Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2 represents the Korean company’s biggest push into health tracking. It has Samsung’s most accurate smartwatch health sensor with 8 photodiodes, double the number on the original Galaxy Watch Active, and an ECG sensor. These new sensors were added to support two of the smartwatch’s headlining features: ECG and blood pressure monitoring. However, neither feature is actually available on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 yet since Samsung needs to clear regulatory hurdles before they can enable them. After months of waiting, Samsung has announced they are getting ready to launch ECG monitoring on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 after the feature was approved in South Korea.
In a press release, Samsung announced that the South Korean MFDS, or Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, gave Samsung clearance to activate both blood pressure tracking and ECG monitoring onto the Galaxy Watch Active 2. This will enable users in the country to monitor their blood pressure for irregularities such as high blood pressure (hypertension) as well as their heart rhythm for atrial fibrillation (Afib), which are two of the leading causes of strokes. It is worth noting that Samsung says these features are not to be used to detect heart attacks.
Samsung only expects to release the Health Monitor app for the Active 2 sometime during the third quarter of the year. It also can’t make the ECG feature available in other countries until it receives approval from relevant government agencies. You could be waiting a while longer to use the feature in your part of the world. Future Galaxy Watches will have the app as well, mind you, and this is one of the few opportunities to run ECG tests on an Android-friendly smartwatch.
