Ahead of its Galaxy Unpacked event taking place on August 10, Samsung’s executive vice president has teased Galaxy Watches for people with a “passion for the outdoors” and who want to “work towards the best version of themselves.”
While it’s not clear if these statements are about the rumored Galaxy Watch 5 specifically, they suggest that Samsung is developing a smartwatch that’s more of a rival to one of the best Garmin watches than the Apple Watch 7.
Following rumors that Apple is itself developing an Apple Watch 8 Rugged that is set to launch alongside the upcoming Apple Watch 8, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Samsung also diversify its wearables portfolio to appeal to a broader range of customers.
A Galaxy Watch just for you
As the blog post (opens in new tab) by executive vice president TaeJong Jay Yang (who is also Samsung’s head of the Health R&D team) explains, everyone has a different idea of what it means to be healthy. For some people, it’s just about hitting a daily step goal and getting in a little movement, while for others it's about demolishing last week’s PB to reach new levels of physical performance.
Yang adds that Samsung’s goal is to make tech that allows people to achieve their own personal goals, whatever they happen to be.
For people with more subtle goals, something like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 will probably provide more than enough to meet your needs. There’s basic step counting and GPS tracking to log how far you’ve walked, and the BioActive Sensor can track your heart rate and sleep patterns to give you a solid overview of key health factors.
However, the sensor's data collection and presentation might even be too much for your average user, with features like body composition monitoring being better suited to people with more ambitious health targets. The Galaxy Watch might not quite meet all the needs of a fitness fanatic, though, as those of you that like heading into the outdoors will want a fitness tracker than can better withstand a beating – and has longer-lasting battery life.
As such, Samsung appears to have plans to launch a more diverse array of watches, with Yang saying as much, “Samsung is excited to continue expanding our Galaxy Watch lineup to better cater to the many unique needs of our users.”
We’ll have to wait and see what Samsung announces, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it launch several watches at once; with a more budget-friendly device that has cut-back capabilities dropping alongside a more rugged, more feature-packed, and more expensive alternative.
Looking for a new wearable today? Check out our picks for the best fitness trackers of 2022
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