In addition to new foldables, Samsung also announced two new smart watches at the company’s latest Galaxy Unpacked event: the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETPricing for Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Galaxy Watch Ultra 2The Galaxy Watch 9 comes in two sizes and prices: The smaller 40mm for $380 and larger 44mm for $410.
The Galaxy Watch 9 is $30 more, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is $50 pricier.
Vanessa Hand Orellana/CNETDesign and displayThe Galaxy Watch 9 looks and feels very similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 8.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 looks indistinguishable from the Galaxy Watch 8.
In addition to new foldables, Samsung also announced two new smart watches at the company’s latest Galaxy Unpacked event: the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Both watches advance the company’s wearables offerings, but in different ways.
Much like with previous generations, the Watch 9 is designed to be an everyday health companion. It comes in 40mm ($380) and 44mm ($410) options with a round aluminum body. The Watch 9 offers plenty of health and fitness features, such as activity and sleep tracking.
The Watch Ultra 2 ($700), however, is meant to be more of a sports performance watch. It’s built for the outdoors and has extra features designed to assist the aspiring athlete, such as real-time hydration guidance and trail-running assistance.
We’ve compared the two new Galaxy Watches below.
Side-by-side look at the two new Galaxy Watches: Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Pricing for Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Galaxy Watch Ultra 2
The Galaxy Watch 9 comes in two sizes and prices: The smaller 40mm for $380 and larger 44mm for $410. If you want cellular connectivity, you’ll pay $50 extra: The 40mm LTE version is $430, while the 44mm LTE version is $460.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 comes in a single 47mm size and is priced at $699.
Like other devices coming out this year, Samsung’s smartwatches suffered a price jump from their predecessors. The Galaxy Watch 9 is $30 more, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is $50 pricier.
In terms of color, the 40mm Watch 9 ships in cream and graphite and the 44mm ships in silver and graphite. The Watch Ultra 2 comes in suitably utilitarian colors such as titanium gray and titanium silver.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 can withstand the elements. Vanessa Hand Orellana/CNET
Design and display
The Galaxy Watch 9 looks and feels very similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 8. It has the same aluminum build that ships in both 40mm and 44mm, with a round display set in a slightly square base. The Ultra 2, on the other hand, is available in just 47mm and is built out of a much beefier titanium grade 4. It too has a squircle-esque design — a round display set inside a rounded square base.
The Galaxy Watch 9 is water-resistant up to 50 meters, while the Watch Ultra 2 is water-resistant up to 100 meters.
The Watch 9’s 40mm option has a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a 438 x 438 resolution, while the 44mm has a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 480×480-pixel resolution. The Watch Ultra 2 has a slightly larger 1.52-inch Super AMOLED display with a 498×498-pixel resolution. The Watch 9 has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, while the Watch Ultra 2 has a peak brightness of 5,000 nits, which is up 2,000 nits over its predecessor.
As it’s built out of titanium grade 4 instead of aluminum, the Watch Ultra 2 is also thicker and heavier than the Watch 9. The Watch 9 measures only 8.6mm thick, while the Watch Ultra 2 is 10.7mm thick. As for their weight, the 40mm Watch 9 weighs in at 31.5 grams, the 44mm Watch 9 is 34 grams, and the Watch Ultra 2 is much beefier at 61.5 grams.
That said, while the Watch 9’s design remains the same as the Watch 8, the Watch Ultra 2 is 12% thinner and 25% lighter than its predecessor, making it a better choice if you’re looking to upgrade from the first Watch Ultra.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 looks indistinguishable from the Galaxy Watch 8. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Health and safety features
The Watch 9’s features are identical to those of the Watch 8, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It has a slew of sensors, including a bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, an electrical heart sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an infrared temperature sensor, an optical heart rate sensor and a light sensor. It also has a skin analysis feature that tracks carotenoids (antioxidants in the skin) via different color LEDs.
The Watch Ultra 2 offers the same features, but adds to that with a few more adventure-specific modes. It has hydration guidance, which can predict sweat loss and offer suggestions to drink water to prevent dehydration. It has a trail-running feature that lets you download maps and monitor elevation and terrain. If you’re into diving, the Watch Ultra 2 has a diving app that helps you track depth and temperature. However, the diving app isn’t preloaded at launch, so we’re not sure how helpful it is just yet.
Both the Watch 9 and the Watch Ultra 2 have emergency SOS and fall detection features. The Watch Ultra 2 offers a siren as well.
Even the larger Galaxy Watch 9 fits my wrist comfortably. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
Battery and specs
The Galaxy Watch 9 has a 20% larger battery compared with its predecessor. The 40mm version now has a 390-mAh battery, while the 44mm has a 445-mAh battery. According to Samsung, they should last up to 30 hours on a single charge with their always-on display mode enabled.
If all you want is a larger battery, however, the Watch Ultra 2 wins out. It has an 800-mAh battery, which is a big 35% jump up from the 590-mAh battery on its predecessor. According to Samsung, it should last up to 60 hours with regular use, up to 48 hours in a low-power exercise mode and up to 100 hours in a power-saving mode.
Both watches now have a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor instead of the Exynos W1000 chip that was in the Watch 8. The Watch 9 has 2GB of memory and 32GB of storage, while the Watch Ultra 2 has 2GB of memory and 64GB of storage.
