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Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

The_Chief

The_Chief

Accept no imitations!
VIP Member
Okay... between the Buds3Pro and the Watch Ultra looking more & more Apple-y (why I have NO idea), I'm not sure if anyone on those design teams actually wears Samsung devices and not Apple!

That said, the Watch Ultra is an absolute BEAST of a watch: with the same battery capacity as my Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and a 2nd Gen 3nm processor, it should last upwards of a week with power saving mode! Not that I expect to need that OR the 100m of water...

I went ahead and pre-ordered it (titanium gray with gray band because orange... ewww) because I have little to lose and a lot to gain. A used Watch 5 Pro in pristine condition is selling for MAYBE $100 on ebay; but Samsung offered me a $350 trade-in on it so it's kind of a no-brainer. I didn't order any other devices although I'm sure the foldable enthusiasts have a bit of enthusiasm.

What about you? Did you pounce on the squircle Watch Ultra or other device?
 
Kudos, then. May Watch 5 Pro is in great condition but for the money, I may as well take two model years newer... I have serious sleep issues (other than the money pit yapping me awake to go out) so the new sensors will likely be useful.
 
I bought the watch 3 for the BP feature only to find out that it was neutered in the USA. I'd love a full featured watch that I actually worked. Especially now that I've had a widow maker heart attack. It seems like a quite useful tool that I would invest in. My watch 3 is a great watch but it shows the years of use and is not of trade in value. I have a S3 Frontier sitting in my desk drawer that is also a great watch that was retired to get a more feature rich watch... that wasn't.
 
I suppose your doctor can't order you a monitored BP cuff? I have to take my blood pressure every day or they'll bug me; the readings are sent to the telehealth nurse by cell connection in the machine. It's pretty useful if you can get something like that. We wanna keep you around for awhile!
 
I have a cuff and take my pressure twice a day. There is no communication of the readings but I show them to my cardiologist when I see him. He always wants my pressure extremely low. We fight about it. I feel much better when my pressure is in the normal range for a 70 year old. 125/70 is a sweet spot for me. He likes 100/60. Whatever.... it would be handy to check that while I work and while I ride my bike. Not when I'm sitting and watching TV.
 
I've been using Black Metal HD watch face for YEARS - I just haven't found a better alternative for me. That may be at an end, though, because I just learned that the Galaxy Watch Ultra runs Wear OS 5... which is NOT compatible with older watch face versions. Unless the developer updates the watch face (ie completely recreates it in WFF), I'll have no choice but to change.

😢
 
I sat down with the Darling Bride to show her parts of Unpacked - particularly the Galaxy Ring. She was initially interested, but then we got to the Galaxy Watch 7. She has a smaller wrist so the Ultra would be a monster on her arm. She wanted the additional sensors and features of the watch: and she's pretty much landed on the 40mm Watch 7 in the greenish-gray.
 
Okay: the double pinch shutter control is COOL. I can set up my phone, preview the image on my watch and, with a quick gesture, take the shot. No S Pen button, no yelling "capture" or anything else. It will be great for group photos and I'll try that later today. Works with video, too!

UPDATE: the camera controller on the watch allows the user to select photo or video; and alternate between the two. There is a shutter button and the pause/stop button for video that can be used, but the double pinch is just astonishing.
 
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I just got a shipping notification for my Galaxy Watch Ultra... it's expected to arrive Friday: almost a week early! That's great as I'll have that day and all weekend to get it set up and my trade-in Watch 5 Pro reset. Exciting first world times!
 
New toys are always fun

Episode 9 Ugh GIF by On My Block
 
Well, you guys can be jealous at me as well. I just got my new Samsung product. Which one? Good question. I ordered both the watch ultra and the fold 6. I got a notification saying that either one or both have been delivered. I'm still at work. So I'll find out in a few hours from now.... depending on LA traffic.
 
One of the problems I'm having with the watch Ultra is that because Wear OS 5 is so different, my daily driver watch face (I used it for years) won't work on it. So I have to find a new watch face that I like.
 
I've had the Galaxy Watch Ultra for a month, so I wanted to give a real-world review of living with it.

Yes, it's phenomenal. Does just about everything from tracking sleep and steps; to giving me notifications; to making & taking phone calls; managing my music player; to serving as a remote control for the phone's camera (not only can I switch between photo & video, I can actually pinch-zoom the camera in and out and double pinch to start/stop). It even tells me what time it is!

I've banged it against things pretty hard, too, with no damage.

However, I'm not sure how Samsung expects users to get a week of use from a charge without power saving mode - which effectively kills the background processes. If someone has the SIM option and is on a hike, not worried about sleep tracking and just needs the watch to last as long as possible, that may work out. I generally top off the charge daily... although I could MAYBE get 3 days' use out of it with my usage.

If the whole world didn't have my phone number and can contact me, it might be worth having the SIM option so I can leave my phone at home for shorter trips when it's still nice to make a call (like to the Darling Bride, asking her why she added flour to the shopping list when we have flour).

No regrets on the watch, though: and Samsung's $350 trade-in offer on the Watch 5 Pro made it a no-brainer. I highly recommend it to someone who might be interested in it: just wait until Black Friday to get the best deal.
 
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