Next Galaxy Watch, and maybe Buds too, will allegedly be able to take your temperature
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was quite a big upgrade, thanks to the new Wear OS platform, a fresh design, and new health features, and the first concrete Galaxy Watch 5 leak suggests it might also be more than just an incremental upgrade.
Korea's ETNews reports that Samsung's next watch will come with a thermometer function, which most consumers will likely appreciate, given how common temperature monitoring has become. The Galaxy Watch 4 was the first major smartwatch to come with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and it also has ECG (electrocardiogram) and blood pressure features, but only the former is FDA-cleared.
In addition to that, the wearable offers activity and sleep and stress tracking. The report says we haven't seen the thermometer feature on the Samsung Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch Series yet because the body temperature could also be impacted by external factors, such as direct exposure to sunlight, or things such as exercising.
These things have apparently been taken care of by Samsung and it is said that the Korean giant has developed a technology that allows it to measure body temperature as accurately as possible. This would allow consumers to use the watch to detect virus symptoms and may also help them manage colds and the female ovulation cycle.
A September 2021 Wall Street Journal had made similar predictions about the next Apple Watch. Apparently, the Watch 8 will include a thermometer that may help with fertility planning. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also thinks that Apple's next flagship watch will have a body temperature feature. He had earlier cast doubt about the feature making it into the watch, saying in January that "chatter about it has slowed down recently."
Back to the Galaxy Watch 5, not much else is known about Samsung's next wearable, which if last year is any indication, will be revealed in August alongside the company's next foldable phones and new Galaxy buds wireless earphones. Samsung is also thinking about adding the thermometer function to the buds. The idea is to measure temperature by detecting the infrared wavelengths emitted from the eardrum towards the earbuds.
Honor's recently revealed Earbuds 3 Pro can also take your temperature, and there was also chatter that Apple was considering adding the feature to the AirPods.
The Galaxy Watch 4 is one of the best smartwatches around and whether Samsung will be able to outdo itself, while simultaneously outshining the Apple Watch Series 8 and the rumored Pixel Watch, which is expected to have a faster Google Assistant and a whole lot of storage, remains to be seen.
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