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You might soon have to pay to get the most out of your Galaxy Watch

New features are coming with the Galaxy Watch 8, but don’t be surprised if some get locked behind a paywall.

By Tsveta Ermenkova

Published: Jun 18, 2025, 4:52 AM

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A hand with Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 on it.

Galaxy Watch 7. | Image credit – PhoneArena

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup already comes packed with a solid set of health and fitness tools – but that is not stopping the company from expanding even further.

Just recently, Samsung confirmed a wave of new health-focused features coming with its next-gen Galaxy Watch 8 series. The goal? Helping users improve their sleep, heart health, fitness and nutrition with more personalized insights.

But there is something else happening behind the scenes, too. For the first time, Samsung is starting to flirt with the idea of turning parts of its Samsung Health platform into a paid experience. Yep, a premium subscription might be on the way.

In an interview, Samsung’s digital health chief, Dr. Hon Pak, said the company is seriously considering adding a paid tier to Samsung Health – something along the lines of Garmin Connect Plus or Fitbit Premium. The latter, for example, offers users things like in-depth health analytics, personalized recommendations, guided workouts and more.

Samsung didn’t go into detail about which features might eventually end up behind a paywall, but the timing of the announcement lines up with the One UI 8 Watch update, expected to arrive publicly alongside the Galaxy Watch 8 launch next month.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, the signs are pointing toward a subscription model with a monthly fee. The basics – like standard health and fitness tracking – should still be free for everyone. But the deeper insights and some of the advanced tools? Those could be part of the paid plan.

So far, the new health update brings four key features: Antioxidant Index, Bedtime Guidance, Running Coach and Vascular Load. But not every feature will be available on every watch. For example, Antioxidant Index and Vascular Load are exclusive to the Galaxy Watch Ultra and you’ll need at least the Galaxy Watch 7 to use the new Running Coach.

These are the new health features Samsung revealed. | Image credit – Samsung

And while brand-new Galaxy Watch owners might get access to some of these features for free, folks using older models could be nudged toward the subscription route. Of course, we will have to wait and see how Samsung plays this.

As for pricing, if we look at what others charge – $6.99/month for Garmin Connect Plus and $9.99/month for Fitbit Premium – I would guess Samsung’s offering would probably land somewhere in that range, too.

Would you pay for a premium Samsung Health subscription?

Yes – if the features are worth it. Maybe – depends on what’s free vs paid. Nope – basic health tracking is enough for me. I already pay for a different health platform.

This shift to subscriptions wouldn’t be a total surprise. Samsung already said its Galaxy AI features will stay free until the end of 2025, which strongly hints at another paid tier coming after that.

And honestly, we are all kind of used to this model by now, right? Whether it is Netflix, Spotify, cloud storage or even AI tools like ChatGPT, subscriptions are everywhere these days.

So, is Samsung Health the next app to join your monthly bill? Probably. But let’s see what exactly the company decides to lock behind that paywall.

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Tsveta, a passionate technology enthusiast and accomplished playwright, combines her love for mobile technologies and writing to explore and reveal the transformative power of tech. From being an early follower of PhoneArena to relying exclusively on her smartphone for photography, she embraces the immense capabilities of compact devices in our daily lives. With a Journalism degree and an explorative spirit, Tsveta not only provides expert insights into the world of gadgets and smartphones but also shares a unique perspective shaped by her diverse interests in travel, culture, and visual storytelling.

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