When it comes to health, small changes can make a big difference. Every incremental improvement to daily habits contribute to a healthier whole, and the upcoming One UI 8 Watch is designed to help build these habits more effectively through a suite of new features that support sleep, heart health, fitness and nutrition.
What’s New:
New features1 include Bedtime Guidance2 to optimize sleep; Vascular Load3 to measure stress on the vascular system during sleep; Running Coach4 to support personalized training strategies; and Antioxidant Index5 to measure carotenoid levels for healthy aging. These features — part of One UI 8 Watch on the latest Galaxy Watch series — will be available to a limited number of users through a beta program.6
Why it Matters:
The goal of these new features is to help build healthier daily habits — which can be challenging as they don’t develop overnight. It takes time to form lasting behavior patterns, and meaningful change often becomes visible only after sustained effort. But the rewards are worth it.
For example, while eating unhealthy food may not have an immediate impact, it can lead to significant health consequences over time. Conversely, healthy habits may not produce instant results, but they often contribute to long-term physical and mental well-being.
“Sleep remains a cornerstone of our approach to health as it influences physical and mental well-being, social relationships and even work performance,” said Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Health Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics. “Now, we envision the Galaxy Watch delivering holistic insights centered around sleep — insights that lead to meaningful changes in daily life. We believe this aligns with our vision of empowering people to lead healthier lives through proactive care and holistic health management.”
New Features
Samsung Health’s new features are designed to help users build healthy habits by providing instant feedback as a motivating tool.
Bedtime Guidance
A single night of restful sleep offers immediate health benefits, encouraging proactive behavioral changes that contribute to a healthier tomorrow. This begins with setting and maintaining a consistent, optimal bedtime.
- Samsung continually advances its sleep-related features, including sleep pattern analysis, sleep coaching, tools for optimizing sleep environments and a feature that detects signs of sleep apnea7 — a common sleep disorder.
- Now, Samsung is introducing additional tools for better sleep, such as recommending an optimal bedtime based on individual lifestyle and sleep patterns along with reminders to help users stay consistent.
- By analyzing sleep data from the past three days, the feature evaluates both sleep pressure and circadian rhythm to suggest a bedtime that maximizes alertness the next day.
- This feature is especially helpful for those recovering from periods of irregular sleep. If users go to bed later than planned for several days or follow inconsistent schedules between weekdays and weekends, Bedtime Guidance will consider these factors to help ensure sufficient rest.
Vascular Load
Sleep is a window into overall health, influencing holistic well-being. The Galaxy Watch series leverages this opportunity to measure vascular load — the amount of stress on the vascular system during sleep.
- The vascular system carries blood throughout the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients while removing waste, making it a key indicator of heart health.
- During sleep, stress on the vascular system should naturally decrease. However, excessive fluctuations may negatively impact cardiovascular health.
- By wearing the Galaxy Watch during sleep, users can receive insights into vascular load and the stress placed on their vascular system.
- Because health factors are interconnected, Vascular Load also provides insight into lifestyle components such as sleep, exercise and stress — helping users maintain a healthier routine and build positive habits.
Running Coach
While sleep is a vital time to restore and support overall health, managing well-being during active moments is equally important. Running is one of the most accessible fitness activities, and Samsung has long supported runners by offering features that promote consistent training and help users reach their fitness goals.
- Many runners experience injuries due to over-pacing or undertraining. Running Coach is designed to help users train safely for marathons through optimized intensity and injury-preventive routines, making it ideal for beginners.
- The feature offers motivation and real-time guidance, creating a personalized training program based on the runner’s fitness level.
- By wearing the Galaxy Watch and running for 12 minutes, users receive a performance analysis and a running level score from 1 to 10. Based on this data, a detailed training plan is generated to support completion of a 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon. As users complete sessions, they level up and unlock their next running challenge.
Antioxidant Index
A holistic approach to health naturally includes a focus on aging and healthy aging. However, behavioral factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking, UV exposure, stress and lack of sleep can accelerate aging by increasing free radicals in the body that damage cells. Antioxidants, compounds found in many healthy foods, neutralize these free radicals to help prevent chronic illness and support healthy aging.
- The Galaxy Watch can measure carotenoids — antioxidants found in green and orange fruits and vegetables — that are stored in the skin.
- Antioxidant Index uses an industry-first feature to assess carotenoid levels in just five seconds via an advanced, light-activated BioActive Sensor.
- These insights can reflect behavioral changes. For example, drinking carrot juice may result in a measurable change in the index, offering motivation to adopt healthier habits.
Great health comes from the combination of many small changes — and with Galaxy Watch, it’s now more achievable than ever.
1 Samsung Health features are intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. The measurements are for personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. A Samsung account login is required. Vascular Load, Running Coach and Antioxidant Index are available on Android phones (Android 10 or above) and require the Samsung Health app (v6.30.2 or later). Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index are Labs features that can be previewed before official launch. These experimental features can be turned off in Samsung Health settings.
2 Not intended for use in the detection, diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition or sleep disorder. Bedtime Guidance is available on Android phones (Android 11 and above) and requires the Samsung Health app (v6.30.2 or later). Based on three days of sleep analysis of the user’s sleep pressure and circadian rhythm.
3 Service only available with the Galaxy Watch Ultra or later released Galaxy Watch series. To use Vascular Load, users need to wear the Galaxy Watch while sleeping for at least three days out of the most recent 14 days.
4 Service only available with the Galaxy Watch7 series or later released Galaxy Watch series. To use Running Coach, users need to take a running level test and get a level before starting the program.
5 Service only available with the Galaxy Watch Ultra or later released Galaxy Watch series. To measure, place a finger on the sensor located on the back of the device and hold for five seconds. While Antioxidant Index can be measured using any finger, the thumb is recommended for the most accurate results. Repeated measurements due to uneven skin texture may lead to inaccurate results.
6 Users based in Korea and the United States with Galaxy Watch models (Galaxy Watch5 series or later released Galaxy Watch series) are eligible to join the beta program.
7 The Sleep Apnea feature is an over-the-counter (OTC), software-only mobile medical application operating on compatible Galaxy Watch series models and Galaxy smartphones. This feature is intended to detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in the form of significant breathing disruptions in adult users age 22 and older over a two-night monitoring period. The feature is designed for on-demand use and not intended for individuals previously diagnosed with sleep apnea. Users should not rely on this feature as a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment by a qualified healthcare provider. The data provided by this device is not intended to assist clinicians in diagnosing sleep disorders. Availability may vary by market, carrier, model or a paired smartphone.
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