Samsung's Galaxy smartwatches are about to get new AI health and wellbeing features —here's what we know
We're only a handful of weeks out from the likely date of Samsung's summer Unpacked Event, where the brand is expected to launch new foldable smartphones, an updated line of Galaxy smartwatches and Samsung's first-ever Galaxy Ring.
Leaks covering all of the above products have been steady, but we now officially have concrete info directly from Samsung on the Galaxy Watch 7 — and potential square-shaped 7 Ultra —including details on new AI-based wellness tools.
More specifically, Samsung AI is coming to the Samsung Health app in the form of improved sleep analysis, a daily 'Energy Score', training tips and new workout metrics.
Samsung didn't specifically mention the Galaxy Watch 7 in its announcement — just that the new capabilities would be "available on the next Galaxy Watch line-up via One UI 6 Watch," and hinted that some may be compatible with the Galaxy Watch 4 and onwards.
But given the rumors of an imminent watch update, it's pretty clear the wearables Samsung has in mind. Here's everything you need to know about what Samsung announced today (May 29) regarding these new AI health tools coming to the Galaxy Watch.
AI sleep analysis and Energy Score
Of all the AI-backed features confirmed by Samsung today, improved sleep tracking is the one I'm most excited about. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 already keeps tabs on sleep quality by monitoring things like sleep cycles, awake time, blood oxygen levels and even time spent snoring.
However, the Galaxy Watch 7 will likely also analyze the following while you snooze, using AI: movement during sleep, sleep latency (the time it takes to fall completely asleep), heart rate, and respiratory rate during sleep. A lot of other smartwatches already track these data points, like higher-end Garmins and Fitbits, so it's nice to see Samsung join the party.
All of this data will be grouped under Sleep Insights within the Samsung Health app for easy digestion. One thing Samsung didn't confirm is whether or not the new devices will support sleep apnea detection, which the brand strongly hinted at a few months back.
Samsung's next-gen smartwatches will now also include a daily Energy Score, similar to Garmin's Body Battery and Fitbit's Daily Readiness Score. This number is determined by analyzing factors, including sleep time, sleep consistency, bed/wake consistency, sleeping heart rate, heart rate variability and more using AI.
AI-backed wellness tips and improved fitness tracking
Smartwatches providing tips and suggestions to help you reach fitness goals is nothing new. However, with the help of AI, these could become much more personalized and useful.
Samsung's forthcoming Wellness Tips, for example, will include both insights into current health as well as actionable guidance for reaching self-set goals; motivational reminders are also part of the feature.
On the fitness-tracking side, Samsung confirmed some handy new metrics and tools for better accuracy and deeper insights. For runners, you'll now be able to keep tabs on Aerobic Threshold (AT) and Anaerobic Threshold (AnT) to better understand your limits for short, fast runs and slower, longer-paced ones.
Cyclists now get a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) metric, which is a measure of the total amount of power they can maintain while riding for an hour, without tiring. Runners and cyclists can also use Samsung's new Race feature to compare current performance on a known route to past attempts.
Finally, a new Workout Routines feature will let users create customized regiments with the exercises of their choice and seamlessly transition without needing to stop or reset tracking.
Expect more Samsung Galaxy AI details
This information dump gives us a small taste of what's to come at the Samsung Unpacked Event, which rumors peg as happening in July. And with AI being the talk of the town, there's a good chance we'll learn more hard facts about the upcoming product releases, at least, as they relate to potential AI features, in the coming weeks.
