Samsung just got done with its big Unpacked event, which was held in Paris this time, ahead of the Olympics scheduled to begin in the French capital later this month. Unpacked 2024 in Paris marked the debut of Samsung’s latest foldables, the Fold6 and Flip6, along with the Galaxy Buds3 series earphone and the Galaxy Watch 7. Also sharing the launch dias were two brand new wearables, the Galaxy Ring and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. These two are Samsung’s entry points into newer segments, and unsurprisingly, come across as the biggest highlights of the recently-concluded event. Ever since the Galaxy Watch Ultra was announced however, the internet has been abuzz with how it bears resemblance to its nearest competitor, the Apple Watch Ultra. I decided to tackle the bull by the horns and address this query to TM Roh, Samsung’s President and Head of MX Business, when I got a chance to meet him post the event at a media roundtable.
If you ask me, the similarities are in the strap design, and the watches themselves look quite different from each other, at least design-wise. Specifically, I asked Roh why Samsung opted for a strap design that looks similar to the bands on the Apple Watch Ultra.
TM Roh: When we decide the design direction of a product, we always think about the one that most fits the product segment, satisfies customer requirements, and is the most appropriate for the target customers. With this consideration, we decide the design, material, and shape of the product. So in that regard, we decided on the strap design that we have right now for outdoor optimisation.
I also asked him about the strategy behind getting into this particular segment.
TM Roh: We have conducted extensive analysis of the smartwatch market, and we also listen to the voice and requirements of consumers. We recognise that a lot of consumers are actively engaged in outdoor activities, and their need and demand for a smartwatch that is optimised for outdoor activities is quite high. A smartwatch tailored for outdoor activities should have higher durability and should be able to operate properly under extreme environments, and high and low temperatures. It should have 10ATM withstanding the pressure of 100m underwater. It should enable users to go swimming in the ocean, more precise GPS, and longer battery life. So for outdoor activities, a smartwatch requires all of these performance and feature requirements. That is the outcome of our analysis. So we developed something that supports all of these features and functionalities, and also enables a multi-device experience, as part of the Galaxy ecosystem. So the epitome of that effort was the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra features a 47mm case, 10ATM water resistance, a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED sapphire crystal display with up to 3,000 nits brightness, Wear OS 5, an emergency siren, a new Multi-Sport tile, Functional Threshold Power (FTP) metrics for cyclists, Energy score and more. Its new BioActive sensors promise better and more accurate insights into the user’s health and physical activity. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is priced in India at Rs 59,999.
