Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch9 Aim Straight at Apple and Garmin

Samsung’s New Strategy: Bright, Fast and Unapologetically Premium

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9 are premium smartwatches built on the Snapdragon Wear Elite Platform with brighter AMOLED displays, larger batteries, and new AI health tracking features designed to challenge Apple and Garmin in performance, outdoor visibility, and long-term wellness monitoring. Samsung is not playing coy here: these are high-end devices with prices starting at RM1,499 and topping out at RM3,399, squarely targeting buyers who might otherwise pick an Apple Watch Ultra or a top-tier Garmin. By revealing both models alongside its latest foldable phones, Samsung signals that wearables are central to its ecosystem play, not accessories. The Ultra2 is the rugged flagship, while Watch9 caters to everyday health tracking. The real question is whether these upgrades meaningfully improve life on the wrist or just pad spec sheets. On paper, the answer leans strongly toward progress.

Snapdragon Wear Elite and Battery Upgrades: Catching Up on Core Performance

Moving from Exynos to Qualcomm’s 3nm Snapdragon Wear Elite smartwatch platform is Samsung admitting that raw performance and GPS accuracy matter more than brand pride. Both Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch9 gain improved CPU and GPU performance, smoother One UI 9 Watch navigation on top of Wear OS 7, and more reliable GPS – essentials, not luxuries, for serious runners and outdoor athletes. The Ultra2’s 800mAh battery is 35% larger than the previous Ultra, yet sits in a titanium case that is 12% thinner at 10.7mm. This is the kind of progress users feel every day: fewer charges, more comfort, and less compromise when tracking long workouts or weekends away. A quotable takeaway is that "Samsung boosts the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 battery capacity by 35% to 800mAh without increasing thickness, a rare win in smartwatch design."

Display Brightness: 5,000 Nits Is Not Overkill, It’s Competitive Necessity

Display brightness has become a battlefield statistic, and Samsung wants the high ground. The Galaxy Watch Ultra2 hits a peak 5,000 nits on its 1.52-inch Super AMOLED Always-On Display, protected by Sapphire Crystal. According to one source, this "makes it the brightest display on the smartwatch right now," a clear swipe at rivals whose screens wash out in midday sun. For outdoor workouts, trail runs, and dives, this is a practical upgrade: data stays readable when you are squinting through glare, not only under gentle gym lighting. The Watch9 sits lower at a still-strong 3,000 nits, tailored for everyday wellness, office commutes, and casual runs rather than extreme adventures. In short, Samsung is accepting that athletes need more light and is willing to spend power budget and engineering effort to give it to them. That’s a welcome change from past battery-first compromises.

AI Health Tracking Features: From Raw Metrics to Interpreted Insights

The most important change is not the metal or the silicon; it is how the watches try to interpret your body. Both models add AI health tracking features such as Vitals alerts, Heart Health Score, Daily Cardio Load, Fitness Index, and hearing protection alerts, all driven by continuous data from Samsung’s BioActive Sensor and an array of motion and temperature sensors. On the Ultra2, this is layered with sport-specific tools like Trail Run elevation data and Nutrition Alert, which estimates sweat loss relative to body weight and recommends hydration during supported activities. There is even EN13319 dive certification, auto-dive detection, and an upcoming Mares Ultra2 Diving app for advanced dive limit tracking later this year. These features push Samsung closer to Garmin’s coaching-style metrics and to Apple’s push into heart and cardio insights—but with a more overt AI label. The real measure will be accuracy and clarity, not the buzzword count.

Pricing, Positioning and Who Should Care

With the Galaxy Watch9 starting at RM1,499 for the 40mm Bluetooth model and climbing to RM1,899 for the 44mm LTE, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 set at RM3,399 for the 47mm LTE variant, Samsung is emphatically in the premium smartwatch segment. This is not an attempt to undercut budget fitness trackers; it is aimed directly at buyers considering Apple Watch Ultra or high-end Garmin multisport watches. The Ultra2, with titanium, 10ATM + IP69K, MIL-STD-810H and EN13319 certifications plus dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS, is clearly built for rugged athletes and divers. The Watch9, with its cushion design, lightweight aluminium and 3,000-nit display, is shaped for everyday users who want reliable health and cardio insights rather than expedition gear. In my view, this multi-model approach is smart: Samsung finally accepts that one watch cannot serve both hardcore trail runners and desk workers equally well.