The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to show its pretty face in about a month’s time, and we’re pretty excited about what the top-of-the-line wearable has in store for us.On the other hand, Samsung already showed its hand with the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and even though the 2025 update didn’t bring much to the table beside a new color and more storage, it’s still a very competitive device.Which is the reason why we’ve decided to pit these two against each other in this comparison. Both devices stand on the top of their respective food chains, and both aim to deliver the absolute best smartwatch experience to their owners.Theis expected to bring some interesting upgrades, such as hypertension detection, a new and powerful chipset, a bigger screen, and also a bigger battery. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a known entity, offering a big and bright 3000-nit display, great battery life, and some of the most comprehensive health metrics on the market.So, who will win the Ultra smartwatch crown?

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When Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch Ultra back in 2024, many people thought the device looked similar to the Apple Watch Ultra. We don’t think that’s the case; Samsung created its own design for the rugged smartwatch—a circle inside a square (a squircle if you like), and it’s quite a distinct look.The Galaxy Watch Ultra comes in one size (47.4 mm), and it’s made of titanium. There’s sapphire crystal on top of the display for extra protection; it has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, so only diamond-like objects can scratch it. The weight of the watch is around 60 grams, but with the rather hefty band included, it fattens up to 93 grams! That’s a lot of weight on your wrist.Another key design difference is the lack of a rotating crown on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The device relies on two buttons for navigation and an additional customizable Quick Button. Onto theNow, we’re into the speculation territory here, but we have a lot of leaked and rumored info about the. We expect the design to stay largely unchanged compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 The bigger screen that’s expected could result in an even larger size; the previous model measured 49 x 44 mm and weighed around 62 grams, so we expect the same ballpark for the. Material-wise, the same titanium + sapphire crystal sandwich is expected on the Ultra 3, so it’s pretty similar to what Samsung is doing with the Galaxy Watch Ultra in that regard.

Bands

Proprietary release mechanisms

This mechanism is very similar to what Apple has been doing on the Apple Watch for ages—it uses a button on the bottom of the watch to release the strap, no lugs or pins. This allows for a much cleaner design but also limits the available third-party options when it comes to watch bands.

We expect the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to continue the trend and use the same strap mechanism as its predecessors. This gives a slight edge to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 over the Galaxy Watch Ultra, as bands designed for the previous two generations of the Apple Watch Ultra will probably fit. No such luck for Galaxy Watch Ultra owners, as it’s a first-generation model. Most of the Galaxy Watch models up to the last generation used lugs and standard 20-22 mm bands. This meant you could easily snap on a third-party band and change the style. Now, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is an exception (as well as the latest Galaxy Watch 8 ), as it uses a proprietary mechanism to attach the straps to the body of the watch.This mechanism is very similar to what Apple has been doing on the Apple Watch for ages—it uses a button on the bottom of the watch to release the strap, no lugs or pins. This allows for a much cleaner design but also limits the available third-party options when it comes to watch bands.We expect theto continue the trend and use the same strap mechanism as its predecessors. This gives a slight edge to theover the Galaxy Watch Ultra, as bands designed for the previous two generations of the Apple Watch Ultra will probably fit. No such luck for Galaxy Watch Ultra owners, as it’s a first-generation model.

Software & Features

Health-centered

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 , on the other hand, is expected to launch running WatchOS, rocking cool features such as Training Load exertion ranking, the Vitals following app, New SmartStack predictions, the Check-in feature for friends, and Dynamic Watch faces.

Both watches feel the best in their respective ecosystems, and even though there are workarounds to make Apple Watch models work with Apple Watch Ultra 3 . So, bear in mind that to get the most out of these two, you will need a In terms of software, the Galaxy Watch Ultra runs on Wear OS 5, with Samsung’s One UI on top. This software combo offers a simple, user-friendly experience and also allows for personalization and quite a variety of third-party apps.The, on the other hand, is expected to launch running WatchOS, rocking cool features such as Training Load exertion ranking, the Vitals following app, New SmartStack predictions, the Check-in feature for friends, and Dynamic Watch faces.Both watches feel the best in their respective ecosystems, and even though there are workarounds to make Apple Watch models work with Android phones and Galaxy Watches pair with iPhones, in general this cross-platform functionality is off-limits when it comes to the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the. So, bear in mind that to get the most out of these two, you will need a Samsung phone or an iPhone, respectively.

We will make a detailed breakdown of all the smart features when we test the Apple Watch Ultra 3 .

Heart Rate Accuracy

Apple Watches, on the other hand, are renowned for their accurate heart-rate sensors, so we expect the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to have the upper hand in this section. Of course, we need to test the device when it comes out to pass our final judgement.

In terms of features, both watches offer ECG, irregular rhythm detection, and blood oxygen levels, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra takes health metrics a notch further with a new AGEs rating. It tracks the carotenoid levels on your skin, which helps you stick to a healthy diet. The BioActive sensor array also measures bioimpedance and can give you an estimate of your body composition—fat percentage, muscle, bones, etc.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to strike back with a new hypertension metric. The rumored feature is not aimed to provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, but it will rather be tracking whether a user’s blood pressure is trending upwards and sending an alert if hypertension is detected. Samsung has been having heart-rate accuracy issues for some time on its smartwatches, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra is no exception. My colleagues reported several glitches and abnormal readings during testing.Apple Watches, on the other hand, are renowned for their accurate heart-rate sensors, so we expect theto have the upper hand in this section. Of course, we need to test the device when it comes out to pass our final judgement.In terms of features, both watches offer ECG, irregular rhythm detection, and blood oxygen levels, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra takes health metrics a notch further with a new AGEs rating. It tracks the carotenoid levels on your skin, which helps you stick to a healthy diet. The BioActive sensor array also measures bioimpedance and can give you an estimate of your body composition—fat percentage, muscle, bones, etc.Theis expected to strike back with a new hypertension metric. The rumored feature is not aimed to provide exact systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, but it will rather be tracking whether a user’s blood pressure is trending upwards and sending an alert if hypertension is detected.

Sleep Tracking Accuracy

Now, when it comes to sleep tracking, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is the first smartwatch that has received FDA approval for apnea detection, which elevates it above the competition in this particular field.

The watch also tracks a lot of metrics during your sleep, including sleep time, sleep stages, sleep score, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, snoring, sleep consistency, and the aforementioned sleep apnea. All this data is presented in a detailed yet easy to understand way, so there’s some competition for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 here.

GPS Accuracy

GPS accuracy is vital when tracking different outdoor activities. The Galaxy Watch Ultra uses a dual-band GPS module, which provides great accuracy even in densely populated areas with lots of buildings. It’s the gold standard in flagship smartwatches nowadays.

Now, we don’t know what GPS system the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will opt for, but judging by the previous generation, we will get a dual-band GPS with highly accurate positioning algorithms, so this battle is shaping up to be a tie.

Battery and Charging 2-day smartwatches

The Galaxy Watch Ultra comes equipped with a 590 mAh battery. According to Samsung, the watch has a 100-hour battery life in power-saving mode and a 48-hour battery life while activity. However, in our tests the watch lasted a full two days when used regularly and with all of its features turned on.

Now, when it comes to charging, there’s more to be desired from the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Charging speeds have been frozen on the past couple of generations and a full charge takes one hour and 20 mintes, which is not ideal.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to bring an upgrade both to the battery capacity of its predecessor and to fast charging as well. The previous generation features a 542mAh cell and charges to 80% in an hour, so pretty much Galaxy Watch Ultra territory. Let’s see if the Apple Watch Ultra 3 would be able to bring some improvements.

Models and Prices

Unlike other models in both Samsung’s and Apple’s portfolios, the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Ultra models come in only one single variant. In the case of the Galaxy Watch Ultra, it has LTE on board, and you can’t get the watch with just Bluetooth connectivity. Price-wise, the Galaxy Watch Ultra starts at $649.99, which is a competitive price compared to the Apple Watch Ultra models.

Speaking of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 , it’s expected to bring 5G connectivity and also satellite connectivity to the table, but we don’t expect Apple to segregate the model into different variants based on connectivity. So, we expect one single version, featuring all the bells and whistles, just like the Galaxy Watch Ultra. We expect the price to be around $799, just like its predecessor.

Voice Calls and Haptics

Being LTE devices (5G possibly in the case of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 ), both smartwatches feature a microphone and loudspeaker. You can make calls or use the built-in speaker to listen to music, fitness or running coach instructions, or voice control the AI features/assistants on board.

Haptic-wise, the Galaxy Watch Ultra delivers precise and strong vibration that you can tune to your liking. If we’re to judge from the previous Apple Watch Ultra, we expect the same from the Apple Watch Ultra 3 .