Updated

Updated · Android Central · Sep 10

Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Adds Trail Running and Diving, but $700 Price Meets 2-Day Battery

Updated

Updated · Android Central · Sep 10

Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Adds Trail Running and Diving, but $700 Price Meets 2-Day Battery

Q: With tests ranging from 90 minutes to four hours, what is the hidden truth behind the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2's charging speed?

The hidden truth is that the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s charging speed appears to depend heavily on the charger and power profile used, and Samsung has not clearly explained that. The review cited a practical full-charge time of about two hours, which already undercut Samsung’s marketing. Broader testing shows an even wider gap. One test using a 45W USB-C brick reached 100% in about 94 minutes, close to what most buyers would consider normal for an 800mAh smartwatch battery. But PhoneArena reportedly needed more than four hours with Samsung’s official 25W adapter and saw only 18% after 30 minutes. That gap suggests the issue is not simply battery size. A 45W brick does not mean the watch draws 45W; rather, it may provide the right USB Power Delivery profile or better communication with the magnetic charging puck. Other factors such as heat management, charger compatibility, or the puck itself may also affect results. What makes this significant is that Samsung claims up to 40% charge in around 30 minutes, yet it does not clearly tell buyers what adapter is required to achieve that. Since no charging brick is included in the box, many users will plug the puck into whatever USB-C adapter they already own and may get very different results. So the real story is not that the Ultra 2 is always slow-charging. It is that its charging is inconsistent in real-world use, and Samsung’s guidance on how to get fast charging appears incomplete.

3 articles · Updated · Android Central · Sep 10

$700 Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 earns praise for fast performance, strong multitasking and a bright display, with Android Central calling it a solid but flawed successor.
New fitness features drive much of that upgrade: trail running adds turn-by-turn navigation, while Running Coach, rep counts, weight tracking, diving support, Gemini and gestures expand hands-free and workout use.
Battery life undercuts the package, with the 800mAh watch lasting barely 2 days in testing and taking about 2 hours to recharge from empty.
Samsung also limits several headline health features to Galaxy phone users, while blood pressure setup, food logging and run-pace accuracy were criticized as awkward or unreliable.
Android Central said those trade-offs make the watch hard to recommend broadly, favoring the Pixel Watch 5 unless buyers are already deep in Samsung's ecosystem.