Galaxy Watch Ultra2's 5,000-nit screen stays readable in direct sun, reviewers say

At a glance

Best for: people who read their wrist outdoors a lot and carry an Android phone.

Skip it if: your phone isn't an Android running version 13 or later.

Reviewers agree: it stays readable in direct sun; GSMArena saw close to 3,000 nits with the whole display lit white.

Reviewers who took the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 into direct sun say its headline number translates into a screen they can read. Samsung rates the display at up to 5,000 nits (the unit of screen brightness), up from 3,000 on the first Galaxy Watch Ultra, and calls it a world first for smartwatches based on its own market research from June 2026. BGR adds that it comfortably clears the 3,000-nit peak of Apple Watch Ultra 3.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Droid-Life's Tim, who spent two weeks with the watch, reports zero issues reading it in direct sun. BGR's Christian de Looper found everything vividly legible under intense sunlight, with no need to keep shading it or squinting, and says the lowest brightness setting dims enough that it never disturbed his sleep. EFTM's Trevor Long came away impressed on a bright day in London. He also noticed it didn't look as bright in the shade of tall buildings and was back at its peak once he walked into the sun, which he put down to an ambient light sensor, the part that adjusts brightness to the surroundings.[2] [3] [5]

In direct sun, SammyGuru's Jeff Springer said, the Ultra2 and the 3,000-nit Galaxy Watch9 stop being comparable. He spent a month checking whether he could read the Ultra2 outside in a Phoenix summer; under studio lights he found both fine. He also reports that the Ultra2 held its peak for a full minute before it started to dim.[4]

Samsung's rating and the independent reading measure different things. GSMArena's testers, who couldn't measure a peak on a tiny spot of the screen, saw close to 3,000 nits in Flashlight mode with the whole display lit white. Samsung's own footnote describes 5,000 as a localised peak reached in bright surroundings and says full-screen brightness can differ.[6] [1]

Samsung also slimmed the case by 12%, to 10.7 mm from 12.1 mm, while fitting a larger battery, according to Droid-Life. The watch pairs only with Android phones running version 13 or later, BGR points out, and Samsung says general availability began on 7 August. If you read your wrist outdoors a lot and carry an Android phone, this is the screen to look at in daylight.[2] [3] [1]