Samsung’s Apple Watch Ultra

Hi all, Vlad here in Hong Kong. I’ve been testing the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra over the past couple of weeks, finally getting a taste of t [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi all, Vlad here in Hong Kong. I’ve been testing the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra over the past couple of weeks, finally getting a taste of the Apple Watch experience on Android. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Apple pressures Tencent and ByteDance [over app fees in China]( • Japan’s carmakers are coalescing into two [opposing factions]( • China’s proposed nationwide digital ID system [is facing pushback]( Is imitation flattery? It’s made of titanium and sapphire crystal, it has LTE, GPS and sophisticated health-tracking programs and measurements, and it costs more than twice the usual asking price for a smartwatch. Yes, friends, [Samsung Electronics Co.](bbg://securities/005930%20KS%20Equity) has built its very own [Apple Watch Ultra]( dubbing it the [Galaxy Watch Ultra](. This is no overstatement. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a study in recreating a successful product from a rival: the wristband options are the same, the bright orange adornments are the same, even the exercise icons are the same black-on-lime-green circles. But I said the [Apple Inc.](bbg://screens/AAPL%20US%20Equity%20FA%20PROD) product was a success — is that also true of Samsung’s effort? As a matter of fact, yes. The difference with these Ultra watches that justifies their pricing — Samsung asks $650, Apple charges $799 — is in combining the aforementioned materials and features with extreme ruggedness and very decent battery life. Samsung’s watch is a chunky thing, measuring 47mm across and ruling out most people with slender wrists, that nevertheless wears nicely and is lighter and more comfortable than many smaller watches. I’ve worn it during basketball workouts, in a tropical downpour and to bed most nights. The high-end construction is reassuring and hassle-free. But more than anything else, the key thing Samsung has studiously copied from Apple is the ecosystem play. This watch is not meant to exist on its own, it’s an entry point and an enticement to get us to buy in to Samsung services and tools the way millions of people have done with Apple. Go to Samsung’s online store today and if you buy this Ultra watch alongside a smartphone or laptop, the company will take 25% off its price, making it a much more palatable $488. I came into this with plenty of skepticism, in part because Samsung doesn’t play nice with many other services. I can’t, for example, plug its watch into my Fitbit account and send sleep and steps data to the Alphabet Inc.-owned service. I have to install the Samsung Health app — and give it a bunch of seemingly arbitrary permissions around my data — and trust Samsung. The Suwon-based company has a long history of failure when it comes to building software to match its hardware excellence — though that’s been changing in recent years, as its edition of Android has grown ever more fluid and pleasant to use. Anyone that remembers TouchWiz from a decade ago will know how much of an improvement that’s been. Using the Galaxy Watch Ultra, I also see plenty of commendable stuff, including the level of granularity in the health tracking and the little achievement badges. My favorite thing to do with this watch, which isn’t strictly an Ultra feature, is to load up a few music albums on it, pop in my Bluetooth earbuds and go running without lugging my phone with me. That titanium build really makes a huge difference in those circumstances. I’ll also concede that, within a few days of having the watch shame me about my sleep and step count, I fell into the habit of increasing both numbers — just because they’re right in my face. I’m OK with technology manipulating me to be more active during the day and peaceful at night. Still, no one has yet matched Apple’s level of software polish. The Samsung Health app doesn’t always sync with the watch on the first try, there aren’t a ton of appealing add-on apps for the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and I find it excessively fiddly to access my music library on the gadget. Taken as a whole, the Galaxy Watch Ultra should be celebrated. Certainly not for its originality, but it takes plenty of work and innovation to match one of Apple’s premium-priced products and Samsung has done that work. It’s good for the Android ecosystem to have high-end accessories of this sort, and it bodes well for Samsung’s ambitions to build itself into a genuine Apple alternative in every product category. —[Vlad Savov](mailto:vsavov5@bloomberg.net) Please note: Our email domain is changing, which means you'll be receiving this newsletter from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. 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