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Samsung is expanding the capabilities of its Galaxy Watch beyond simple tracking of fitness and health, venturing into the domain of proactive health management. The company aims to deliver personalized wellness coaching and an innovative blood analysis feature designed to help users proactively manage their health and promote healthy aging. This evolution seeks to transform how we perceive and utilize wearable technology for preventive healthcare.
Samsung’s Vision for Preventative Health with Galaxy Watch
“Many illnesses, including cancer, are preventable,” a Samsung representative stated. “While healthy behaviors are crucial, maintaining them in our busy lives can be challenging. Samsung’s goal is to support individuals in adopting and sustaining these behaviors effectively.”
Expected to be unveiled alongside the new Galaxy Watch in July, these novel features encompass:
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- A non-invasive blood test for measuring antioxidant levels, specifically carotenoids.
- A cardiovascular health evaluation.
- Tailored sleep coaching.
- An AI-driven run assessment offering real-time feedback for optimized training.
“We aim to contextualize data related to sleep, nutrition, activity, and stress for the user,” the representative added.
In a crowded smartwatch and wearable market, Samsung distinguishes itself by transitioning the Galaxy Watch from a passive tracker to a proactive health guardian. The objective is to empower users to manage their health proactively. With millions of users on Samsung Health worldwide, the company intends to bridge the gap between infrequent clinical data and continuous wearable-collected data, creating a holistic view of health. Specifically, this helps in the context of overall wellness coaching.
Non-Invasive Antioxidant Detection
Beta-carotene, one of many naturally occurring carotenoids or antioxidants in foods like carrots and sweet potatoes, helps neutralize toxins (free radicals) in the body, according to the National Institutes of Health. These toxins, often caused by stress, poor diet, smoking, and aging, can accumulate and contribute to severe health issues like cancer, heart disease, and premature aging. Typically, carotenoid levels are determined through blood tests.
The Antioxidant Index, a new Galaxy Watch feature, will gauge carotenoid levels in the skin instantly, without needles or lab analysis. Users simply place their thumb on the sensor for a few seconds.
“This offers a non-invasive insight into how your diet and lifestyle impact your antioxidant levels,” a Samsung representative clarified. “Using LED light sensors at four different wavelengths, we measure beta-carotene in the skin, and we’ve validated these readings against blood levels.”
The Galaxy Watch will provide users with a score, ranging from “low” to “adequate,” alongside general guidance for enhancing antioxidant levels. Samsung plans to incorporate targeted, AI-driven advice related to specific recipes, supplements, and nutrition plans.
“For low levels, we might suggest increasing consumption of leafy greens or sweet potatoes,” said the representative. “We aim to integrate this with personalized nutrition coaching and recipe suggestions.”
Enhanced Running Analysis
Samsung introduces a 12-minute run test for benchmarking Galaxy Watch users’ fitness levels, ranging from beginner to marathon-ready. Post-assessment, the watch will generate custom training regimens for achieving distance goals, like running a 10K or half marathon, further enhancing its wellness coaching features.
AI-Powered Running Coach
An AI coach will provide real-time encouragement, similar to Apple’s Workout Buddy. Samsung’s AI will offer verbal guidance like “push a little harder” or “ease up,” adapting future workouts based on user performance. Progression unlocks new training challenges, creating a dynamic, goal-oriented program.
The watch will also illustrate how training impacts other health metrics, such as VO2 max, a key fitness indicator. Eventually, these indicators could serve as training targets, surpassing distance goals for planning.
“As we increasingly cater to athletes, this is a feature people will demand,” the representative predicted. “This is a glimpse of what’s to come.”
Comprehensive Sleep Analysis
Sleep is a critical component of Samsung’s preventive care approach and a significant health indicator. Poor sleep is linked to long-term risks like dementia, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
“Much body repair occurs during sleep, both physically and mentally,” the representative highlighted.
Bedtime Guidance and Personalized Recommendations
Bedtime Guidance expands on existing Galaxy Watch sleep tracking, like sleep stage analysis and sleep apnea detection, and offers tailored recommendations for sleep and wake times. It begins with a three-day analysis of sleep habits to ascertain circadian rhythm and sleep pressure (sleep debt). The watch then provides customized advice to improve metrics like total sleep time and energy score based on sleep data.
Rather than a generic eight-hour sleep reminder, Bedtime Guidance suggests a personalized sleep and wake window. The aim is to help users recover from poor or irregular sleep and enhance daytime alertness. If jet-lagged, this feature could theoretically help reduce sleep debt and recalibrate sleep schedules faster.
The Galaxy Watch adopts a nuanced coaching approach, incorporating real-world inputs from the watch, Galaxy phone, and other Samsung devices. For instance, it might suggest improving sleep environment by adjusting the thermostat or darkening the room.
“Through SmartThings connected with Samsung devices, we can control environmental factors like humidity, temperature, lighting, and even automatically close blinds. With medical features like sleep detection, we can detect signs of sleep apnea after a few nights and recommend medical consultation,” the representative explained.
Measuring Vascular Load
Vascular Load assesses the cumulative stress on the heart and vascular system during sleep, which should ideally decrease overnight. The Galaxy Watch uses pulse wave analysis and optical sensors to monitor arterial stiffness and cardiovascular strain, translating readings into a low-to-high scale to illustrate how behaviors (e.g., sodium or alcohol intake) may contribute to long-term heart disease risk.
“Poor sleep, diet, or chronic stress can elevate vascular load,” the representative noted. “We aim to make these associations evident in a measurable way.”
Feature Availability and Pricing
The new features are integrated into One UI 8 Watch, available on the latest Galaxy Watch series this month via a beta program limited to Galaxy Watch 5 and newer users in the US and South Korea. Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index are introduced as experimental Labs features, available for early preview.
All features are anticipated to debut officially with the next Galaxy Watch in July. Specific feature availability hinges on the Galaxy Watch’s advanced LED sensors. Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index will be exclusive to Galaxy Watch Ultra and later, while the Running Coach feature requires Galaxy Watch 7 or later.
Pricing remains undetermined. Samsung is considering a premium subscription model akin to Fitbit Premium or Garmin’s Connect Plus, requiring a monthly fee for advanced coaching features and extended wellness coaching. Ideally, features would be free with new watches, with older models accessing them via subscription. This article will be updated with further details on model eligibility and pricing as soon as Samsung announces them.
Samsung’s Future Health Initiatives
Optically based glucose measurement may emerge soon, per the representative. As Samsung pursues non-invasive medical testing, it is evident that the company envisions wearables playing an increasingly important role in daily health monitoring and preventive care. Samsung’s aim is to provide clinical-level insights at home, transforming wearable data into actionable guidance before problems escalate.
“We see wellness as a combination of activity, nutrition, mental health, and sleep,” the representative stated.
The success of these initiatives hinges on Samsung’s execution and user adherence. However, it is clear that Samsung is committed to transforming the wrist into a comprehensive health hub.