Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. OnePlus Watch 2: Which should you buy?

As two of most popular names in the consumer technology space, Samsung and OnePlus have a lot of products competing against each other. Sure, the smartphone segment is (and always has been) where majority of the action happens, but the two companies also make everything from true wireless earbuds to smartwatches.

Speaking of the latter, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra was unveiled recently, while the OnePlus Watch 2 has already been out for a few months at this point. Both wearables are packed with features and share quite a few similarities, while also having some differences. But the real question is, which one of them deserves a place on your wrist? Let's take a comparative look at the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. OnePlus Watch 2 and find out.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. OnePlus Watch 2: Design, display, and hardware

From a visual standpoint, the two smartwatches couldn't be more different. The Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with a 'cushion design' that Samsung claims allows for improved protection. Made with titanium, the squircle-shaped case also features a new 'Dynamic Lug System' that should make swapping out bands a bit easier. On the other hand, the OnePlus Watch 2 is made from stainless steel and has a good ol' rounded case. And thanks to the standard lug width of 22mm, you have a wide range of bands to pick from.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra doesn't have a digital crown, but you do get the 'Home' and 'Back' buttons, as well as an Orange 'Quick Button' on the right side that you can customize to perform different actions like starting/pausing workouts or sounding off an emergency alarm. As for the OnePlus Watch 2, it has an interesting-looking flat right side with a customizable action button, as well as a digital crown that's just there for aesthetics and doesn't actually do anything. Both smartwatches are IP68-certified and comply with the MIL-STD-810H standard, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra has twice the water resistance of the OnePlus Watch 2.

Even though the 1.47-inch display of the Galaxy Watch Ultra is slightly bigger than the 1.43-inch screen of the OnePlus Watch 2, they're both gorgeous circular AMOLED panels with near-identical pixel density and Sapphire Crystal protection. The OnePlus Watch 2's design also looks quite cohesive, as the display and the case have the same shape. Conversely, the Galaxy Watch Ultra's screen and case shape don't match up at all, thus resulting in an awkward design that makes it look like a poor imitation of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which the former is clearly 'inspired' by.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra features a 3nm Exynos W1000 chipset that should be a bit more efficient (at least on paper) than the 4nm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 SoC of the OnePlus Watch 2. However, the OnePlus Watch 2 is a hybrid smartwatch that comes with a secondary BES2700 processor for handling lightweight tasks, which is also the reason it has an astounding battery life. Whether or not the Galaxy Watch Ultra can top that is a question we'll only be able to answer once we review it. That being said, you do get 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage on both wearables, so multitasking and app installations shouldn't be an issue on either.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. OnePlus Watch 2: Health and fitness features

Crammed with all kinds of sensors, the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the OnePlus Watch 2 seem to have everything they need to go against the best fitness smartwatches in the market. The two wearables can keep track of your sleep quality, calories burned, heart rate, as well as automatically log numerous workouts and exercises. However, hardware specifications and actual performance are two different things. You can check out our Galaxy Watch Ultra fitness test to see how it fares.

As noted by Android Central's Harish Jonnalagadda in his review, the OnePlus Watch 2 is extremely unreliable at tracking just about every fitness metric out there, with the logged information being way off the actual numbers. Again, you'll have to wait until we put the Galaxy Watch Ultra through its paces to know if it's any better. By the way, both smartwatches come with dual-band GPS, which means they can do a pretty great job of tracking your outdoor runs.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. OnePlus Watch 2: Software, other features, and battery life

The Galaxy Watch Ultra runs Wear OS 5, which is the latest version of Google's wearable-oriented software platform. While Wear OS 5 itself primarily focuses on battery life optimizations and under-the-hood improvements, Samsung's One UI 6 Watch overlay notably brings 'Galaxy AI' to its newest wearable(s). Just like on the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy AI is all about making sense of the on-device information. It analyzes all the personal wellness data collected by the smartwatch and turns it into your 'Energy Score.' This score is supposed to give you an overall idea about your fitness so that you can act upon that information and make the necessary changes to your lifestyle.

The OnePlus Watch 2 does run the older Wear OS 4 at the moment, but in addition to that, it also comes with a proprietary version of RTOS (Real Time Operating System) for handling lightweight tasks like notifications. The OnePlus Watch 2 is set to receive two major OS updates, which means it'll go up to Wear OS 6. The Galaxy Watch Ultra already runs the newest Wear OS version, and if Samsung's industry-leading update policy for its smartphones is any indication, we're sure it'll go even further.

Both wearables have you covered in terms of connectivity basics (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC), but while the Galaxy Watch Ultra is only available with LTE, the OnePlus doesn't have it even as an option. All things considered, these are still two of the best Wear OS smartwatches that you can get right now.

As mentioned before, the OnePlus Watch 2 comes with an incredible battery endurance. This is primarily because of the smartwatch's dual-OS architecture, which smartly handles its two processors to ensure that the 500mAh battery can go up to three days on a full charge. Not only that, but the proprietary charging puck can also fully juice up the wearable in about an hour. Then there's the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which has a big 590mAh battery that should last quite a while (up to 100 hours in energy-saving mode), given the energy-efficient hardware. You also get support for fast wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra vs. OnePlus Watch 2: Which should you buy?

It's pretty clear that the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the OnePlus Watch 2 are two of the best Android smartwatches currently available out there. They have top-of-the-line hardware, great build quality, and a lot more. However, these wearables are aimed at different types of users. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a premium wearable that comes with several features (e.g., emergency siren, track back) that make it ideal for adventure lovers and outdoor sports enthusiasts. On the other hand, the OnePlus Watch 2 is a well-made smartwatch that offers amazing battery life for everyday users. There's no wrong choice here, so which one should you go for?

The answer basically depends on your use case, your budget, and perhaps most importantly, the shortcomings you can ignore. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a great option if you love exploring nature and taking part in endurance sports. If you want a durable smartwatch that can do everything and money is no object, go for it. Conversely, if you want a well-made smartwatch that can go on for days on a single charge, get the OnePlus Watch 2. Sure, the activity tracking isn't exactly the most reliable, but given the (relatively) affordable price, it probably doesn't even matter.