. Titanium casing. Sapphire Crystal glass. Components cushioned against impact. This is the watch that meets so many military standards, it's not just water and dust-proof but also height, depth, heat, cold and pressure-proof. 

I don't ever want to be anywhere where it's minus 20° - or positive 55° for that matter. I doubt that I'll ever find myself 9000 metres up or 100 metres underwater - but it's good to know if I ever do, I'll still be able to tell the time and measure my stress levels. I imagine they'll be pretty high.

This is the watch that can track everything; your skin temperature, your blood pressure - even your heart-rate variation while you sleep.

Not to mention dozens of sports and exercises, including full dual-frequency GPS for accurate navigation and the ability to retrace your steps.

None of that is new. Doesn't mean it's not still pretty awesome.

And it's not like there are no differences at all.

The 2025 Galaxy Watch Ultra now comes in Titanium Blue, in addition to last year's choices of Titanium White, Titanium Grey and Titanium Silver.

And the new model has twice the built-in storage - 64GB rather than 32GB.

And that seems to literally be it.

Not that it isn't great to have another colour to choose from and if you're going to have phone-sized storage on a smartwatch, this is the one to have it on. That's because the Galaxy Watch Ultra is probably the most suited of any watch to be worn out and about without its paired phone.

The durability and good battery life are part of the reason but also the fact its large display makes tasks like replying to messages more practical. Most importantly, you can activate an eSIM on the Galaxy Watch Ultra so you can use it to its full functionality, even when you leave your phone at home.

That means you can load your favourite playlist or podcasts onto that 64GB, pair directly with earbuds or headphones and take your phone out of the equation while you're out and about heli ski-ing, base jumping or setting land speed records in the desert. All that sort of thing.

Obviously, all the sport and exercise tracking I've covered off numerous times before just keeps getting better and better - with significant improvements to the running coach options. But it's the enhancements and additions Samsung has made to health tracking that have really captured my attention.

By calibrating with a third-party blood pressure cuff, the Galaxy Watch Ultra can then keep an eye on things for you. Combine that with skin temperature readings, Heart Rate Variability during sleep and now the ability to measure vascular load - you'll receive plenty of warning if there's an uncharacteristic change you might want to consult a doctor about.

You can now even measure your antioxidant index based on the level of carotenoids in your skin. This is a somewhat cumbersome process though, as you have to take the watch off and press your thumb against the BioActive sensor, while following instructions from the Health app on your phone. Newsflash; I'm not eating enough fruit and veggies.

Perhaps the most depressing thing about reviewing a new Galaxy Watch is the results that appear in the Samsung Health app from my sleep tracking. The fast charging and good battery life of the Ultra make it a practical sleep tracker, although being such a large watch, some users may find it too bulky to wear comfortably all night. I've also had some negative feedback from the other person in the bed due to bright light leaking from the BioActive Sensor pressed against my wrist.

Combine that with my horrendous snoring and it's a miracle she puts up with me.

I can't argue about the snoring either - between the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the S24 Ultra phone I have it paired with, the evidence is there for everyone to see - and hear. Not only do I know I snored for 1h 22m last night, I can select from any of the ten recordings that were made to hear exactly how earsplitting it was.

I also know I'm spending too much time awake during the night (probably because of someone snoring) and that I'm not getting enough deep sleep.

On the bright side, my Sleep Latency is excellent. That's the length of time it takes me to fall asleep. I mean, I'm really tired.

So I've been assigned a sleep animal. I'm a shark, apparently. Sounds pretty cool but it turns out sharks never stop moving and as a "Shark Sleeper" I'm not getting enough total sleep time, I tend to wake up at night and I have inconsistent sleep times from day to day.

The frustrating thing about sleep tracking with the Galaxy Watch Ultra is I can take all the coaching advice it has to offer - the fact is, I do a job that requires me to get up at 2:50AM and I can't seem to get the Samsung Health app to take that into account.

Essentially, Samsung keeps finding new ways to tell my how unhealthy my lifestyle choices are. It sums all this up in an Energy Score at the start of each day, with some advice on what I can do to improve the next day's score.

For example, during the week when I get less sleep, my Energy Score tends to be fairly low and my watch tends to suggest I reduce my activity and up my rest. If only.

No wonder my AGE index is so high. Not my age - my level of Advanced Glycation End products. I think this means my body is older than it should be.

Unfortunately, I can't just press a button on the Galaxy Watch Ultra and magically fix all these worrying measurements - not even the "Quick" shortcut button can do that, although I do have it set to instantly commence my Outdoor Walk workout which happens to coincide with when the dog requires his daily constitutional.

However, forewarned is forearmed and now it's my challenge to see if I can influence some of the stats my watch has presented me with - more useful information than any other smartwatch I've worn to date. Maybe one day I'll no longer be a shark and I'll have morphed into a hedgehog, or perhaps even a walrus instead.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Watch (2025).