Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: Full Feature Walkthrough and Hidden Tips

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is packed with ultra features and new tips and tricks, so let’s go.

Straight out of the box, the first thing to try is super simple: double pinch. When someone calls, just double pinch the Watch Ultra to answer, and then you can chat over your watch like you would with your phone. This works with a bunch of different apps — like the stopwatch — just double pinch to stop or start it, or even to turn off an alarm. It’s on by default, but if it’s not working, go into Settings → Buttons and Gestures → scroll down to Double Pinch, and toggle it on.

There’s another gesture right under it called Knock Knock. In there, you’ll see a “Select an Option” feature, where you can pick from any app on the Watch Ultra, like the Camera Controller. If you do the Knock Knock gesture, it’ll activate your Camera Controller and turn on your phone’s camera, which you can see through your watch. Then, just double pinch to take a photo.

Back inside Buttons and Gestures, scroll to the bottom and turn on Shake to Dismiss. With this, if you’re on a call and shake your wrist, it’ll end the call, or if an alarm goes off, twisting your wrist will turn off the alarm.

The biggest new feature on the Watch Ultra is the Quick Button. Pressing it opens Samsung Exercise, where you can quickly pick an exercise to start. In Settings → Buttons and Gestures, the Quick Button has its own section. Next to Samsung Health, tap the Settings icon, and you can select exactly what exercise to start when pressing the Quick Button — like Running Coach, which helps you run better, like having a coach on your wrist. You can also set it to open the Timer or Flashlight. The Flashlight is super useful because the Ultra has a really bright screen. You can adjust the flashlight’s brightness using the digital touch bezel.

Inside Button and Gesture settings, under Start Action With, change it to Double Press. This way, the Ultra only opens the Quick Button shortcut when you double press, avoiding accidental touches.

If you press and hold the Quick Button for 5 seconds, it activates the Ultra’s new Siren. It’s really loud, which is a good thing — if you ever get lost, the Siren can help people find you.

Another useful feature affects your contacts. On your phone, go to Contacts → select any contact → create a Profile Card. You can select a photo from the gallery, then tap their name to change the font, thickness, and color. Once set up, whenever that person calls, their profile card shows up on your watch, so you can quickly see who’s calling without reading anything. You can also go into Contacts on the Watch Ultra and directly call them, and the profile card will show up.

For messages, when you swipe on a message, it now gives you suggested replies you can tap and send — much easier than typing on a watch. These replies change based on the conversation.

If you open a few apps at the same time, like the Timer, Spotify, and Camera app, you’ll notice little app icons appear. Tap them to open the new Quick App Switcher, letting you jump between apps.

On the watch faces, when swiping through widgets, a quick swipe now lets you jump between multiple widgets, making navigation faster.

The Watch Ultra comes with two unique watch faces: Ultra Analog and Simple Ultra. Tap and hold any of them → Customize → swipe to the Night Mode section, where you can set Night Mode to Off, On, or Automatic. In Automatic, the watch face changes to dark mode when you enter a dark room or when the sun sets.

In the customization settings, under Complications, there are two recommended ones: Battery Percentage (to monitor battery) and Energy Score (your body’s battery, more on that later).

Inside Sound and Vibration → System Sounds → Ticking, toggle it on, and your Watch Ultra will have a classic analog ticking sound.

If you lose your watch, use the Find App on your phone. In the Find App → Devices → select Watch Ultra → tap Ring. The watch has a massive speaker, so it’ll ring loudly. If you lose your phone, swipe down on the watch face → Quick Settings → swipe left → tap the Phone Icon, and your phone will ring. Also, under Settings → Advanced Features → Disconnection Alerts, toggle on Full Screen Alert with Sound and Vibration, so your watch notifies you if you leave your phone behind.

If you get lost during a walk or hike, swipe right on the exercise → tap Settings → Track Back. The Watch Ultra will direct you back to your starting point.

Inside Samsung Exercises, there’s a Multisport Mode where you can customize your own exercise routine. Tap Add → Add Exercise → pick sports modes → Save. It will start with the first exercise, then automatically switch to the next.

In Spotify, tap the little phone icon → select your watch → tap Watch Speaker, and music will play aloud from the watch — handy if your earbuds die or you forget them.

For your body’s battery, tap the Energy Score complication. You’ll see factors like Sleep Time, Sleep Consistency, and Sleep Heart Rate, helping you understand what’s draining your energy.

For Body Composition, move your watch slightly higher on your wrist → swipe to Body Composition widgets → tap Measure → confirm your weight → place your middle and ring fingers on the top and bottom buttons. After a few seconds, it measures muscle, fat mass, and body water — not 100% accurate but gives you a good idea.

To set up Google Assistant, go to the Play Store → Manage Apps → update Assistant. Then, in Settings → Button and Gestures → under Press and Hold Action, change from Bixby to Google Assistant. Now, you can press and hold the top right button and ask anything, like “Start 10-second timer.”

With all these tips and tricks, you can now fully unlock the power of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.