The Galaxy Watch Ultra’s big problem is hidden in plain sight

OPINION: Samsung undoubtedly stole the headlines this week by unveiling a ton of new tech including the impressive-looking Galaxy Watch Ultra, but as it turns out – it’s hiding something of a secret.

On the surface, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra looks like it can be one of the best smartwatches yet.

With a titanium chassis and the ability to withstand depths of up to 10ATM (100 metres), it could end up being a more tempting buy to hikers and outdoor swimmers who want the durability of a Garmin watch but with the smart features that Wear OS brings to the table.

On the battery front, Samsung is claiming that the Watch Ultra can run for up to 100-hours in power-saving mode which definitely puts it in the higher end of what’s available in camp Wear OS.

With all these high-end perks, you might be wondering exactly where my grievance lies. Well, I’m afraid that for that, we have to turn our attention to the watch strap.

All about the bands

By default, the Galaxy Watch Ultra comes with quite a fetching orange ‘Marine Band’, but the problem is that it uses a completely different connector than every other Galaxy Watch band before it. This means that if you want to bring over any of the watch bands that you’ve collected since the Galaxy Watch 4 came out, then you’re flat out of luck.

This is the complete opposite of how the Apple Watch Ultra functions, as you can easily mix and match with any existing Apple Watch bands you might have lying around, so long as they’re of the larger variant than the Watch Ultra requires.

That compatibility works in the other direction as well, as I frequently use the Apple Watch Ultra’s sturdy Alpine Loop with the Apple Watch SE 2, finding it to be a great pairing when I’m at the gym or out on a run.

Not only does Samsung’s decision to create proprietary watch bands for the higher-end model feel anti-consumer, but if the company decides to use its new ‘lugless’ connector across all watch bands in next year’s Galaxy Watch cycle, then that means that over time, older watch bands are destined to be discarded.

If that comes to pass then it would certainly fly in the face of initiatives to cut down on e-waste, at a time when companies should be doing their utmost to curb their carbon footprint.

Even just a quick glance at the latest e-waste statistics provide for a harrowing read, so to see Samsung avoid backwards compatibility on the Galaxy Watch Ultra is a real shame.