"Samsung is taking the lead in wearable health technology": a glimpse into the company's ambitious health-focused agenda
Samsung's latest offering, the Galaxy Watch 8 series, marks a significant shift in the wearables market, transitioning from basic fitness trackers to intelligent health companions. This evolution is a reflection of the broader cultural shift towards health and wellness, with a 59% year-on-year increase in people joining running clubs.
The Galaxy Watch 8 lineup includes several features aimed at active health improvement. One such feature is the Antioxidant Index, a novel health metric that non-invasively measures skin carotenoid levels, an antioxidant indicator, using the BioActive sensor. Users simply press their thumb onto the sensor for 5 seconds to receive a score from 0 to 100 that reflects their oxidative stress and overall antioxidant status. This helps users adjust their lifestyle factors to enhance healthy aging.
Another feature is vascular load tracking during sleep, which uses heart rate variability, blood pressure, and sympathetic nervous system activity to monitor the cumulative stress on the vascular system during sleep. It detects disruptions in restorative sleep phases that may indicate elevated cardiovascular load.
The running coach, an AI-powered feature, assesses your running fitness with a 12-minute test and creates a personalized running program to help meet goals safely by managing workout frequency, intensity, and providing real-time feedback to reduce injury risk.
Bedtime guidance, part of the Samsung Health ecosystem, helps users wind down by promoting better sleep hygiene through timely prompts and suggestions.
Samsung's health strategy has significantly evolved from basic fitness tracking like simple step counters to becoming intelligent health companions that leverage AI and personalized insights to help users proactively manage their health and avoid serious conditions before they require medical intervention.
The Galaxy Watch 8 features a 3nm processor, dual-frequency GPS for precise tracking, and the latest BioActive Sensor. It runs Wear OS 6 with One UI 8 Watch, delivering a smooth interface and AI-enhanced health experiences.
Samsung's Galaxy Watch Ultra, the company's clearest move into the high-performance wearable space, includes core outdoor features such as GPX route support and a track-back function for navigation, housed within Samsung Health, not just Google Maps. It offers a bright AMOLED display, full app support, Samsung Pay, music storage, advanced sensors, and offline navigation.
Annika Bizon, Samsung UK's VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience, and Lee Dinham, Smartphone Specialist Product Manager, shared insights about Samsung's evolving vision. They emphasize that the future of Samsung's wearables lies in preventative health, with a goal to help users understand their health now and in the future.
Samsung aims to be the brand users trust to help them move from tracking their health to actively changing it. By gamifying health and fitness data, Samsung makes these insights more accessible to those unfamiliar with advanced insights.
The redesigned lug system delivers up to 11% more accurate heart rate data, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra's battery life is solid, with Lee Dinham getting four days on a charge, although it doesn't yet match the multi-week runtime of some Garmins.
Annika Bizon shared how her own use of the watch influenced her household, causing them to eat better due to her checking antioxidant levels. The Galaxy Watch 8 is 11% thinner than the Galaxy Watch 7 despite having a bigger battery, due to a complete internal redesign.
Samsung focuses on balancing performance, features, and usability to provide an appealing alternative for users coming from brands like Apple or Garmin. Samsung's Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic are built on a philosophy powered by AI and focused on personalized insights.
In summary, the Galaxy Watch 8 series showcases Samsung's commitment to health and wellness technology, offering features like the Antioxidant Index, vascular load tracking, running coaching, and comprehensive health and sleep monitoring. The Galaxy Watch Ultra, Samsung's high-performance wearable, competes with rugged sports watches like the Garmin Fenix 8, offering outdoor features and advanced sensors. Samsung's long-term, research-driven strategy focuses on developing advanced, meaningful health technologies to differentiate it from competitors and build next-generation health companions with future innovations already in the pipeline for upcoming Galaxy Watch models.
The Galaxy Watch 8 series, with its advanced features like the Antioxidant Index and vascular load tracking, demonstrates Samsung's transition from standard gadgets to technology that actively promotes health and wellness. The running coach, an AI-powered tool, provides personalized guidance to enhance user's running fitness and promote preventative health.
