{"slug": "honestly-the-samsung-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe", "title": "Honestly, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 Plays It a Little Too Safe", "summary": "Samsung debuted the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 at its Unpacked event, with the Watch 9 starting at $379.99 and the Ultra 2 at $699.99. The Watch 9 retains the same design as its predecessor but adds a new chip and AI-powered health features, while the Ultra 2 offers a brighter screen, larger battery, and scuba-diving certification. Both models are available for preorder now and will hit stores on August 7.", "body_md": "If you get a sense of déjà vu from looking at the Galaxy Watch 9, you’re not alone. Samsung debuted its latest flagship [smartwatch](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/9504/the-best-smartwatches), the Galaxy Watch 9, alongside the premium Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 at its Unpacked event yesterday. While the Ultra 2 has a thinner body and brighter screen, the Galaxy Watch 9 looks exactly like [its predecessor](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/159168/samsung-galaxy-watch-8), complete with the controversial squircle shape.\n\nSamsung is keeping the exterior watch hardware the same this year, and focusing on internal upgrades instead, giving the Watch 9 a new chip and more AI-powered tools that monitor your health and fitness. Even the battery capacity is only getting a small increase, so the new wellness features will need to do a lot of heavy lifting for the Watch 9 to feel like an upgrade.\n\nThe Ultra 2 also looks like its two-year-old predecessor at a glance, but features a brighter screen, a big jump in battery capacity, and a thinner frame. More importantly, it has been certified as safe for scuba diving.\n\nWe got our hands on both new models, which are available for preorder now and are slated to hit stores on August 7. Read on for all the details we know so far, and our first impressions.\n\n## Price and Models: A Bump in Cost\n\nFor the second year in a row, Samsung has raised the price of its smartwatch line. The Galaxy Watch 9 will start at $379.99, up from the Watch 8’s launch price of $349.99 and the [Watch 7](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/153377/samsung-galaxy-watch-7)’s $299.99. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 also increased in price, up to $699.99, compared with the $649.99 for the [original Ultra](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/153472/samsung-galaxy-watch-ultra).\n\nSamsung’s watches now cost more than Google's competing [Pixel Watch 4](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/160578/google-pixel-watch-4), which starts at $349.99. The Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 both undercut their counterparts on iOS in price, the $399 [Apple Watch Series 11](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/160098/apple-watch-series-11) and the $799 [Apple Watch Ultra 3](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/160142/apple-watch-ultra-3), respectively.\n\nLike its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 9 comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes, with the larger model costing an extra $30. Both sizes are optionally available with LTE connectivity in addition to the standard Bluetooth for an extra $50. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 comes in one large 47mm size (the same as the original), and has both Bluetooth and LTE built in by default.\n\nIn terms of finishes, the 40mm Galaxy Watch 9 comes in Graphite or Silver, the 44mm in Graphite or Cream, and the Ultra 2 in Gray or Silver.\n\n## Galaxy Watch 9 Hardware: Minimal Changes\n\nBoth the 40mm and 44mm Galaxy Watch 9 models have the same dimensions as their predecessors. They retain the existing cushion design, which keeps the watch firmly pressed against your skin as you move throughout the day for accurate tracking. Samsung has introduced new bands for the Watch 9 that feature air pockets and are supposedly more flexible and 25% lighter than the Watch 8 straps.\n\nThe Watch 9 features a Super AMOLED, full-color display, measuring 1.47 inches on the 44mm model and 1.34 inches on the 40mm version. It reaches 3,000 nits of brightness, matching the Watch 8's display.\n\nThe Watch 9 has the same impressive durability ratings as the Galaxy Watch 8 as well. Its [IP68 rating](https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/dust-resistant-waterproof-making-sense-of-gadget-ratings) ensures the Galaxy Watch 9 is impervious to dust and can be submerged in water, while its 5ATM rating means it can withstand depths of up to 164 feet (50 meters) of water. The Watch 9 even has a MIL-STD-810H rating, a military durability standard meaning it can withstand extreme temperature changes, blowing sand, and other environmental stressors, such as vibration and shock. The Watch Ultra 2 goes even further on this front, and I’ll detail that below.\n\n## Processor and Sensors: Increased Power\n\nUnder the surface, the Watch 9 has the same set of sensors: A BioActive sensor for optical heart monitoring, electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) functionality for body fat measurements (similar to a [smart scale](/smart-scales/76458/the-best-smart-scales)). It also features an accelerometer, barometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyro sensor, light sensor, and temperature sensor.\n\nThe Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 both use a new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor that promises to deliver better CPU and GPU performance while also increasing efficiency. The Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch Ultra use the same Samsung Exynos W1000 as the Galaxy Watch 7.\n\n## Software Upgrades: AI- Powered Preventive Wellness\n\nThe Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will launch with [Wear OS 7](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/165070/wear-os-7-lets-you-track-live-updates-from-your-wrist-improves-battery-life) and Samsung’s One UI 9 interface, both one generation newer than what’s currently available on the Watch 8 and the original Ultra. The upgraded processor will power new AI-powered wellness features on the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.\n\nThrough Galaxy AI, the Watch 9 will monitor overnight vitals, including your blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, and skin temperature. Over time, Galaxy AI will learn your baseline values, so it can provide an early warning of a potential health issue if any of your numbers deviate from the norm.\n\nGalaxy AI will also provide a few new holistic health scores to help you quickly assess your well-being. A Heart Health Score will use your heart rate values and an estimate of your blood pressure to provide guidance on your cardio wellness and tips to improve. A Daily Cardio Load will indicate how hard to push your workout intensity each day to help you balance training and rest, but the feature will be specific to runners at launch. A Fitness Index will let you quickly gauge your overall wellbeing, with a spider chart showing your current levels for body composition, cardio, endurance, flexibility, and strength. Samsung hasn’t said if any of these new features will come to older models like the Galaxy Watch 8.\n\nI’ll be curious to test the Fitness Index in particular, as it’s the most unique offering of Samsung’s new features. I’m skeptical that the AI will be able to accurately assess my flexibility, but I’m open to being proven wrong and impressed. The Galaxy AI-powered Running Coach and Sleeping Coach introduced last generation on the Galaxy Watch 8 both proved useful in testing.\n\nAside from Fitness Index, most of the other wellness features debuting on the Galaxy Watch 9 have parallels in competitors' models. Apple and [Oura](/fitness-trackers/166229/oura-ring-5-review-thinner-longer-lasting-and-better-than-ever) monitor vitals on their respective wearables, and Google, Oura, and [Whoop](/fitness-trackers/163071/whoop-50) all give daily scores similar to Samsung’s Cardio Load.\n\nI would have liked to see Samsung attempt to compete directly with Google’s impressive and versatile [Health Coach](/ai/162282/the-results-dont-lie-googles-ai-is-the-best-automated-health-coach-ive-tried), which is available on all Pixel Watches and Fitbit [fitness trackers](/fitness-trackers/159/the-best-fitness-trackers), including the Editors' Choice-winning [Air](/fitness-trackers/165161/fitbit-air). This could mean that the Google Health Coach will eventually make its way to the Galaxy Watch 9, though that's just speculation. Google’s Coach provides adaptive fitness plans that can include any activity, and it will even create exercises for you based on your schedule and available equipment.\n\nLike the previous generation, the Galaxy Watch 9 will come with Google’s [Gemini](/ai/148205/the-best-ai-chatbots) on board to respond to your voice queries. The Watch 9 upgrades this feature by letting you raise your wrist to talk to Gemini without needing to press a button or use wake words. The Pixel Watch 4 already has this raise-to-talk feature, so it comes to Samsung’s watches roughly a year later.\n\nSamsung’s smartwatches have long been ahead of the pack in terms of health and fitness features, and that could still be true thanks to unique extras introduced on previous generations like body composition measurements, antioxidant testing for dietary health insights, and vascular load tracking for assessing arterial health. That said, to stay ahead, new features like the Heart Health Score and Fitness Index will need to prove both insightful and easy to use. Samsung debuted a standalone Galaxy Watch feature to [measure blood pressure](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/164149/samsung-brings-blood-pressure-monitoring-to-galaxy-watches) earlier in the year, but it [failed to impress](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/164538/i-tested-samsungs-galaxy-watch-blood-pressure-feature-and-im-not-impressed) me in testing because you need to calibrate the readings with a separate cuff, rendering the measurements tedious and redundant.\n\n## Battery Life: Potentially Still an Issue\n\nSamsung’s recent smartwatches are behind the competition in terms of battery life, and while the Galaxy Watch 9 improves on this front, I’m not sure it does enough. The 40mm model has a 390mAh capacity, and the 44mm has 445mAh, compared with 325mAh and 435mAh for the small and large Watch 8, respectively.\n\nThe Watch 8 similarly delivered a minor battery capacity bump compared with the Watch 7, and only clocked 26 hours in our tests with the always-on display enabled, falling short of Samsung’s official 30-hour battery estimate for the model. For comparison, under similar usage conditions, the Pixel Watch 4 lasted 56 hours and the Apple Watch Series 11 lasted 43 hours in my testing.\n\nSamsung officially estimates that the Watch 9 will last 30 hours with the always-on display enabled, so battery life may not improve at all compared with the last generation. I'm hoping the Galaxy Watch 9's processor upgrade will improve efficiency enough to allow for a much-needed bump in real-world battery life, but I'll have to fully test it to find out.\n\nMeanwhile, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has a massive 800mAh battery, which promises to keep it running for 60 hours per charge. That surpasses the original Galaxy Watch Ultra's 590mAh cell, which lasted 46 hours in my testing with the always-on display enabled, again falling just short of the company’s estimate (48 hours). For comparison, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 lasted 63 hours, or almost three days, on a charge with the always-on display enabled in my testing.\n\n## Ultra 2 Upgrades: Thinner and More Durable\n\nAside from the bigger battery, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 checks another upgrade off my [pre-show wishlist](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/166223/samsungs-smartwatch-momentum-is-slipping-heres-how-galaxy-unpacked-can-fix-it): increased durability for water sports. Beyond the durability specs of the original Ultra (10ATM water resistance to 328 feet, plus IP68, and MIL-STD-810H ratings), the Ultra 2 has an EN13319 rating, meaning it's suitable for scuba diving. This helps the Ultra 2 catch up to Apple’s Ultra smartwatch series, which has had the same diving certification since the [first version](/apple-serie/142912/apple-watch-ultra). Like Apple’s Ultra models, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 can provide guidance while diving with real-time measurements for depth, time spent underwater, and water temperature.\n\nFor dry land, the Ultra 2 has a new Trail Run feature that lets you check your elevation and track your route. It also provides hydration guidance.\n\nConstructed of shock-resistant titanium, the Ultra 2 is thinner than the original Ultra and has straps with the same air pockets as the Watch 9. The screen is both larger and brighter than the original: 1.52 inches compared with 1.5 inches, and 5,000 nits compared with 3,000 nits.\n\nPCMag's Managing Editor for Consumer Electronics Eric Zeman, who is at today's Unpacked event in London, says the Ultra 2 offers \"tasteful visual upgrades\" compared with the original.\n\n\"The new watch relies on less orange, has finer titanium surfaces, and looks more upscale as a result,\" Zeman said. \"I particularly like the revised buttons, which are cleaner looking and easier to find and use. It's also noticeably lighter when held against the first-generation watch.\"\n\nIn response to customer feedback, Samsung reduced the weight of the watch itself as well as the silicone band and added more holes to the strap for better breathability.\n\n\"Hopefully this means the strap won't get as gunked up with sweat as quickly as the old one,\" Zeman said.\n\n## Outlook: Is This Enough?\n\nI appreciate the extra durability of the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, as it should functionally match the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s ability to go adventuring on land or sea for a lower price. I’m not convinced that the 5,000-nit screen will make a huge difference, since 3,000 nits is already bright enough to see in direct sunlight. Still, upgrading to the Ultra 2 should be an easy decision for Galaxy fans in need of a watch for their next diving adventure.\n\nAs for the Galaxy Watch 9, I’m less certain that it will feel like an upgrade over the Galaxy Watch 8. The new software features could be useful, but they don't break much new ground, and the Galaxy Watch 8 might get them eventually. That said, the battery life could impress and prove me wrong.\n\nI’ll put both models to the test as soon as I can get my hands on them. In the meantime, check out everything else from [Unpacked](/mobile-phones/166211/galaxy-unpacked-what-to-expect-and-how-to-watch-samsungs-summer-phone-launch) and all of our [current favorite smartwatches](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/9504/the-best-smartwatches) and [Samsung wearables](/migrated-99802-smartwatches/143903/the-best-samsung-watch-for-2022).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/honestly-the-samsung-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe", "canonical_source": "https://uk.pcmag.com/migrated-99802-smartwatches/166280/honestly-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe-samsung-unpacked", "published_at": "2026-07-23 18:05:37+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-23 18:54:29.849904+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["Samsung", "Galaxy Watch 9", "Galaxy Watch Ultra 2", "Apple Watch Series 11", "Apple Watch Ultra 3", "Pixel Watch 4"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/honestly-the-samsung-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/honestly-the-samsung-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/honestly-the-samsung-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/honestly-the-samsung-galaxy-watch-9-plays-it-a-little-too-safe.jsonld"}}