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In this weekly column, Android Central Fitness Editor Michael Hicks talks about the world of wearables, apps, and fitness technology related to running and health in his quest to get faster and fitter.
Samsung’s 2024 device lineup is poised to cater to sporty users in a way not seen from Samsung since the last Galaxy Active Watch, with revamped health apps and fitness tools. The question is, will Samsung’s major push into AI, and devices like the Galaxy Ring, be enough to make Samsung competitive in the fitness space again, or does it need to go even further? about it.
When I reviewed the Galaxy Watch 6 last year, I criticized Samsung’s fitness efforts, mainly because the health and GPS data were spotty. While Apple and Google focused on improving their Apple Fitness Plus and Fitbit Premium watches in 2023, Samsung’s efforts feel more perfunctory and outdated.
Now my attitude towards Samsung has (tentatively) reversed. My colleagues think Galaxy AI will be a “great disruption,” and they’re probably right. But I’ve seen how brands like Garmin, Amazfit, and Fitbit are using algorithms behind the scenes to guide athletes’ training. bigger Brands with more machine learning know-how will be able to enter the competition.
If Samsung plays its cards right, athletes might get more excited about the company’s wearables.
Samsung’s 2024 fitness hardware plans
We know the Galaxy Ring is coming sometime in 2024. I already gushed about the potential of the Ring in last week’s column, so I don’t want to retread old ground here, but Samsung has a Smart Ring as a stylish alternative to a smartwatch for sleep and fitness tracking. Suffice it to say, there’s an opportunity for it to explode as a casual alternative.
In case you didn’t know, Samsung is planning to launch another fitness tracker, the Galaxy Fit 3, in the first half of 2024. Arriving nearly four years after the Fit 2, the Fit 3 may feature a wider AMOLED display and better battery life than the Fit. 2. More importantly, it signals Samsung’s renewed focus on fitness-focused users, and the Fit 3 should offer a more sophisticated software experience than the usual budget fitness trackers.
And, of course, the Galaxy Watch 7 is coming this summer. And you’ll definitely receive the “My Vitality Score” metric revealed in Galaxy Unpacked. Similar to Fitbit’s Daily Readiness and Garmin’s Body Battery, it uses your health and sleep data to determine your ability to work out (or function normally) that day. If you’re overly stressed or the AI algorithm is the culprit, you’ll get a “booster card” warning. I believe you didn’t sleep well.
We also assume that Samsung will switch to the Galaxy Watch 7 Pro after last year’s Watch 6 Classic. Like the Watch 5 Pro, battery life should last for several days, and one of the main complaints athletes have with regular smartwatches is that the battery can run out in the middle of a workout. balance.
Finally, Samsung’s unnamed mixed reality headset is expected to arrive sometime in 2024. Supposedly called “Samsung Glasses,” this headset is aimed at competing with the Apple Vision Pro for serious VR fans.
Why bring it up here? Because fitness apps of The killer feature that helped sell tens of millions of Oculus Quest 2 and Quest 3 units. People love to immerse themselves in his VR world to burn calories, so if Samsung can appeal to the same home exercise fans, the headset’s chances of success will greatly increase. We’ve also seen patent evidence that Samsung is using its smart ring as a VR controller, and the Galaxy Ring can also track calories burned and hand movements during workouts or active games.
Galaxy AI could revolutionize training
My hype about the Galaxy Ring aside, I know that Samsung probably doesn’t pack groundbreaking fitness technology into low-cost trackers like the Galaxy Fit 3 all that often. And I suspect they will try to market the Samsung XR headset as a “serious headset.” ” device, so I’m not sure if a fun fitness app will be part of the equation.
Samsung saves its best fitness tricks for the Galaxy Watch 7 and 7 Pro. So far, we know that it will probably run Wear OS 5 and use a 3nm Exynos W940 chip, but there have been no concrete rumors regarding its fitness so far. You may know that Samsung is working on non-invasive blood sugar monitoring, but it may be years before it becomes a reality.
So what do I want from Samsung Health and its wearables this year? Let’s start with the big one. Galaxy Coach “AI” to guide you through your workouts.
The Galaxy Watch 6 added tools that other watches already offered, like personalized heart rate zones and VO2 Max data, but the Galaxy Watch 7 could go even further. Fitbit uses a metric equivalent to “My Vitality Score” and his VO2 Max to recommend active zone times to work out that day. Why couldn’t Samsung do the same?
At this point, the Galaxy Watch 6’s “running coach” doesn’t deserve the name. It’s a guided workout tool that takes you through several paces, most of which are slow. There’s also a running program from the couch to 5K or 10K, where he recommends three runs a week for two months, increasing in difficulty over time. However, it doesn’t allow you to adjust your pace based on your personal progress and ability like Garmin Coach can.
What if instead, Galaxy AI could analyze your past runs and generate a specific pace and length customized to your current ability and vitality score? It will be a tool that offers something that the Apple Watch doesn’t (yet) have.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro supported offline GPX root downloads, a unique feature that was not included in the Watch 6 series. Aside from this tool returning to the Watch 7 Pro, my hope is that Samsung offers more “pro” fitness tools for this model in the summer.
We also hope that Samsung can improve the algorithm that registers health data. By the way, the Fitbit Charge 6 has a Google-backed algorithm to get better readings during “intense” workouts when the sensor isn’t flush with your wrist, and in my testing the results are pretty It was reliable. The Galaxy Watch 6 struggled with data collection, but that’s an issue that Galaxy AI can fix behind the scenes if Samsung makes an effort.
Of course, being a runner, I also focus on running tools. A colleague of mine told me how he uses his Galaxy Watch to keep track of his reps at a particular gym. Samsung also has a fitness program for indoor training. They are often aimed at beginners and are not very detailed or accurate.
Just as I asked Garmin to improve indoor training by recommending a list of exercises based on muscle maps and past activity levels, my hope is that Samsung will use Galaxy AI to improve indoor training. Being able to offer something similar. You have to be careful with the AI, as it could encourage someone to lift more than they’re capable of and hurt themselves, but in theory it could be useful as a motivational tool.
Samsung now offers a “Mirror View” tool that uses your smartphone’s camera to display your current form on your Samsung TV during your workout to see if you’re doing it correctly. The next logical step is to use Galaxy AI to analyze your forms in real time. Score That way, you’ll know if you need to improve your squat or downward dog.
Samsung has recently put more emphasis on turning TVs into cloud gaming hubs. But Samsung Health could become even more appealing than before if it leverages partnerships with TV and fitness apps and works with Galaxy AI to recommend workouts.
My guess is that Samsung’s Galaxy AI efforts will be focused on the Galaxy S24 series for now. The Galaxy Watch 7 and 7 Pro should be the best Android smartwatches on the market, but there’s still no evidence that the smaller wearable chipsets are capable of on-device AI tricks.
Still, I suspect Samsung Health’s “My Vitality Plus” is just the beginning of fitness-focused AI tricks. There’s a good reason for that.
Samsung has seen Apple Fitness+ gain 750 million subscribers as of 2022 (via CNET) and be on track to earn billions of dollars by 2025 (via Apple Insider ). Sync between your Apple TV box, Apple Watch health data, and his Apple Music playlist for workouts makes Fitness+ appealing.
That’s what Samsung should do. Build a fitness ecosystem that works together to help you become healthier. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a Galaxy Ring, Fit, Watch, or Samsung TV, as long as the Galaxy AI algorithm supports all the features at the same time and helps you find ways to be more active every day. .
We know that Samsung is considering whether to charge for its Galaxy AI services.If Samsung continues down that path, it needs to start developing Galaxy AI value I am paying for. Most of the early Galaxy AI tricks are cool but niche, like S Pen note organization and phone live translation. But training? everyone It works, and most people are willing to pay to be healthier.
Samsung, you have a real fitness opportunity here. Don’t let us down!