Whether you’re on a health kick or a diving trip, Samsung’s smartwatches are the ones to wear

Launched alongside a trio of new folding phones, the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9 are the company’s most sophisticated smart watch offerings to date. In particular, the new Watch Ultra2 is Samsung’s play for dominance in the burgeoning smart sport watch sector, a multi-activity tracker and tracer that crams in metrics on almost every conceivable activity.

It’s joined by the Watch9, a sleeker and less overtly rugged everyday device that wants to put health habits at the forefront of your activities. Samsung describes its offerings as a ‘gateway to AI-driven health intelligence,’ and like all smartwatch ecosystems, how much you get out of all this activity tracking and data gathering is very much down how reliant you want to become on your wrist computer.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 is designed to be rugged and completely waterproof, with professional dive tracking available right out of the box – a dedicated dive app will come later this year, developed in conjunction with diving technology brand Mares. For now, enthusiasts can get water temperature, depth and dive duration measurements. Other app trials provided with the watch include 60 days of Strava and a two-month trial of iFIT, the online trainer programme.

Other updates include a Trail Run feature that incorporates elevation data and even ‘terrain impact’ measurements that warn against overstressing yourself. An onboard Nutrition Alert system bolster the existing Sweat Loss feature, calculating when best to take on more water.

Both Watch Ultra2 and Watch9 share a BioActive sensor to track huge quantities of health data, all of which is then processed and analysed in conjunction with your own past history and comparable data from the company’s health dataset. Billed as an advanced preventive care vision, the modern Galaxy Watch series isn’t just about movement but also hearing, heart health, cardio and sleep.

The latter requires 24/7 use, so steps have been taken to bolster the comfort and the battery life of each model. Galaxy Watch Ultra2, which is available in 47 mm only, comes with 800 mAh battery (35 per cent larger than its predecessor), along with the Snapdragon Wear Elite processor. The screen is brighter than ever before, and GPS tracking has been made more accurate. Nevertheless, the casing is still slimmer than the first Ultra watch.

Galaxy Watch 9 does away with the numbered bezel and ruggedised case, with aluminium detailing for a crisp, light fit. The battery is under half the size (390 mAh) but that should still be good enough for up to 40 hours of use (the Ultra2 offers 60 hours). Case sizes are 40mm and 44mm. Samsung has also expanded its collection of smartwatch bands for both devices, using silicone, hybrid material and classic fabric in a variety of colours.