Samsung finally lets us galaxy watch users measure blood pressure
After years of waiting, and a frustratingly long delay, Samsung has flipped the switch, unlocking blood pressure monitoring for Galaxy Watch owners in the United States. The feature, available through the Samsung Health Monitor app, promises to bring a vital health tool to wrists across the nation – but the journey to get here has been anything but smooth.
A six-year wait and a sea of frustration
The saga began way back in 2020 when Samsung first introduced blood pressure monitoring on the Galaxy Watch Active 2. Remarkably, the functionality has been available in over 70 countries for years – even Canada, a neighbor to the US. Meanwhile, American users were left scratching their heads, buying Galaxy Watches specifically for this feature, only to find it locked behind a wall of regulatory hurdles and silence from Samsung.
The CDC estimates that nearly 120 million adults in the US grapple with high blood pressure, a condition that demands vigilant monitoring. To watch their counterparts in other countries access this capability while they were left in the dark fueled considerable frustration, voiced loudly in Samsung community forums.
The reason for the prolonged delay? A murky combination of FDA scrutiny and, some argue, a lack of aggressive advocacy from Samsung’s side. Regardless of the root cause, the lack of transparency – the absence of timelines, updates, and consistent communication – is what truly stung users.
How samsung's feature stacks up: a practical approach
While Apple beat Samsung to the punch with its own FDA-cleared hypertension detection feature on the Apple Watch in 2022, the approaches are fundamentally different. Apple’s system is passive, monitoring blood vessel patterns over 30-day periods and alerting users to potential issues. Samsung's offering, in contrast, provides real, actionable data: systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, alongside heart rate, gathered using the watch’s built-in sensors. You’ll need an upper arm blood pressure cuff (sold separately) for calibration every 28 days, but for those seriously tracking their cardiovascular health, the trade-off is well worth it.
The key distinction lies in the utility: actual readings offer far more value than a vague warning.
A caveat for non-samsung users
There’s a catch, however. Blood pressure monitoring on the Galaxy Watch requires pairing with a Samsung Galaxy phone running Android 12 or higher. This isn’t a design choice, but rather a requirement dictated by FDA compliance. It is a limitation potential buyers need to be aware of.
Samsung has also hinted at the arrival of passive blood pressure monitoring – a feature that would track trends over time without manual measurements – later this year. This could further enhance the Galaxy Watch’s health-tracking capabilities.
Finally available, Samsung's blood pressure monitoring arrives as a testament to persistence. But more importantly, it's a tangible benefit for Galaxy Watch users—a welcome addition that now allows the smartwatch to truly deliver on its potential for proactive health management.