Galaxy Watch Ultra buyer finds a major hardware flaw on day one

Summary

• At least one early Galaxy Watch Ultra unit has an alignment flaw, with bezel markings misaligned and the display possibly glued on crooked.
• A Redditor who bought Samsung’s new flagship watch shared images of the issue, showing the screen being lined up oddly in respect to the lugs.
• It’s still just one early report, and there have been no indications that Samsung might have a bigger problem on its hands like it’s currently facing with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and its faulty ear tips.

Samsung’s Unpacked-revealed products aren’t doing too hot at the moment.

The new devices, which hit store shelves today, include the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, the Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Buds 3, and the all-new Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch Ultra. You might have noticed that we missed out on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, but that’s intentional. Early reports suggested that there are some major quality control issues with the buds, like the earbud joints not sitting flush, blue dye blemishes, loose case hinges, scuffs or scratches on the case lid, and earbuds not sitting properly inside the case, to name a few.

Samsung is also seeing an overall decline in sales for its new foldables, with lower pre-order numbers in South Korea compared to last year’s models.

Now, reports of another quality control issue have started emerging, though it might not be as rampant as the issue with the Buds 3 Pro.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra, which takes inspiration from Apple’s wearable of the same name, features etched hour markings on the bezel, with major markings for 3, 6, 9, and 12. A Reddit user, via Android Authority, suggests that their new Galaxy Watch Ultra’s etched markings, or the main display have a major flaw: they’re misaligned.

Day-one availability flaw

The user, who goes by the name Ibuddhaa on Reddit suggests that they bought the watch directly from Samsung. Considering that the wearable hit the shelves starting today, it could be that they bought it from a Samsung store or that their pre-order arrived today. The images shared are mildly infuriating, especially considering that the Galaxy Watch Ultra starts at $650.

From the looks of it, the bezel seems to be aligned dead center with the lugs, which could only mean that there’s a problem with the display, like it being glued on crooked.

The OP has tried different watch faces to no avail, and others using the same watch face as the OP haven’t reported similar concerns, suggesting that the issue might not be as widespread as the Pixel Buds 3 Pro quality control issue.

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