Google Pixel Watch 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2

Samsung writes the name Ultra2, with no space. It was announced on 22 July 2026 and reached stores on 7 August 2026, the same month Google’s Pixel Watch 5 arrived, and it’s a very different kind of Wear OS watch: heavier, tougher and built around a much bigger battery.

Pixel Watch 5 and Ultra2 side by side

Spec	Google Pixel Watch 5	Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2
Case	41mm or 45mm recycled aluminum, 12.3mm thick	47mm titanium, 47.4 × 47.1 × 10.7mm
Weight	31.0 g or 36.7 g without band	61.5 g
Screen	Actua 360 AMOLED, 320 ppi, up to 3,000 nits	1.52-inch Super AMOLED, 498 × 498, up to 5,000 nits
Chip	Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated	Snapdragon Wear Elite, 3nm penta-core
Memory	64GB storage; RAM not published	2GB RAM, 64GB storage
Battery	332 mAh or 465 mAh; 30 or 40 hours with always-on	800 mAh; up to 60 hours with always-on
GPS battery	Not published	Up to 20 hours of GPS; 16 hours following a GPX route
GPS	Dual-frequency	Dual-frequency L1 and L5
Water and dust	5 ATM and IP68	10 ATM, IP69K, EN13319
Satellite	Satellite SOS	Not listed
Phone needed	Android 12 or newer, not Android Go	Android 13 or newer, more than 1.5GB RAM, Google services
US price	From $399.99	$699.99

Battery is the biggest difference

Samsung says Ultra2’s 800 mAh cell is the largest in any Galaxy Watch, with 35 percent more capacity than the previous Ultra, in a case 12 percent thinner. In the US, Samsung rates it for up to 60 hours with always-on, up to 20 hours of GPS tracking and up to 16 hours following a GPX route, and warns that buildings, trees and weather affect GPS. Samsung doesn’t give a low-power rating. Charging is wireless, and Samsung calls it the first fast charging on a Galaxy Watch: about 40 percent in 30 minutes and full in about 90.

Pixel Watch 5’s 41mm has a 332 mAh cell rated for up to 30 hours with always-on and 48 in Battery Saver, and the 45mm’s 465 mAh cell is rated for 40 and 72; the “up to 40 hours” Google advertises is the 45mm. Google tested pre-production units in California in 2025, using a median user’s mix of activity, and gives no GPS-workout figure. The Quick Charge Dock comes in the box but a USB-C power adapter doesn’t, and Google asks for at least 7.5 watts. On the dock, the 41mm reaches about 50, 80 and 100 percent in 15, 25 and 45 minutes, and the 45mm in 15, 30 and 60. Google’s “15 hours from 15 minutes” line is marketing on top of those times.

Diving, trail running and toughness

Ultra2 is Samsung’s training watch. The titanium case comes in Titanium Silver or Titanium Gray, and Samsung’s durability list is IP69K, 10 ATM under ISO 22810, tested MIL-STD-810H methods and EN13319 for diving. Samsung’s lab range on the wrist is minus 20 to 55 degrees Celsius, and charging may slow at the extremes. With auto-launch on, dive tracking logs depth, time and water temperature. A Mares Ultra2 Diving app is due later as a Wear OS exclusive for two years, adding ascent and descent speed and safe-dive limits as Samsung describes them. Rinse it after salt water and follow Samsung’s care notes; none of this certifies you to dive.

Trail Run is an Ultra2-only mode with elevation, terrain impact and a Nutrition Alert, and it needs Android 13 or newer and a current Samsung Health app. Samsung also lists GPX routes, a running coach and direct connections to cycling sensors, plus a siren and fall detection, noting that the siren’s loudness varies and that emergency contacts need a network.

Pixel Watch 5 is rated 5 ATM under ISO 22810:2010 and IP68. Google says it isn’t waterproof, its water resistance can fade, and it isn’t for high-velocity or high-temperature water. It has no EN13319 rating and no automatic dive log.

Satellite SOS is Pixel Watch 5’s outdoor edge

Pixel Watch 5 has Satellite SOS. Google says it isn’t available in every country, is included at no extra charge for two years after activation, and may share your location and contact details with Google, emergency services and the satellite provider. It reaches emergency services; it isn’t a general messenger. Pixel Watch 5’s other safety features are Fall Detection, Car Crash Detection, Safety Check, Location Sharing and Loss of Pulse, which prompts a call to emergency services.

Samsung lists no satellite feature for Ultra2. If emergency help with no cell signal is why you want an “ultra” watch, the cheaper Pixel is the one that offers it.

Both have dual-frequency GPS. Pixel Watch 5 uses GPS, Galileo and GLONASS in the US and adds BeiDou and QZSS elsewhere, and Google calls it the best GPS; Ultra2 uses L1 and L5, and Samsung calls its tracking highly accurate. Those are each company’s claims. Ultra2 comes as an LTE model, with US support depending on the carrier. Pixel Watch 5’s LTE models use 4G LTE and UMTS, and Google offers two years of Fi Wireless data for messaging, navigation and music, but not calls.

Screens

The brightness figures aren’t a like-for-like test. Ultra2’s 5,000 nits is Samsung’s figure for a localized peak under strong ambient light, based on a June 2026 market note, and Samsung says full-screen brightness may differ. Its Super AMOLED sits under sapphire and has a full-color always-on display. Pixel Watch 5’s 3,000 nits is its peak, with a 1-nit floor in always-on and a refresh rate from 1Hz to 60Hz under Gorilla Glass 5.

Health

Pixel Watch 5 has a multi-path optical heart-rate sensor, red and infrared sensors for blood oxygen, a far-field skin temperature sensor, electrical sensors for the ECG app and a skin-conductance sensor. ECG is for people 22 and older in select countries, and blood oxygen and temperature aren’t offered everywhere. Sleep tracking covers stages and breathing regularity, with a Sleep Score, a Morning Brief and a sleep-stage alarm, and Google calls it its most accurate. Google marked blood-pressure trends and insulin-resistance tracking “Coming September 2026”. Gemini is raise-to-talk, and Google’s claim that Pixel Watch 5 is 20 percent faster comes without a baseline.

Ultra2 uses Samsung’s BioActive sensor, which combines optical, electrical and body-composition sensing. Its Energy Score draws on recent activity, sleep and overnight heart signals. The Heart Health Score and a morning blood-pressure estimate are lifestyle tools; the estimate needs a cuff and doesn’t replace one. Sleep Coaching sorts a week of sleep into one of eight types, and sleep apnea risk detection is FDA-cleared and offered in select countries, with exclusions that include a prior diagnosis and pregnancy. On either watch, none of this is a diagnosis.

What they share

Both have NFC for payments, through Google Wallet on Pixel Watch 5 and Samsung Wallet on Ultra2, and either way your card issuer has to support it. Both have Bluetooth 6.0 and Wi-Fi on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Ultra2 adds Samsung’s One UI 9 Watch on top of Wear OS 7.

Pixel Watch 5 needs a phone on Android 12 or newer, not Android Go, plus a Google Account and the Pixel Watch app. Ultra2 needs Android 13 or newer with more than 1.5GB of RAM, activated from a phone with Google Mobile Services. If you’re coming from an Apple Watch, neither works with an iPhone and your old bands won’t fit. Ultra2’s own straps are the Marine, PeakForm and Trail bands; Pixel Watch 5 comes with a small and a large Active Band.

What they cost

Pixel Watch 5 starts at $399.99, and Google doesn’t list the full price grid for LTE and the 45mm. Galaxy Watch Ultra2’s US list price was $699.99. The extra money buys the titanium case, the 800 mAh battery, the dive and trail modes and Samsung Health’s scores, not satellite messaging. Sales come and go, and Pixel Watch 5 costs more with LTE, so check the Google Store and samsung.com before you buy.