Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
I have used and tested them all Apple Watch since its launch in 2014. I was on the shop at Apple on the first day of the launch of the Apple Watch, and throughout the last decade, I have worn, used or written about the Apple Watch.
But after years in Apple’s fold, 2024 announced a new opportunity to test fitness technology from the other side of the iOS / Android divide. I used impressive power Mobvoi Ticwatch Atlasand to close the year I got my hands on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.
U Apple Watch Ultra 2 it is indisputable the best smartwatch out there, and one of my personal favorite pieces of technology, so I wanted to check it out SamsungThe answer to the rugged, durable and adventure smartwatch.
But after barely 10 minutes with the Samsung Galaxy Ultra, I became amazed by the absence of a function that I never even considered that was not ubiquitous in smartwatches of all shapes, sizes and manufacture. I am, of course, talking about the digital crown.
My first Samsung
I didn’t notice that the Galaxy Watch Ultra didn’t have a digital crown until I first put it on and used it. After successfully pairing with my Samsung Galaxy Fold Z 6I started playing with the basic settings and functions of the watch.
The first time I encountered a menu, I instinctively reached for the digital crown to scroll, and to my horror, I felt it. nothing I tried again, but nothing yet “What’s going on?” I thought to myself, looking down at the side of my Galaxy Watch Ultra in dismay. Here, staring at me was the Ultra array of Quick Button, Home Button and a Back button, with no scrolling crown in sight.
The lack of a digital crown made me question everything I thought I knew about smartwatches. In 10 years of covering and using Apple Watch, I have had little reason to move outside of Apple’s walled garden, but I have never stopped to consider that some Android smartwatch models do not have a digital crown.
How the hell do you slide on a watch with a digital crown? A quick shop-around assured me that Google he adopted this indispensable technology with his Google Pixel Watch range, but I’m really surprised Samsung hasn’t come on board.
Defying convention
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is definitely an impressive watch, and one of the the best android smartwatches to boot. Of course, it pulls a little too much in the design of the Apple Watch Ultra, from the frame, the blocky design, the configuration of the rear sensor, and the orange lights, which everyone seems to have decided is the color of the adventure
However, I do like the band attachment mechanism, and the vibrant display really makes the colors pop. However, this emulation of Apple’s hardware makes the lack of a digital crown more shocking, how did Samsung take so much inspiration from the Apple Watch Ultra and skip one of its most important and useful functions?
An “ultra” smartwatch by definition is intended to tackle large areas. A world of mud, dirt, sand and water that makes a touch screen unreliable. Having a tactile input like a digital crown is vital to maintain more control and functionality on your timepiece in inclement weather. Plus, it’s critical if you’re trying to use your smartwatch while wearing gloves, as I discovered on a recent trip to the English Lake District.
I use the digital crown on my Apple Watch every day. It’s there for scrolling through messages and emails, controlling the volume of the music during a workout, or quickly sifting through the tiles on the smartstack.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I’m using Samsung’s Touch Bezel on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. I hate it. Not only is it not favorable to use in the open air for all the reasons mentioned above, but in reality I think it harms the user experience because your finger often obscures what you are trying to look at and scroll on the screen .
Maybe over time I’ll get used to the Ultra’s Touch Bezel and its lack of a digital crown, but the revelation that not every smartwatch has a digital crown ruined it for me. I challenge anyone who uses a Galaxy Watch to try their hand at a digital crown on any Apple Watch or Android alternative and tell me that it is not a better, more tactile and more satisfying experience.
There’s a lot to like about the Galaxy Watch Ultra if you’re an Android user. It’s the most rugged and exciting adventure watch on the smartwatch market right now. It has excellent battery life, and a tough titanium exterior, and is often discounted to the extreme, dramatically increasing its value.
Rumors about the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 are scarce to non-existent, but I’d say a slam-dunk upgrade for the next iteration would be the introduction of a digital crown for scrolling that would drastically improve the user experience. It’s not a bad look by any means, but a digital crown seems like an easy place to start when it comes to second-generation improvements.
