The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 went on sale with the Galaxy Watch 9 on 7 August 2026, and it is the Samsung watch for people who are tired of charging every night. It is a 47mm titanium case at £649, with an 800mAh battery, up from 590mAh in the first Ultra. Reviewers who leave the always-on screen on during the day are getting about two days, sometimes a third if the week is light. The Watch 9, which we reviewed separately, is still a one-day watch for £300 less. This page is about whether the extra money buys a calmer week, and who should ignore the Ultra and buy the smaller one.
Disclosure: Fitcoin can read workouts Samsung Health writes to Health Connect. We have no relationship with Samsung. We have not worn an Ultra 2. The £649 price and the 7 August date come from Samsung's UK newsroom of 22 July 2026. Battery experiences come from SamMobile, Expert Reviews and Engadget.
The verdict
Buy the Ultra 2 if you already live in Samsung Health and the thing you resent about your current Galaxy Watch is the charger. Two days, with sleep included, is what the people who have worn it are actually getting, and that changes the bedtime routine. Buy the Galaxy Watch 9 if £649 feels like a lot for a brighter screen and a thicker case, and you can live with charging most evenings. The health scores are the same generation, so the extra money is buying the second day and the brighter screen.
The bar lengths compare each figure with an 80-hour scale, which is the always-off number John Lewis lists. The useful one for sleep is SamMobile's 48 to 50 hours.
What two days feels like
Samsung's first Ultra was a day-and-a-bit watch for a lot of owners. SamMobile's reviewer used to charge that 590mAh model after about a day and a half with the always-on display and recorded workouts. The Ultra 2's 800mAh cell is the change they notice. With the screen always on through the day, off overnight, and several sports sessions logged, the same writer got 48 to 50 hours. That is two full days without switching off the features that make the watch worth wearing, which means you can sleep in it and still have the next evening covered. Engadget, on a lighter week of gym sessions and notifications, saw about three days before the battery fell under 20 percent, and closer to four or five when workouts and the always-on screen were skipped. Expert Reviews, with heart rate, sleep and the always-on display left on, landed at two to three days and called even that a bit short of what the cell size suggests on paper.
The claims above those tests are larger. SamMobile quotes Samsung at up to 60 hours with the always-on display. John Lewis lists up to 80 hours with it off, and a charge time of 90 minutes. A full 800mAh fill is still a long sit: SamMobile put it at about an hour and 45 minutes, with a useful 40 percent in half an hour, and noted that a normal Qi pad will not do the job. You need Samsung's puck. If you are coming from a Watch 9, the new habit is charging every second evening rather than hunting for the cable before bed. That is the whole reason to spend the extra money.
The rest of the watch
There is one size, 47mm, in titanium. Samsung's UK newsroom priced the LTE model at £649, with pre-orders from 22 July and general sale on 7 August, in Titanium Silver or Titanium Grey. John Lewis was still showing £649 when we looked. Which has listed street prices from £549, so a patient buyer may not need to pay the newsroom figure. The display is the bright one, up to 5,000 nits in Samsung's spec, which is the point of this case if you run outside. Water resistance is the serious rating: John Lewis cites 100 metres under ISO 22810, in a lab, for ten minutes. It is a recreation rating, not an invitation to service a scuba tank with it, and Samsung's own footnotes describe the test water. Expert Reviews also notes you lose the rotating bezel some Galaxy owners still miss. The Watch 9, at Samsung's £379 RRP for the 44mm Bluetooth model, carries a lot of the same health software without the outdoor case.
ECG and blood pressure behave here the way they do on the Watch 9. They need a Samsung phone, a supported country, and, for blood pressure, a cuff calibration. On a Pixel you still get a tough Wear OS watch with a long battery, Gemini, LTE and a very bright screen. You do not get those two health tools. Our Galaxy Watch 9 review walks through Energy Score and the phone limit, and it is the right companion if you are still deciding whether the smaller watch is enough.
Who should spend it
Spend it if you train outside, you sleep in a watch, and the first Ultra or a Watch 8 taught you that a daily charge is the part you skip, which is how sleep data goes missing. The Ultra 2 is the first Galaxy Watch in this shape where the battery and the bedtime can coexist for most people. Expert Reviews is fair that a Watch 9 owner with ordinary needs can save a few hundred pounds and accept the charger. That is a real choice, not a consolation prize, if your week is walks, messages and a morning score.
If the comparison in your head is Apple's Ultra, Expert Reviews puts this at £649 against an Ultra 3 at £749. They are different phones' watches. An iPhone owner should read the Series 12 review and then decide whether they need an Ultra at all. An Android owner who wants two days without Samsung's case should look at the 45mm Pixel Watch 5, which Google rates for 40 hours and which costs less, with a rounder, less outdoor design. The Ultra 2 is the one you buy when the battery story and the titanium case are both things you will use.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 worth £649?
Yes if you want a Samsung watch you can sleep in and still have charge the next evening, and you will use the brighter screen or the outdoor tools. SamMobile saw about 48 to 50 hours with the always-on display on during the day. If you only need notifications and a morning score, the Galaxy Watch 9 starts at £349 and does that job, with a daily charge.
How long does the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 battery last?
The cell is 800mAh, up from 590mAh on the first Ultra. Samsung has quoted up to 60 hours with the always-on display and, on John Lewis, up to 80 hours with it off. In real use SamMobile saw 48 to 50 hours, Expert Reviews two to three days, and Engadget about three days of lighter use. A full charge takes around an hour and a half to two hours.
Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 or Galaxy Watch 9?
Buy the Ultra 2 for the battery, the 5,000-nit screen and the tougher case. Buy the Watch 9 if £300 saved matters more than a second day, and you are happy charging most evenings. The health scores are in the same generation of Samsung Health. The Ultra is the one that makes sleep tracking less of a negotiation with the charger.
Does the Ultra 2 need a Samsung phone?
The watch pairs with Android for the everyday Wear OS features. ECG and blood pressure still need a Samsung Galaxy phone, the same limit as the Galaxy Watch 9. On a Pixel, you get a tough long-battery watch and you leave those two medical-style tools off.
How much does the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 cost?
Samsung's UK newsroom listed the 47mm LTE model at £649 when pre-orders opened on 22 July 2026, on sale from 7 August. John Lewis was still at £649 when we looked. Which has shown lower street prices, including £549, so check a basket before you pay list.
Method: Written 9 November 2026 from Samsung's UK newsroom of 22 July 2026 (£649 LTE, 7 August on sale, titanium colours), John Lewis (800mAh, up to 80 hours with always-on off, 90-minute charge, 100-metre lab rating), SamMobile's Ultra 2 review (590mAh to 800mAh, 48 to 50 hours, 60-hour claim, charge times), Expert Reviews (two to three days, £649 versus Apple Ultra 3 at £749) and Engadget (about three days of lighter use). We have not worn the watch.
Related reading: Galaxy Watch 9 review, Pixel Watch 5 review, Apple Watch Series 12 review, Galaxy Watch recovery apps, Whoop 5.0 review
About the author: Harris Khan is the co-founder and CTO of Fitcoin, a UK fitness-rewards and health-insights app that reads Apple Health and Health Connect.