Samsung and Android fans, rejoice! The Korean tech giant’s most powerful smartwatch has received a huge 35% off this Cyber Monday, bringing it down to the lowest price I’ve ever seen for this fitness-lovers gadget in Australia. Right now it costs just AU$838, an exceptional discount if you want a powerful smartwatch that was only revealed back in July.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is normally priced at AU$1,299, an enormous price that’s more expensive than the cheapest Galaxy S24 smartphone. It’s priced so high because it’s a phenomenally powerful piece of kit – only available in one large size (47mm, though fitted with a 44mm display) and only with cellular + Bluetooth connectivity (i.e. no Bluetooth-only option). There are three watch colours available, though, each fitted with a different coloured band.
The Ultra comes with durability ratings of 10ATM and IP68, versus the Galaxy Watch 7’s 5ATM / IP68. Those stats indicate that it’s one tough trinket – it can withstand the pressure of 100 metres of water depth (10ATM), and it will function properly after being submerged in fresh water for up to 30 minutes while also being fully dust-tight (IP68).
It also boasts a 590mAh battery, capable of lasting 48 hours without making any tweaks to your settings. Chuck it into power saving mode and it’ll last up to 100 hours. It’s also stuffed into a squared and rugged titanium casing that looks oh-so-Apple, with an additional crown-like button on the side for quickly activating a specific fitness tracking mode.
In our Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review, we noted that, although it has quite a beefy battery, we wished it was longer-lasting given the device’s high price. We also weren’t thrilled with the fact that the 44mm Samsung watch display was still being used on such a large device. That being said, its tough exterior earned it praise, along with its great features and new crown-like programmable button.
In my personal use of the watch, I truly loved it, and it became a brilliant companion for my day-to-day exercise, in tandem with the Galaxy Ring and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. That being said, it was kind of wasted on me – the most exercise I do is 1-2 hours of walking daily around Sydney’s Inner West, while this watch is more suited for kayaking, hiking, or intensive jogs.
Its new coaching system, in which it’ll encourage you to move quicker with wrist vibrations and track you through distance and GPS data, was extremely helpful for keeping my pace up, but it’s perhaps a little bit extra for someone like me that just wants to keep a healthy balance.
Just be wary that some features, such as the interactive gesture toggle (for cancelling alarms and stopping music in a literal pinch), only work when paired with a Samsung device. You can still use the Galaxy Watch Ultra with another Android phone, but you won’t get the same deep functionality.
So if you’re in the same camp as me and you’re just chasing wellness, perhaps the Watch Ultra is a little overkill, and that’s okay – because the Galaxy Watch 7 is also discounted right now on Amazon, down to AU$519.39 from AU$599. I’m still using the Galaxy Watch 6 as my day-to-day watch, but if I was more of a fitness fanatic, I would definitely pick up the Watch Ultra.
