Samsung Is Already Taking Shots at Apple Watch’s Blood Oxygen Woes

Samsung only has two days to hype watch fans up about its next lineup of foldables and health-centric wearables, which we expect will debut at Samsung Unpacked 2024. To entice folks about the Galaxy Watch 7 and rumored Galaxy Watch Ultra, the Korean tech giant has decided to jab directly at Apple’s newly reported struggles to develop health monitoring tech for the Apple Watch 10.

On Sunday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote that Apple Watch 10 may suffer delays as the company tries to sort out its upcoming health sensing feature. Apple is trying to craft a sensor for high blood pressure, but anonymous sources told Gurman it “hasn’t been as reliable as hoped.” The feature might only give a vague impression of your overall blood pressure, not a specific or accurate reading.

On Monday, Samsung teased its next Galaxy Watch’s health and wellness features by proclaiming its new “BioActive Sensor” was more compact with combined photodiodes and still more effective by expanding the number of LEDs. In a release, the Galaxy Watch maker claimed the sensor can “more accurately measure health metrics such as heart rate, sleep quality, blood oxygen levels, and stress levels.”

The new watch should include an “Advanced Glycation End Products Index,” giving an overall impression of how your current diet and lifestyle affect your metabolic health. The next watch has more health monitoring features, though, at the very least, the company claims heart rate monitoring will be 30% more accurate than the Watch 6.

Samsung might be hanging on Gurman’s word as much of the rest of Apple’s admirers. That mention of blood oxygen monitoring is a pretty deep dig at Apple, which is still reeling over the ongoing kerfuffle with health tech company Masimo Corp. Masimo claimed Apple stole the company’s own blood oxygen sensing tech. The latter’s complaint with the International Trade Commission forced Apple to put an indefinite pause on its blood oxygen sensor. Gurman noted that a planned sleep apnea feature on the next Apple Watch won’t come to fruition until Apple can either settle its dispute with Masimo or make some other argument for its software in front of the ITC.

Bloomberg’s Apple guru previously touted the Watch 10 as the “Watch X,” noting how this rendition was supposed to be a big shakeup from previous renditions. The biggest addition to last year’s Apple Watch 9 was the “double tap” gesture, which, while useful, wasn’t exactly a feature to define a whole new generation of wearables. Due to these issues in developing health sensing tech, Gurman noted that Apple may push some of those Watch 10 features to 2025. It may even try to claim its 10th anniversary in 2025 rather than the slog that is 2024.

Either way, the Apple Watch Series X and Ultra 3 will still have a new chip. The touted Apple Intelligence features are still restricted to the iPhone 15 Pro and the latest M-series iPads and Macs. All the new Siri abilities will still be available on phones and iPads, and Gurman now claims we won’t see the best and biggest changes until 2025.

But hell, at least we know we’re looking at new watch sizes from both companies. The Galaxy Watch 7 may have options for 40- and 44-mm watch faces. Meanwhile, the two versions of the Series 10, whether they have an “X” in the name or not, will have larger screen sizes to choose from, according to Bloomberg. One will have a 49mm screen, like the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2.

Speaking of Ultra, Samsung will likely reveal a big new watch at Unpacked, set to rival Apple’s rugged and expensive watch model. There have been fewer rumors about a new, cheaper Samsung Watch FE, though Gurman noted the Apple Watch SE is indeed in the works. This next rendition from the Cupertino company could be even cheaper than the $250 model from 2022