Wearing the Outdoors: My Honest Take on the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch9

If you know me, you know I'm the type of person who does naked running.

Before you raise an eyebrow, naked running, in trail and outdoor circles, simply means running without any tech strapped to you. 

No watch or phone armband or heart rate monitor buzzing against your wrist. It's just you, your shoes, and whatever trail you've decided to disappear into for a while. I've always leaned toward that kind of outdoors experience. 

But lately, that's been shifting a little. I joined a fitness accountability group with some friends earlier this year, and if you've ever been part of one, you know the deal: you track your progress, you share it, you show up for each other. So suddenly I needed my numbers: steps, heart rate, etc. 

I mean, I get its appeal and the actual point of wearing one.

So when the Samsung team invited me again, this time, I was more excited to get hands-on with the new Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9.

Also read: Through an Animator’s Lens: Samsung S26 Series

Galaxy Watch Ultra2: Built for People Who Don't Believe in "Easy Days"

This one is clearly not made for someone who just wants to check the time. The Ultra2 is Samsung's most rugged Galaxy Watch yet. It's built for the kind of outdoor days where things get a little extreme, whether that's trail running up an incline that punishes your calves or diving somewhere far below where a phone would never survive.

The trail running feature is what caught my attention first. It tracks elevation, climbing progress, and how the terrain is actually affecting your pace, which, if you've ever run somewhere hilly, you know matters more than raw speed. 

It also has this hydration nudge called Nutrition Alert, which estimates how much you're sweating relative to your body weight and tells you when you actually need to drink water, instead of you guessing and realizing too late. 

And on the trail, you actually get to see all this clearly. It's the world’s first smartwatch with 5,000 nits of brightness. The display is the brightest ever put on a smartwatch, so even under harsh midday sun, checking your stats doesn't mean squinting or shielding the screen with your hand.

But the feature that really got me was the diving side of things. The moment the watch touches water, it automatically starts tracking without you having to tap anything first. It's rated for real diving conditions, and Samsung developed these features with Mares, which, if you're not familiar, is one of the biggest names in diving gear worldwide. That partnership tells you this wasn't an afterthought feature. It's built for people who dive, not just people who like the idea of it.

What I Love About the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

Honestly, what won me over wasn't a spec sheet number. It's how the watch just knows what to do without me having to think about it. The automatic tracking the moment it hits water is the kind of thing that makes sense for someone like me, who doesn't want to fumble with settings mid-adventure.

The other thing is the weight. I expected this to feel bulky given everything it's packed with, but it's surprisingly light, even the straps barely register on my wrist. That matters a lot to me because I'm not someone who naturally likes having things strapped onto me outdoors. This is the first watch that's made me go, "okay, I don't mind this being here."

If I'm being fully honest, though, aesthetically it's not really my vibe. It still looks big on my wrist, more suited to a bigger frame. I'd love to see Samsung eventually design a lighter, more "feminine" version of the Ultra line for girlies like me who want the same rugged tech without the bulk.

Price & Details

• Price: ₱ 44,990
• Size: 47mm
• Colors: Titanium Silver, Titanium Gray
• Battery: 800mAh
• Display: Up to 5,000 nits, world's brightest smartwatch display
• Durability: 10ATM, IP69K, EN13319-certified (dive-ready)
• Pre-order: Starts July 22, 2026 | General availability: August 14, 2026

Learn more about Galaxy Watch Ultra2.

Also read: Fold, Flip, and Feel: My Day with Samsung’s New Galaxy Z Lineup

Galaxy Watch9: For the In-Between Days

I'll be honest about something first: I'm still wary of AI, even with everything I do for work. I've seen how useful it can be, but I've also seen how destructive it becomes when it's not put into good use. That tension is something I sit with a lot.

But nothing in this life moves backwards. There's a word in Tboli, kemdol, that means "to move forward." I think about it often, and it feels fitting here. Because whatever hesitation I have about AI, I also know it isn't going anywhere. The only real question is whether it moves forward in a way that actually helps people, or in a way that just impresses them.

This is where the Watch9 quietly won me over. For a lot of ordinary Filipinos, the ones not working in tech, the ones who hear "AI" and think of something distant and complicated, this watch makes AI feel personal. 

It's not an abstract tool anymore. Vitals, one of its key features, tracks your baseline health while you sleep and alerts you when something's off. I keep thinking about my parents when I look at this feature. They're both aging, and like most Filipino families, health here tends to be reactive. You go to the doctor once something already hurts. 

A watch that just watches over you, without you having to do anything extra, feels like exactly the kind of shift toward proactive care that they need, and honestly, that a lot of us need. If this is the direction AI is heading, useful, personal, and built for people who'd never call themselves "tech people", then that's a future I don't mind moving toward.

What I Love About Watch9

Beyond the Vitals feature, what stood out most is, again, how light it is. Samsung clearly put thought into the straps here too. They're soft, barely-there, the kind of thing you forget you're wearing by the second hour. For a watch meant to be worn 24/7 to actually track your health properly, that lightness is the whole point.

Price & Details

• Price: ₱24,990 (44mm) / ₱22,990 (40mm)
• Sizes: 40mm and 44mm
• Colors: Graphite, Silver (44mm) | Graphite, Cream (40mm)
• Battery: 390mAh (40mm)
• Display: Up to 3,000 nits
• Starts July 22, 2026 | General availability: August 14, 2026

Learn more about Galaxy Watch9.

Also read: Travel Tech on a Budget: My 3 Favorite Samsung Galaxy A Series Features!

The Verdict: Would the Naked Runner in Me Wear One?

I still don't think I'll ever fully give up my naked running days. There's something about being untethered outdoors I don't want to lose. That part of me isn't going anywhere.

But I don't think wearing a watch and being present in nature are as opposed to each other as I used to believe. The Ultra2 quietly kept score in the background while Watch9 made me think more about the people I love.

I've stopped seeing technology like this as something that gets in the way of a life well-lived outdoors. Sometimes it's just there making sure you come back a little safer, a little more taken care of. 

The Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Galaxy Watch9 are up for pre-order starting July 22, with general availability on August 14, at Samsung stores nationwide and Samsung.com.

Disclosure: This post is based on my personal experience at a Samsung media event showcasing the new Galaxy Watch Ultra2 and Watch 9. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and Samsung had no input on the content.

tags:Events,Reviews

Johanna Marie Frejoles

A travel writer based in the Philippines with countless tales to share but often struggles to find the right words to do them justice.