Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 First-Week Reviews: 72-Hour Battery Confirmed, Three-Hour Charge Time Disappoints

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 went on sale yesterday at $699, and the first week-long reviews are now in. The headline number: 72 hours of real-world battery life with always-on display — a significant upgrade from the original Ultra{"'"}s roughly 40-hour runtime.

Battery: The Good and the Puzzling

The Ultra 2 packs an 800mAh silicon-carbon battery, 35% larger than the original{"'"}s 590mAh cell. PhoneArena{"'"}s 72-hour test used raise-to-wake, heart rate monitoring every 10 minutes, sleep tracking, and two GPS workouts. With always-on display off, reviewers stretched to 96 hours.

The puzzle: Samsung still quotes "up to 60 hours" with AOD — the same figure as the original Ultra despite the larger battery and Wear OS 7{"'"}s 10% efficiency gains. Android Authority suggests the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip and the brighter 5,000-nit display may be consuming the gains from the bigger cell.

Charge Time: Still Nearly Three Hours

Samsung has not upgraded charging speeds. A full 0-100% charge takes approximately 2 hours 50 minutes — unchanged from the original. For a watch that competes with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 (which charges in under 90 minutes), this is a notable gap.

What Reviewers Loved

• 5,000-nit display: The brightest smartwatch screen ever, readable in direct sunlight
• EN13319 scuba certification: First Galaxy Watch certified for recreational diving to 40 meters
• Vitals dashboard: Combines Heart Health Score, Sleep Apnea, Fitness Index, and Cardio Load in one view

What Reviewers Didn{"'"}t

• Mares dive app not ready at launch: Full dive computer features require a paid Mares subscription ($7.99/month), and the app ships later in 2026
• Charge time unchanged: Nearly three hours from empty is slow for a $699 flagship
• Same runtime claims despite bigger battery: Marketing specs haven{"'"}t caught up with real-world improvements

Read the full Galaxy Watch Ultra review, compare Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 prices, or see our early review roundup. Browse all smartwatches.