Sturdy Apple Watch Ultra watch straps and case for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 Matthew Miller/ZDNET
UAG has long been one of my favorite mobile accessory brands and continues to bring functional gear that protects your expensive mobile technology. We spent a couple of weeks with a couple of Apple Watch Ultra straps and a protective case for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
The Apple Watch Ultra is an amazing smartwatch priced at $799, while the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at $1,799. Both of these investments deserve to be worn with quality watch straps and protected by sturdy cases. Urban Armor Gear offers several products to help you achieve these goals with reasonable prices and cool color options.
Likewise: I put the Apple Watch Ultra through a Tough Mudder: Here’s how it held up
Active watch strap
When I bought my Apple Watch Ultra there were limited options for straps to have a watch on my wrist asap. Since launch, I’ve been looking for watch bands that match the rugged style and colors of the Apple Watch Ultra. The UAG Active Strap is available in Rust, Graphite, and Foliage Green. With the safety orange highlights on the Watch Ultra, I chose the Rust color and was not disappointed.
The Active Strap is available now for $69.95. While it’s advertised for the Apple Watch Ultra, it also fits the larger Apple Watch models. It’s clearly going nowhere once you clip it to your wrist.
The band is made of elastic webbing material so it stretches a little for comfortable wearing all day and easy to fit on your wrist. This material also allows the bracelet to dry out when it gets wet, and the stainless steel hardware ensures it doesn’t rust, although that’s the name of the color I tested.
The Apple Watch Ultra security orange goes well with this strap Matthew Miller/ZDNET
Multiple rows of Velcro straps secure the strap to your wrist. The turnbuckle slider hardware is a little bulky, but it’s also angled so it fits nicely around your wrist. The band is well constructed with tight stitching and excellent fit and finish.
NATO ECO strap
The NATO ECO Strap is available in Foliage Green, Graphite, and Dark Earth for $49.95. We tested the color Foliage Green.
The NATO ECO strap is made from RPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate), so buying this strap will help keep plastic water bottles out of landfills and the oceans. The nylon fabric is durable and sewn very well.
UAG branding is prominently displayed on the strap Matthew Miller/ZDNET
The band hardware is made from recycled stainless steel with two extra pass-throughs on the band to keep the bitter end on the band when worn. I was surprised to find this band was my favorite and worked very well while exercising and working.
The watch strap is designed to fit wrists 125-208mm in circumference and features 11 openings to attach the clasp to your wrist. The band is comfortable and lightweight, so it doesn’t add much to the overall Apple Watch Ultra package. The strap also fits quickly and easily into the Apple Watch lug system.
It’s great to see UAG using recycled plastics and stainless steel in its products Matthew Miller/ZDNET
Civil strap
Not every harness knocks it out of the park and I have to say the Civilian harness was my least favorite of the three I tested. The band is very light and keeps the Apple Watch Ultra in place well, but the soft silicone material is very good at collecting pet hair, lint, and dust, and it’s difficult to wipe everything off easily.
Personally, I’m also not a fan of the tuck closure system common to standard Apple Watch straps, and with the soft silicone material, it was a little tiring to tuck in the bitten end of the strap. The Civilian strap is available in Mallard (blue) and black for $49.95.
The stainless steel hardware is great and the vents along the full length of the strap allow air to flow through the strap making the strap adjustable for any wrist size. The silicone material is antimicrobial, so it also helps keep things clean and fresh.
Likewise: Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a high-priced ticket to productivity heaven
Civilian case for the Galaxy Z Fold 4
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains my favorite phone of 2022 and I appreciate cases that protect this expensive investment. The UAG Civilian Series case offers solid protection for the back, front and even the hinge of Z Fold 4 with a lightweight design and perfect fit. It has a material that makes it easy to stick with sticky tape stickers to keep the case on the phone.
The back is well protected Matthew Miller/ZDNET
While the front is well protected, the edge around the front display is raised a little too high for me to reliably swipe my finger in from the edges. I don’t use the cover display that much, so it’s not too much of a problem, but be aware that the front is raised quite a bit above the display.
The raised edges protect the front but make it a bit difficult to brush off the edge Matthew Miller/ZDNET
The back fits well and has openings for the camera, microphones, speakers and USB-C port with a cool UAG logo on the back. The volume button design is a bit unusual and not my favorite either. The back/hinge of the Z Fold 4 is somewhat protected with lightweight material that covers the hinge in the closed position and slides behind the back panel in the open position.
When closed, the hinge is somewhat protected Matthew Miller/ZDNET
The case is certified as a Designed for Samsung product with MIL-STD 810G-516.6 drop test approval. Wireless charging and Samsung Pay also work perfectly with the Z Fold 4 in the case. There is no storage option for the S Pen.
