Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active 2 has been certified by Korea's Food and Drug Safety Department (MFDS) and can now measure a person's blood pressure.
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is understood to work by reading input data from a wearable heart rate sensor and comparing it to pre-calibrated values measured via a traditional cufflink-based blood pressure monitoring system.
For many, Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active line of smartwatches is a better option than the Apple Watch. The Galaxy Watch Active 2, in particular, is quite feature-rich.
Like most fitness-centered wearables, it can track a large number of physical parameters. Now, it can also measure a person's blood pressure.
Samsung just announced that South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has approved the Galaxy Watch Active 2 as a device that can measure blood pressure. This will likely be done through a new app on the phone that feeds into the wearable's existing heart rate sensor data.
There are a few extra steps before you can use the Galaxy Watch Active 2 to measure your blood pressure.
First, you'll need to enter at least three readings using a traditional cufflink blood pressure monitor. You can also find more information on the calibration process in the attached video.
Second, Samsung relies on what it calls "pulse wave analysis" to convert data from the heart rate sensor into systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
While the South Korean government has approved the Galaxy Watch Active 2 as a blood pressure monitoring tool, it will take some time for the feature to be rolled out in the country.
And it may take longer before it goes on sale globally, as the Galaxy Watch Active 2 has to be approved by national health authorities.
Samsung said the app will be available to all users in the third quarter of 2020.