The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is now available for purchase in Brazil, featuring significant improvements in power and battery life for Samsung's most advanced smartwatch. To detail the changes compared to the previous model, Olhar Digital has prepared a complete comparison between the two devices.
Although Samsung maintained the square design with a circular screen and the 47-millimeter titanium structure, the biggest distinctions between the two versions lie in the internal specifications, usability comfort, and autonomy.
The first Galaxy Watch Ultra had a thickness of 12.1 mm and a 590 mAh battery. In the Watch Ultra 2, however, Samsung managed to reduce the body to 10.7 mm while simultaneously increasing the battery capacity to 800 mAh. This resulted in a visibly thinner watch on the wrist and provided an increase of almost 35% in charging capacity, solving a weak point for users who go long periods without access to power.
In terms of processing, the first generation used the Exynos W1000 chip, manufactured by Samsung itself. However, the Ultra 2 replaced this component with the Snapdragon Wear Elite, supplied by Qualcomm. This new processor promises to offer more agile navigation through menus, instant responses in applications, and greater accuracy in reading GPS and sensor data.
The AMOLED screen evolved from 1.5 inches to 1.52 inches due to better edge utilization. The most notable advancement is the maximum brightness, which increased from 3,000 nits on the original model to 5,000 nits on the Ultra 2, facilitating the viewing of maps, training data, and notifications under strong sunlight.
Internal storage was also doubled, going from 32 GB on the initial Ultra to 64 GB on the Ultra 2, while RAM remains at 2 GB in both models. This additional space is sufficient to download complete playlists and offline maps without compromising memory.
The Ultra 2 also received reinforcements in its sports functionalities, including specific profiles for trail running, hydration calculation based on sweat loss, and a dedicated certification to operate as a diving computer, displaying depth and immersion time.
The Watch Ultra 2 comes factory-installed with the One UI 9 Watch interface running on Wear OS 7. It introduces the functionality to interact with Google Gemini just by raising the wrist and speaking, eliminating the need to press buttons or touch the screen. Furthermore, the system incorporates a feature called 'Vital Signs,' which analyzes sleep, temperature, and heart rate data to indicate daily physical fatigue levels. Some of these software features should also be made available for the first Ultra through updates.
Samsung released the details of the new Galaxy Watch 9 smartwatch line launch in the Brazilian market this Thursday (6th). For those who want to understand the improvements compared to last year's Galaxy Watch 8, Olhar Digital prepared a detailed comparison between the two models.
In terms of design, the Galaxy Watch 9 maintains great similarity with its predecessor; the aesthetic with rounded corners has been preserved, and the watch retains almost identical dimensions and weight, available in the same 40mm and 44mm sizes.
The Super AMOLED screen also remains unchanged, offering excellent visibility in direct sunlight with a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits. External aesthetic modifications are minimal, limited to small adjustments in color options and the redesign of straps focusing on comfort.
The significant differences lie inside the devices. There was a change in processor supplier: while the Galaxy Watch 8 used the Exynos W1000, developed by Samsung itself, the Galaxy Watch 9 now employs Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite chip, promising an increase in speed and performance.
Samsung opted to keep the RAM and internal storage of the Galaxy Watch 8, both fixed at 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. However, Bluetooth was updated from version 5.3 to 6.0, which should ensure more stable wireless connections with smartphones and other equipment.
Battery capacity varies depending on the selected version. In the smaller 40mm model, the capacity increased from 325mAh to 390mAh, representing a notable gain for users who prefer smaller watches. In the larger 44mm version, the increase was discreet, going from 435mAh to 445mAh.
In practice, the estimated autonomy remains around one day, maintaining a similar behavior between the two generations, indicating that the Galaxy Watch 9 will likely require daily charging, even with the slightly larger battery.
The Galaxy Watch 9 is launched with Wear OS 7 and the One UI 9 Watch interface. Google Gemini remains integrated to assist with searches, reminder creation, and voice responses. A new feature introduced is the automatic activation of artificial intelligence when the wrist is lifted.
The physical sensors remain the same, including the BioActive suite for heart rate, electrocardiogram, and bioimpedance measurements, as well as temperature and barometer sensors. Additionally, the Watch 9 incorporates new tools for monitoring vital signs during sleep, cardiovascular health scoring, and training loads, although some of these software functionalities will also be made available for the Watch 8 via operating system updates.
