As with phones, Apple and Samsung make some of the best smartwatches, but it looks like the two brands could soon offer many of the same features in their wearables, as Samsung is rumored to be adding some Apple Watch 4 features to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, including an ECG.
An ECG (also known as an electrocardiogram) goes beyond just reading a heartbeat, to reading the rhythm, so it can be used to detect irregularities including signs of atrial fibrillation.
According to sources speaking to SamMobile, this feature will be present on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and will allow users to manually take a reading, as well as occasionally running in the background, so it can send you warnings without you having to proactively take readings.
- See what we think of the original Galaxy Watch Active
- These are the best smartwatches
- Check out the best fitness trackers
Another life-saver
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 will also apparently offer a fall detection feature, which is another thing Apple offers. This would apparently cause the watch to vibrate when it detects a hard fall as well as – more importantly – displaying an alert on the screen, with an option to call the emergency services with a single tap.
And if the alert isn’t dismissed after a set period of time, it would automatically place the call, as well as sending messages to the user’s emergency contacts. It’s a feature which could be especially useful to elderly or infirm users.
Of course, these are just rumors for now, and in the case of the ECG it may not be available everywhere at launch even if these rumors are right, as Samsung would need to get regulatory approval for the feature.
But they’re handy features to have, so it would make sense for Samsung to add them, giving people who don’t want to be locked into Apple’s ecosystem the option to access similar tools.
We now have a good idea of what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, with earlier rumors pointing to the watch coming in both 40mm and 44mm sizes, and with optional LTE connectivity.
What we don’t know is when the wearable will land, but Samsung has hinted that other devices might be announced at the Samsung Galaxy Note 10’s launch on August 7, so that’s our best guess for now.
- On a budget? Check out our guide to the best cheap smartwatches
