Newsletter
Samsung recently added a skin temperature-based menstrual cycle tracking feature to its Galaxy Watch 5 series smartwatches. The feature leverages the temperature sensor fitted on the back of the wearables. It appears the temperature sensor will soon bring more new functionalities to the 2022 Samsung watches. The company recently confirmed that it is working on new features that make use of the additional sensor on the watch’s back.
The confirmation came from an official moderator on Samsung’s community forum in its homeland South Korea. The moderator, who is in charge of Samsung Health and related services, said that the company is currently developing new features using the Galaxy Watch 5‘s temperature sensor. It will push those features through future software updates for the wearables. Unfortunately, they didn’t share anything about the planned features, so it’s unclear what is in the pipeline.
We also don’t have any tentative timeline for the arrival of the said updates. Samsung is still working on the new features and could take a while before pushing them to the public. The moderator said that factors like service policies also affect the rollout of new features. They may be referring to regulatory approvals for health-tracking functions. Hence it is “difficult to provide accurate information about the detailed schedule and timing” of the upcoming temperature-based features.
The moderator’s comments came in response to a user query about how Samsung plans to use the Galaxy Watch 5’s temperature sensor beyond the menstrual cycle tracking feature. The company official added that they have forwarded the query to the relevant department so they can work on the feedback and expedite the development where possible. We will let you know if we get a follow-up on this from the Korean firm or when the said updates arrive.
Samsung doesn’t utilize Galaxy Watch features to their full potential
Samsung equipped its Galaxy Watch 5 series with an infrared-based temperature sensor. However, the added hardware wasn’t utilized out of the box. It took the company about eight months to finally make the sensor count, though menstrual cycle tracking isn’t useful for everyone. The Korean firm doesn’t even let users manually measure their body temperature using this sensor, something the latest Apple watches can do.
Samsung similarly underutilizes its ECG functionality as well. The health-tracking feature is only available in select markets. Of course, these kinds of features require regulatory approvals. But once again, Apple does a better job at it than the Korean behemoth. Hopefully, Samsung will realize this sooner than later and utilize Galaxy Watch sensors and features to their full potential.