Samsung Electronics brings menstrual cycle tracking to Galaxy Watch5

Samsung Electronics Co.‘s Galaxy Watch5 [Photo provided by Samsung Electronics]

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to bring advanced temperature-based menstrual cycle tracking capabilities to its smartwatches in the local market ahead of Apple Inc.

The company announced on Thursday that it would offer advanced temperature-based period tracking features to its Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch5 Pro. To this end, the company began to upgrade its Samsung Health app on the same day, starting with the Bluetooth model of the Galaxy Watch5 Series.

The achievement was made possible by combining Samsung’s sensor technology with Swedish-based birth control app Natural Cycles’s innovative fertility technology. Natural Cycles developed the world‘s first app equipped with a temperature-based menstrual cycle tracking algorithm which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018.

The temperature sensor installed in the Galaxy Watch5 measures its wearers’ skin temperature while they are asleep and predicts what stage their menstrual cycle is in. In general, it is known that women’s body temperature drops slightly before ovulation and then rises when ovulation begins.

The Samsung Health app, on the other hand, informs its users of their menstrual cycle, expected ovulation date and expected fertile period, as well as displaying their measured skin temperatures in a graph. It also provides useful tips for the menstrual cycle stage when users enter their symptoms and moods through its daily recording function to help users manage their symptoms, including through meditation and stretching.

The Galaxy Watch5 Series uses a non-contact infrared temperature sensor for more accurate readings and the measured data and information are encrypted and stored safely on the user‘s device, according to the company.

“Samsung’s holistic view of wellness has been further advanced by our sensor innovations, delivering in-depth health insights that empower users,” said Hon Pak, head of Digital Health Team at Mobile eXperience (MX) Division. “The new infrared temperature sensor on the Galaxy Watch5 broadens our whole health offerings, providing more convenient ways to track and understand personal health.”

Earlier, Apple also announced a plan to install a temperature sensor on its Watch Series 8, which it unveiled in August last year, to provide functions similar to Samsung’s smartwatches. The company, however, did not follow the procedures required to provide such functions in Korea. The company reportedly asked the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT about its regulatory sandbox review to provide the functions in Korea. Regulatory sandbox refers to a system that exempts or suspends existing regulations for a certain period of time when a company releases new products and services and regulates them post-mortem if there is a problem.