Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 rolls out blood pressure monitoring in South Korea

After receiving the green light from South Korea's drug safety agency, Samsung is now rolling out its blood pressure monitor feature to the Galaxy Watch Active 2 via a firmware update. The move means the smartwatch can now keep track of its wearer's heart rhythm via its ECG sensor and blood pressure. But it's currently limited to the said country. While it might not be available here, this update gives us a glimpse of what the Galaxy Watch Active 2 can do.

To get this feature to work, the wearer needs to calibrate with the watch with a traditional cuff-style blood pressure monitor. Afterwards, the smartwatch uses pulse wave analysis to keep track of the wearer's blood pressure. Calibration needs to be done every four weeks to ensure accuracy. The readings will be synced to the watch's accompanying Samsung Health app, where users can track their data over days, weeks, and months. The information can then be shared directly with their healthcare provider if they want. 

Source: Engadget

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 ECG and Fall Detection features expected to land in the US in Q1 2020

The features that will boost the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 as an Apple Watch competitor might be on the horizon, at least in the US. The smartwatch's ECG and Afib notifications, as well as Fall Detection, are awaiting FDA approval. A new report from SamMobile gives a rough timeline when Samsung might be able to roll out the features. Both the ECG and Fall Detection are expected to come in the first quarter of 2020. The former will be around February 2020, while Fall Detection will get a "much wider roll out" at some point in the first quarter of next year. The rollout of these features rely on passing local regulations, so we can't say yet if and when it'll make its way here. 

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 Bluetooth edition is available for pre-order now with a starting price of $369.99. You can pre-order at Samsung stores, on the company's site, or at major retailers. For every pre-order made until September 24th, Samsung will offer a bonus Wireless Battery Pack (which usually retails for $79.99). The LTE edition, on the other hand, will be available for pre-order starting September 27th.