Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 specs comparison
Apple Watch Ultra 4 is the stronger sports and outdoor watch, with a tougher design, longer battery life and more endurance-focused features. Galaxy Watch 9 is lighter, cheaper and better suited to everyday smartwatch use, especially for Samsung and Android users.
Full comparison
The full record
83 specifications across 7 areas, with 35 genuine differences.
1. Design & display Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Release date
2026-09-18
2026-08-07
Physical size
49 x 44 x 12 mm
44 mm: 46.0 x 43.7 x 8.6 mm; 40 mm: 42.7 x 40.4 x 8.6 mm
Weight
63.0 g (Natural), 63.1 g (Black)
44 mm: 34.0 g; 40 mm: 31.5 g
Material
Grade 5 titanium case
Armor Aluminum case; sapphire crystal
Water resistance
10 ATM; IP6X; MIL-STD 810H; recreational scuba diving to 40 m
5 ATM; IP68; MIL-STD-810H
Color options
Natural Titanium, Black Titanium
Graphite, Silver, Cream
Display type
Always-On Retina LTPO3 wide-angle OLED
Super AMOLED, full-colour Always On Display
Display size
49 mm case
44 mm: 1.47 inch (37.3 mm); 40 mm: 1.34 inch (34 mm)
Display resolution
422 x 514 pixels
44 mm: 480 x 480 pixels; 40 mm: 438 x 438 pixels
Display brightness
Up to 3,000 nits
Up to 3,000 nits
Display protection
Flat sapphire crystal display
Sapphire crystal
2. Battery & charging Apple Watch Ultra 4
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Battery
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Rechargeable battery; 44 mm: 445 mAh; 40 mm: 390 mAh
Battery life
Up to 50 hours normal use; up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode; up to 18 hours outdoor workout; up to 25 hours Extended Workout; up to 45 hours Max Extended Workout
Up to 40 hours with AOD off; up to 30 hours with AOD on
Charging
USB-C magnetic fast charging; up to 80% in about 45 minutes
Fast wireless charging
Charging time
About 45 minutes to 80%; 15 minutes provides up to 18 hours; 5 minutes provides up to 10 hours of sleep tracking
40 mm: about 80 minutes to 100%, 50% in 30 minutes; 44 mm: about 90 minutes to 100%, 45% in 30 minutes
3. Hardware & software No clear edge
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Product status
Current
Current
Case thickness
12 mm
8.6 mm
4. Sensors & positioning Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
GNSS type
Built-in dual-band GNSS
Built-in dual-band GNSS
Multi-band GPS
Yes
Yes
GPS
Yes
Yes
GALILEO
Yes
Yes
GLONASS
No
Yes
QZSS
Yes
Yes
Beidou
Yes
Yes
Accelerometer
Yes
Yes
Gyroscope
Yes
Yes
Barometric altimeter
Yes
Yes
Compass
Yes
Yes
Ambient light sensor
Yes
Yes
Optical heart rate
Yes (always-on optical heart sensor; high-frequency background tracking)
Yes
Electrical heart rate
Yes
Yes
SpO2
Yes
Yes
Temperature
Yes
Yes
Galvanic skin response
No
Yes
Microphone
Yes
Yes
Speakers
Yes
Yes
Vibration motor
Yes
Yes
5. Health & activity Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Steps
Yes
Yes
Distance
Yes
Yes
Calories burned
Yes
Yes
Floors
Yes
Yes
Sports tracking
Yes
Yes
Sleep
Yes
Yes
Heart rate
Yes
Yes
HRV
Yes (Up to 24x more frequent than Ultra 3)
Yes
Stress
No
Yes
Blood oxygen
Yes
Yes
Respiration rate
Yes
Yes
Skin temperature
Yes
Yes
ECG
Yes
Yes
Blood pressure
Hypertension notifications (no direct blood-pressure measurement)
Yes (Samsung Health Monitor; availability varies by market, calibration required)
Body composition
No
Yes
Glucose
No
No
Hydration level
No
No
UV exposure
No
No
Calorie intake
No
No
Hyperglycemia risk assessment
No
No
Arterial stiffness detection
No
No
Pulse wave arrhythmia analysis
Yes
Yes
6. Smart features Apple Watch Ultra 4
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Smartphone compatibility
iPhone 11 or later or iPhone SE (2nd generation or later) with iOS 27 or later
Android with Google Mobile Services
Operating system at launch
watchOS 27
Wear OS 7 Powered by Samsung; One UI 9 Watch
Processor
Apple S11, 64-bit dual-core processor; 4-core Neural Engine; Audio Intelligence
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite / SDW6100 (3 nm, penta-core)
RAM
4 GB
2 GB
Storage
64 GB
32 GB
Subscription required
No
No
Bluetooth
Yes (5.3)
Yes (6.0)
Wi-Fi
Yes (Wi-Fi 4 / 802.11n, 2.4/5 GHz)
Yes (802.11 a/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz)
NFC / connected pay
Yes (Apple Pay)
Yes
UWB
Yes (2nd-generation UWB)
No
Cellular
Yes (5G RedCap and LTE on supported regional models)
Optional LTE/eSIM
Smartphone notifications
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth calling
Yes (standalone on cellular models; via paired iPhone otherwise)
Yes
Smartphone music control
Yes
Yes
On-board music storage
Yes
Yes
Voice assistant
Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence
Google Gemini / Bixby
7. Navigation & safety Apple Watch Ultra 4
Fact
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Maps
Yes
Yes (Google Maps)
Offline maps
Yes
Yes (Google Maps)
Navigation
Yes
Yes (turn-by-turn navigation)
Route navigation
Yes
Yes
Emergency SOS
Yes
Yes
Satellite SOS
Yes
No
Fall detection
Yes
Yes
LED flashlight
No
No