Senior Engineer Kidong Hong (left) and Principal Engineer Jiyoung Kong (right)

Q. How did you come to add a fitness tracker to these Bluetooth earbuds?

Jiyoung Kong: We wanted to make the Gear IconX the most convenient choice for users to accurately measure their activity. A new, cord-free standalone device.

Because music playback is a must to keep boredom at bay during workouts, it was only natural for us to develop the Gear IconX as a combination of a music player and fitness tracker.

As a developer of S Health, I’m delighted that we now have another line of fitness trackers to add to our wristbands and smartphones. Though smartphones excel in computational functions, we usually find them bothersome while at the gym. I am glad to see more diversity in wearable devices because it will surely help us meet our users’ increasingly diversifying needs.

Q. What was the main focus when incorporating S Health support into the Gear IconX?

Kidong Hong: Although the earbuds may look simple, it took a lot of collaboration with other teams to incorporate support for fitness tracking features—such as exercise recording and heart rate measurement—while ensuring that the Gear IconX still delivered a top-rate Bluetooth listening experience.

Since we have numerous fitness tracking options available in other Samsung wearable devices and smartphones, S Health now has more sources to help users collect and optimize exercise data. So we also focused on ensuring optimal usability when the Gear IconX is connected to the app. For instance, we had many discussions regarding how the earbuds would send information to S Health and how that data would be displayed.

Q. How exactly does the Gear IconX’s fitness tracking technology work?

Kidong Hong: The Gear IconX comes with a built-in acceleration sensor and a CPU. When the sensor detects your movement, the CPU calculates speed and distance based on that information.

The device tracks walking and running by detecting how your feet leave the ground. While wristband-type fitness trackers usually measure how much your arms swing, the Gear IconX, being earbuds, does its job by noting how much your head shakes.

We set our measurement standards based on verification with a dedicated sports lab and also consulted our own database, which features relevant data we’ve gathered since launching the Gear series.

Q. What kind of information does the Gear IconX’s voice guide relay during workouts?

Kidong Hong: The voice guide tells you the duration, distance and speed of your exercise, as well as your heart rate and the number of calories you’ve burned. You can check all of this information on the S Health app.

You can choose the items you’d like to have announced, and set a time or distance interval for updates. The voice guide also notices when you’ve reached the high-intensity workout zone corresponding with your heart rate. All of these features provide users with more significant information and reinforce the Gear IconX’s extensive capabilities as a standalone fitness device.

Q. What’s the difference between using the Gear IconX on its own and with a smartphone?

Jiyoung Kong: While the Gear IconX certainly supports independent use, we have also carefully considered how it works with a smartphone. To this end, we are working on a situation-based framework to work out how to best alternate functions between the two devices, determining in which circumstances one will operate as the main fitness tracker and the other will support.

For example, when you press the Gear IconX’s button and start running, the framework prevents your smartphone from recording your activity, deeming that you clearly expressed your intention to rely on the earbuds instead. On the other hand, when you choose not to activate the Gear IconX and start walking or running, it automatically turns the fitness tracker on your smartphone on. In this case, the earbuds function as accessories to measure your heart rate.

Heart rate is certainly one of the most useful bits of information for people who enjoy working out; it serves as a sort of stamina indicator. By incorporating valuable, advanced functions into S Health, including the Program feature, which helps you get accustomed to regular exercise more easily, and Pace Goals, which offers runners guided training through different intensity zones, we tried to help people use their smartphone and wearable together to work out smarter.

More Connected

To improve usability and enhance user engagement, S Health v.5.0 features a streamlined user interface. Now, in place of a main dashboard, the app’s supported health activities are neatly organized under three tabs – Me, Together and Discover – to help users more easily manage their fitness data.

Together is dedicated to social features. It’s where users can go to find extra motivation to achieve their goals. There, Challenges and Leaderboards encourage them to engage in healthy activities with friends to reach their fitness targets. Friendly one-on-one competitions like Step Challenges and the ability to share activity data on Facebook add further motivation, engaging users work out more actively together.

Whether a user walks, runs or cycles, S Health automatically detects the type of activity being engaged in and dutifully tracks the user’s progress. In all, 44 different activities are supported, including exercise bike and step machine sessions, as well as Pilates, lunges, crunches and squats.

Want a second opinion on a fitness program? Ask Experts is a new service that enables S Health users to connect and start Q&As with healthcare professionals anytime, anywhere via text, phone, or a simple search. With it, users will be able to ask questions, find answers and get helpful advice from professional health consultants local to their country. The service is currently available in Korea, and will expand to other countries in the near future*.

More Informative and Secure

Users will find dynamic content such as healthy living and workout tips, health information and relevant news under the Discover tab. Its content is geared to help users manage their health and stay motivated, covering major topics such as fitness, weight loss, sleep, nutrition, recipes, cardio health and other vital aspects of healthy living.

S Health has also been audited by an independent third-party firm for meeting requirements in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) – U.S. federal regulations requiring stringent measures to keep protected health information (PHI) secure. Furthermore, the service is backed by Samsung’s defense-grade security platform, Samsung Knox, to provide a higher level of protection and encryption with hardware-backed credential storage.

The Knox-supported S Health app can detect malware, rooting binary and unauthorized changes on users’ phones with the Knox framework. Once such hazards are detected, S Health will be rendered inaccessible.

Samsung Knox S Health support is compatible with S Health v.5.0 or higher and enabled on Samsung Galaxy devices starting with the Galaxy Note7. S Health v.5.0 can also be used on smartphones running on Android OS 4.4 and higher.

*Availability may vary by each country and market conditions.

**All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

To continue refining and improving the user experience for Gear S2 smartwatch users, Samsung began to provide its third update from July 15.

This update is focusing on improvements of both ease of use and speed of access.

First, users now can download watchfaces and recommended apps directly from Gear S2. Direct downloads increase the speed and easy of use when users find and add content to their Gear S2, making the user experience significantly more convenient.

Another notable addition is the growing options for the Gear S2’s watchface, which is one of the most visible and defining parts of any smartwatch. Now people can use the My Photo app to set their own photos as the watchface, for customizing the look of the Gear S2 uniquely for their lives. In addition, users can choose a default watchface from one of several colorful rings, for a simple but eye-catching set of new looks.

With the update, S Health can do more to help users track their conditions, including tracking sleep data automatically when they wear the Gear S2 to bed. Users can also post their exercise results directly to Facebook from the Gear S2, making sharing their workout information easy.

The Contacts function, too, is now more convenient, as it is accessible both as an app and as a widget. User can easily make a call or send a message on the Gear S2.

For the voice recognition software, S Voice*, a useful timer has been added. Users can start, pause, resume and stop the timer, all just using S Voice. In addition, when a user asks to check messages while there are not any unread messages, S Voice automatically asks if the user wants to open the message app. And the word streaming function shows what the user is saying and updates it while he or she is talking.

Furthermore, a whole range of the Gear S2’s useful apps have been improved, to provide more information faster and more clearly. The Schedule app now adds a green dot below date with events scheduled, to make identifying appointments easier. The Weather app now includes a UV Index**, to help people keep safer from the most intense sunshine. And the World Clock features several updates, such as sunrise and sunset, time difference between other locations the local time, and a different look for the daytime versus the nighttime in the list view.

Finally, Samsung has made it easier to get support when needed. Now there is a direct Contact Us function in ‘Samsung Gear’ App, so people can get in touch with the customer center and get the help they need directly and easily.

Users can download the latest update through the Samsung Gear app when the Gear S2 and smartphone are synced.

* S Voice is supported in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

** This may differ by region.

Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of the truly cord-free earbuds, the Gear IconX, in select markets including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, Canada, Australia and Korea. The Gear IconX will then gradually be launched around the rest of the globe.

The Gear IconX offers a new fitness experience, with an in-ear heart rate monitor and standalone music player. It can track and provide instant feedback for fitness data, such as distance, speed, duration, heart rate and calories burned, and easily syncs with S Health app.

With internal storage large enough for up to 1,000 MP3s and easy-to-use controls so people can operate their music by simple tapping or swiping the earbuds, users don’t need carry a smartphone anymore to listen to music during a workout.

Featuring a lightweight, secure and comfortable fit with three different sizes of eartips and wingtips, the Gear IconX is available in three colors – black, blue and white.

In addition, the Gear IconX comes with a charging case that not only keeps your earbuds safe, but also holds for up to two additional charges that begin automatically when the earbuds are placed inside.

6:00am – Rise and shine! It may be Monday, but after a good night’s rest, I’m feeling ready to take on the week. Before I’m out of bed, I switch off the alarm on my Gear Fit2. The device is lightweight, making it comfortable to wear throughout the entire day, even when I’m sleeping. It recognizes that I’m now up and moving around, and lets me check my sleep analysis about fifteen minutes after waking up.

6:30am – There’s no better way to start the morning than with a quick bike ride along the river. And, with the Gear Fit2, I can actually enjoy the scenery, as I’ve manually activated it to keep track of my stats. All I have to do is set the target duration of my ride; the sports band then detects my movements and lets me know when I reach my goal. Its built-in GPS also tracks my route so I don’t have to.  

8:10am – After a quick shower and breakfast, I log my coffee consumption. I’m really trying to cut back on caffeine, and the sports band is a good way to keep track of how much I’m drinking coffee. Before I’m out the door, I stylize my sports band with a watch face to better match my outfit. I end up settling on Activity Sparkles—a pretty face that twinkles when I’m physically active.

8:35am – I use the half hour commute to work to read the news and update S Health on my smartphone. I use the Together feature to check the Steps challenge and Steps leaderboard updates. I see that I’ve won my latest one-on-one competition with my sister Ellie. It looks like she owes me dinner.

10:50am – It’s amazing how fast mornings in the office fly by. Sometimes, I don’t even realize how long I’ve been typing away at my computer. Fortunately, my Gear Fit2 vibrates to alert me when I’ve been sitting for too long, like now. I take a bathroom break and refill my water bottle to get moving.

12:15pm – I grab a salad for lunch and go for a walk around the neighborhood with my co-worker, Morgan. Ten minutes in, the Gear Fit2 notifies me that I’m walking at a healthy pace and automatically starts recording my walking session. Even when the sun is at its highest and brightest, the sports band’s display is clear and visible. When we conclude our walk, it automatically indicates the total walking time, distance, calories burned and average speed.

4:10pm – I’m in an important meeting when my Gear Fit2 vibrates, and a message from Sam pops up; he’s going to be late for our dinner appointment tonight. I send him a quick reply discreetly with a simple tap on the device to confirm.

6:40pm – The work day is officially over, so I head to the gym to blow off some steam. I put on my earbuds and pair them with my Gear Fit2, which I’ve already loaded with my workout playlists. Unlike other devices, I don’t even need to carry my phone, since the sports band is equipped with its own standalone music player. The high-energy songs keep me motivated during my Pilates session.

7:45pm – After my workout, I check my heart rate and tag it as an “After exercise” measurement. Monitoring my heart rate is a good way to optimize my aerobic fitness.

9:30pm – After dinner (and dessert) with Sam, I see that Ellie has shared the results of our Steps Challenge on Facebook via S Health. She has come out on top… this time. I send her a congratulatory text, promising her a tasty dinner. I appreciate having friends and family who constantly encourage me to be the healthiest I can be, and the Gear Fit2 only complements that support.

10:50pm – Before turning in for the night, I check the 24-hour Log to see how many calories I’ve burned for the day, and compare today’s activity with that of the past few days. It looks like I’m improving. I also see in my notifications that I’ve earned the floor reward for the third time this week, having climbed 10 flights of stairs.

I set the Gear Fit2 on its easy-to-use charging cradle so it can charge while I sleep. With an extensive battery life, it can last a good three to four days before recharged. I personally don’t have that kind of energy, but with a little help from my Gear Fit2, I’m slowly and surely becoming happier and healthier. Perhaps I’ll challenge someone else to a new steps challenge tomorrow, but for now, it’s bedtime.

Fitness Gets Fun

To motivate users to be more active, S Health v.4.8 adds an element of competition to your fitness routine with Together.

First of all, the game-like concept of Steps challenges enables you to create a one-on-one match with your friend. Simply select a friend to challenge, select a step target, create a name for your challenge and send the invitation.

Compete to be the first to reach the set steps target, while monitoring your step count and your opponent’s along the way. Falling behind? S Health alerts you as to how many “steps” you need to take the lead. The Steps challenges allow you to gain a more immediate sense of accomplishment, not to mention bragging rights.

Of course, you can monitor the status of all your challenges with your new Gear Fit2 from your wrist.

But the fun doesn’t end there. With the Steps leaderboard function, you can also compare your own step counts with those of your friends, your age group or all S Health users around the world.

Once activated, the comprehensive Steps leaderboard provides data from the previous seven days, such as average step count, distance and calories burned in comparison to other users. Here you can check your rank and your competitors’ step counts.

With the new S Health, you also have access to more comprehensive step count information. In addition to being able to monitor step count and distance walked data from each individual source—like your smartphone or wearable device—you can also estimate your total step count with the All steps option. Should you enable All steps, your total number of steps across all devices and select third-party apps will be displayed in the Steps Tracker and the S Health widget.

Ultimate Organization

The S Health update also features a faster and simpler way to record various activity data. Now, with the Detect Workouts function, the app can automatically detect and log your running, cycling, walking and hiking sessions that occur for at least 10 minutes. Turning on the Auto Pause setting will also improve tracking accuracy, as it will recognize when you stop your exercise session.

Customizing the S Health dashboard has never been easier with the more organized Trackers management list, which is now arranged in two different sections.

Exercises are now listed separately from general health measurements such as weight and caffeine intake. From the Exercises list, you can select from more than 40 types of exercise that you’d like to manage, ranging from Hula-hooping to Push-ups to Yoga. With these added exercise options, you can customize the Trackers on the S Health dashboard based on your fitness preferences, and record individual workouts more accurately.

For a more generalized overview, the updated My page keeps track of your weekly activities by displaying a detailed weekly summary, rewards received, program history and a compilation of personal bests. Using this accumulated data, the app will suggest goals and targets to work towards in the future.

Quick and Accurate Heart Rate Monitoring

You can now also measure your heart rate quickly, wherever, whenever, without having to launch S Health. After activating the Quick Measure** feature, simply place a finger on the heart rate sensor and set the device facedown to complete the reading.

Heart rate information, along with other data such as blood pressure measurements and glucose levels can be exported as HTML, XLS and PDF files with a simple tap.

Not only can you track more types of exercise, and have fun while doing it, but the enhanced layout of the app also makes it easier to personalize and navigate the S Health dashboard. The pinch-zoom function can adjust the screen grid according to your preference, improving the overall user experience.

S Health can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Apps. The app is compatible with all Samsung smartphones since Galaxy S3, as well as select non-Samsung Android devices.***

* Gear Fit2 pairs with smartphones running on Android OS 4.4 and higher with over 1.5GB RAM.

** Quick Measure operates with Android 6.0 when activated. Not compatible with Galaxy S5 and Alpha.

*** The latest update of S Health is compatible with the Galaxy S6, Note5 and S7.

All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

The Gear Fit2 features an embedded GPS and a heart rate monitor (HRM) that offer accurate and robust fitness tracking and measurement, while providing instant feedback on the user’s workout. The Gear IconX are truly cord-free earbuds that can track fitness information and provide users with feedback on their running performance. Both the Gear Fit2 and Gear IconX are optimized to benefit users’ various fitness levels, whether they are training for a marathon or taking a daily stroll through the neighborhood.

“Living a healthy lifestyle is a top priority for consumers to enjoy fulfilling lives. Our wearable technology can enhance existing routines and blend fitness and fun. The Gear Fit2 and Gear IconX are specialized to easily address these needs, ultimately allowing users to get more out of their fitness experiences and everyday activities,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics.

Gear Fit2: Advanced Features for Fitness

• Features an ergonomic, sleek and slim design for comfortable everyday use
• Provides a Super AMOLED curved display with a high-resolution color touchscreen for easy fitness monitor, or checking and responding to text message notifications
• Embedded GPS and HRM sensor for accurate data tracking of activities that fit any lifestyle
• With Auto Activity Tracking feature, users won’t have to manually activate the sports band – whether running, walking, cycling, or utilizing rowing machine or elliptical trainer
• Enables easy transfer of fitness data between S Health and other select fitness applications, and provides ‘Step Challenges,’ for 1:1 competition with your friends

• The standalone music player enables users to actively workout with motivation without the need of a mobile device

Gear IconX: A Simple and Wireless Experience

• Provides a lightweight, secure and comfortable fit with three different sizes of eartips and wingtips, and can be activated by simply placing the earbuds in the user’s ears
• Enables tracking of fitness data such as distance, speed, duration, heart rate and calories burned, and easily syncs with S Health
• Includes a Voice Guide feature that provides instant voice feedback on the user’s workout progress and provides a standalone music listening experience
• With Bluetooth capability and an internal storage that can play up to 1,000 MP3s, users can simply tap or swipe the earbuds to easily control the music

The Gear Fit2 will be available beginning June 10, 2016 and the Gear IconX will be available beginning in Q3 2016. For more product information, please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com or news.samsung.com/galaxy.

Samsung Gear Fit2 Specifications:

Samsung Gear IconX Specifications:

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

In the past, developments in skiing and snowboarding technology have often been centered on new forms of clothing, such as lightweight, breathable material, or new shells that make taking one’s boots on and off effortless. Now, however, wearables are making their mark on winter sports around the globe—a revolution catalyzed by products such as Bluetooth controlled gloves, battery-powered foot warmers and ski goggles outfitted with cameras and head-up displays (HUD).

Yet, among the devices infiltrating ski resorts and backcountry treks, the Samsung Gear S2 is perhaps the Swiss Army knife of the group, boasting a number of versatile features and tools that add convenience, safety and fun to users’ outdoor experiences.

Sleek and Sporty for Active Lifestyles

At first glance, it becomes obvious that the Gear S2’s cutting edge circular face, comfortable stainless steel body and premium finishes epitomize elegance. But don’t let its sophisticated looks fool you. This device was designed for active lifestyles, featuring an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating, which means it stays protected even if you take a fall. And with interchangeable bands and customizable watch faces, it can be personalized to match just about anyone’s style.

Furthermore, the intuitive bezel lets you navigate with ease to get to what you need without having to take off your gloves. Access important notifications at a glance, make phone calls (3G version only) and get directions, even when you leave your phone back at the ski lodge. After all, you’ve got enough equipment to keep your hands full.

Speaking of hands, the Gear S2 lets you keep them where they should be—on your ski poles. Simply activate S Voice to get the latest weather updates or manage your hydration status via S Health. You can also pair the wearable with a Bluetooth-enabled headset like the ultra-sporty Level U headphones and use voice commands to control your playlist for an even bigger adrenaline rush.
Adding to these features is the device’s superior battery capacity. Lasting about three days, the wearable keeps up with you, regardless of your downhill speeds. Even if you forget to charge the Gear S2, you can switch on its Power Saving mode to extend its battery life.

Perfect Partners

In addition to the preloaded apps, the Gear S2 is also compatible with a number of other apps developed by Samsung’s partners to maximize the usability and functionality of the device. A few of them are particularly useful for outdoor winter activities.

From the moment you start your weekend winter getaway, Here for Gear (Navigator), a companion of the preloaded Here Maps app, makes it easy to find your way to your destination. Get maps and turn-by-turn directions and view each step on the screen so you can get to where you need to be quickly and effortlessly to enjoy more time in the snow.

Once you do hit the slopes, keep up with your ski buddies with Voxer. This convenient service lets you send live or recorded voice messages instantly to one person or an entire group in walkie-talkie style. Received messages can be heard directly from the Gear S2, via a paired Bluetooth device or a smartphone equipped with the app. Voxer works on any cellular or Wi-Fi network around the world.

Finally, after a long day of slope-side activities, indulge in a bit of aprés-ski with the help of Yelp. This useful app transforms the Gear S2 watch face into a spinning wheel of attractions, which makes good use of the wearable’s round screen and rotating bezel. Search for the perfect restaurant or watering hole based on your location as well as consumer-submitted reviews to complete your winter weekend getaway.

With multiple features, hands-free functions and a suite of apps perfect for winter sports enthusiasts, this sleek yet sporty device is sure to make a statement on the slopes.

And unlike other dieting and fitness apps, S Health is incredibly easy to set up and personalize on your Gear S2. Just follow these tutorials and you’ll be on track to being a healthier you in no time. To begin, open the S Health app from the apps menu on the Gear S2.

How To Track Your Movement

They say variety is the spice of life, and this also rings true when speaking of a fitness regimen. As such, the Gear S2 allows you to manually log fitness activity by type of exercise to allow for more accurate activity tracking.

1. Rotate the bezel until you reach the Exercise screen within the S Health app.
2. Tap the arrow.
3. Select your desired exercise. (For example, tap Walking.)
4. To use location-based services, tap Accept.
5. Touch the target time to adjust it, or rotate the bezel to the right to choose a distance or calorie target—or no target. (For example, rotate the bezel to the right to the distance option.)
6. Tap START.
7. You can review your stats while you exercise. To pause your workout, touch the screen. (Note: Swipe to the right to see Music or Duration, or swipe to the left to see Calories, Speed and Heart Rate.)
8. Tap FINISH.
9. To end the workout, tap the Stop icon.

How To Step to It

Walking may be the easiest way to get exercise into one’s daily routine. Just about anyone can do it. You don’t need lessons or expensive equipment. Though one complementary tool that is particularly useful, not to mention motivational, is a pedometer. Studies have shown that the combination of this step-counting tool and a personal target step goal is particularly effective.

1. In the S Health app, turn the bezel to the Settings menu and tap Settings.
2. Rotate the bezel to the right and tap Step target.
3. Rotate the bezel to set your daily step target.
4. Touch SET.
5. Press the Back button twice, then turn the bezel left to the Steps menu. It will display the number of steps you’ve walked for the day out of your daily target.
6. Tap the number and turn the bezel left to review your steps history.

How To Rock the Beat (Your Heart Beat, That Is)

For overall cardiovascular health in adults, the World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity—exercise that increases your heart rate and breathing—per week. One way to monitor the intensity of your activity is to check your heart rate against the estimated maximum heart rate for your age. The Gear S2’s heart rate monitor lets you quickly check and track yours before, during and after exercise.

1. Turn the bezel to the right until you reach the Heart rate monitor.
2. Tap the monitor icon to start the heart rate monitor. The built-in sensor on the back of the device measures your heart rate.
3. Record your heart rate by selecting a tag that describes your current state. (For example, Resting or After exercise.)
4. To view heart rate history, press the Back button. Then, tap the center of the Heart rate screen. Turn the bezel to navigate recorded history.

How To Stay Hydrated

Proper water consumption is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Not drinking enough water can lower your physical and mental performance, and lead to dehydration. Likewise, too much caffeine can cause a variety of health issues, from hypertension and dizziness to anxiety and agitation. As such, monitoring your daily intake of both water and caffeine is of the upmost importance and S Health makes the process considerably more convenient.

1. Turn the bezel until you reach the screen with the water glass or coffee mug icons.
2. Tap the plus sign to track the number of glasses of water or cups of caffeinated beverages you consume.
3. To review your water and caffeine intake, tap and hold down the icon. Turn the bezel to the left to review intake history.

How To Keep Track

When the Gear S2 recognizes that you’ve been moving for a particular amount of time, it will automatically track your increased activity as exercise and encourage you to keep it up with motivational messages. Similarly, it will notify you if you’ve been sedentary for too long and will encourage you to keep moving. In addition to this helpful feature, you can also manually track your exercise by type and time and review your activity levels for the past 24 hours.

1. Turn the bezel to the 24 hour activity screen.
2. Tap the center to see your current activity level. Tap again to see how long you’ve been at that activity level.
3. Then, rotate the bezel to the left to review activity levels for the past 24 hours, along with the amount of time you exercised, the type of exercise and your heart rate based on your input measurements.

*S Health is not intended for clinical or medical use, including diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, alleviation, compensation, cure, prevention or mitigation of any disease, ailment, defect, injury or other conditions.

Everybody has got to eat. We do it multiple times every day, year in and year out. So why are so many of us so bad at it? We pick the hamburger when we know we should be eating vegetables; we lose track of how much junk food we’ve eaten in the day; and we drink caffeine, even when it is later in the day and we should be thinking about our sleep.

But thanks to the rise of wearables and food-related apps, at last we are gaining better options for keeping track of our health and eating habits. We no longer have to rely on vague estimates and hazy recollections; now we can track what we eat as we go—and, just as importantly, what we should be eating.

Keeping Records of What We Consume

The first step in improving what we eat is knowing what we eat. And tracking our food intake is an area where devices like the Gear S2—along with Samsung’s signature smartphones, the Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5—excel.

Using apps like S Health, we can keep track of everything we eat and drink during the day. No more fooling ourselves by underestimating how many treats we eat or how few calories they contained. Now each day’s calorie count and nutritional profile can be easily and clearly calculated and tracked. And the Gear S2 even has a function for tracking our caffeine and water drinking, to make sure you’re getting enough of the latter and not too much of the former.

Sensors Understand Your Body

People have different levels of health. Some of us are in great shape and exercise all the time, while others struggle to find the time or willpower to exercise much at all. Some people need a lot of sleep, but other people seem to do just fine with just a few hours. If we can fully understand our bodies, our ability to maintain our health would improve a lot.

Fortunately, the Gear S2 has built-in sensors that can keep track of your body throughout the day. Heart rate is measured around the clock by the wearable, so we can know, minute by minute, what is happening to our bodies. This can then affect our diet—if your energy is flagging, maybe you take some time to stretch your legs and walk around, or have a healthy snack. (Of course, always check with your doctor first for all health advice).

Personalizing Your Diet

Too often, nutritional advice comes in a one-size-fits-all format, like people were all the same. But we aren’t the same. Some people are vegetarian or vegan, while others are focused on avoiding gluten or carbs in general. Some people need to avoid sodium or foods high in cholesterol or fat, and need to be careful about what they eat.

This is another area where technology can be a huge help. Not sure what’s in a certain dish? Your smartphone makes it easy to look up the ingredients online. More and more food companies are providing ever better data about the nutrients in their dishes, so details about calories, ingredients and more are available at our fingertips.

And in many locations (Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom), S Health can even offer health tips based on personalized user interests.

Setting the Table

Making the Gear S2 more effective is the large ecosystem of partner companies that make health apps for the device—many of which are integrated with S Health. There is a wide range of products available at the Galaxy App store, specializing in calorie counting, tracking carbs, diabetes-related health checking and more. And more food apps are continually appearing, giving people ever more options.

Food for Thought

From the individual level to society as a whole, food culture is undergoing major changes, and Samsung Electronics’ latest mobile devices and their health-related apps are a major part of that transformation. When it comes to health, living better begins with a better understanding of what we eat, and these apps provide all sorts of food-related help, just right for each person’s needs. As always, these benefits are the sort of innovations that come from Samsung’s relentless focus on meeting the needs of consumers.

Samsung Electronics has launched the next generation of the S Health app, which provides users with more interactive and easy-to-use health functions. The updated app will also include compatibility with non-Samsung Android devices.

S Health version 4.5 is an all-in-one companion for your healthy lifestyle. With the new S Health, users can track their everyday activities, get coaching to reach daily goals, and improve their fitness with curated programs.

With S Health, users can set goals, such as “be more active,” “eat healthier,” or “feel more rested,” and receive tips and rewards for a more interactive experience. Specific programs can also be selected to help accomplish fitness milestones, from a beginner’s first 5K to an avid runner’s 10K time goal including voice guidance to keep runners at their target pace.

Built-in sensors in the Samsung Galaxy and Gear devices will help track heart rate, steps, walking, running, cycling, hiking, sports, sleep, food, water, caffeine, weight, blood pressure, blood glucose and Sp02 so that users can easily get a comprehensive overview of their health and fitness status.

S Health supports seamless connection with Samsung’s wearables and smartphones starting from the Samsung Galaxy S3 and now supports non-Samsung Android devices as well.

What’s new in S Health version 4.5:

• Dashboard provides a quick summary of daily goals and activities. Dashboard is customizable, so users can easily set own goals, check progress, and see latest tracked values quickly and easily at a glance.
• Added health tips* based on personalizable user interest categories
• Specialized tracker features for select sports such as pace-setter, route selector, exercise summary and power saving mode
• Easier, simpler and more intuitive ways to share workouts though social networks
  • Add various social badges and routes on the share screen
• Added support for more devices**
  • Non-Samsung Android devices
  • All Samsung smartphones since Galaxy S3

*Health tips now available in UK, US and Korea

**Tablets and some mobile devices may not be supported. Some functions may not be available depending on regions/service providers/devices. S Health version 4.5 requires Android OS 4.4 or above.

Availability

The S Health app and widget are available to all owners of Samsung flagship devices including Galaxy S6 with Android 5.0. The app is currently available in150 countries and supports local languages in 80 countries.

For more details about S Health v4.5, please visit http://shealth.samsung.com/

In just a few years, the technology driving wearable devices has advanced rapidly. Samsung launched the world’s very first watch phone in 1999. The SPH-WP10 featured a monochrome LCD screen and 90 minutes of talk time through an integrated speaker and microphone. Samsung followed this in 2009 with the release of its S9110 watch phone which was the world’s slimmest watch phone at the time. While the first model looked like a miniature phone attached to a wristband, the second looked much more like modern wearables.

Since then, technology has progressed quickly, and the ability of wearables to transform health, entertainment and how we live our day-to-day lives is greater than once thought possible. In 2013, Samsung launched the Galaxy Gear, which was followed by the Gear 2, the Gear 2 Neo. The Gear Fit and the Gear S made their appearances in 2014. As we wait to see what is in store for wearable devices of the future, it is clear that they are making an impact on how we stay connected.

Efficiency

Wearables are a great way to streamline processes, allowing employees to customize client interactions and deliver a more personalized experience. Wearables can collect information hands-free, bringing the smartphone experience to the wrist, which helps create safer working environments and boosts productivity.

The Gear S, with its 2-inch Super AMOLED display, allows users to view notifications and messages at a single glance. You can reject calls during a meeting, reply to messages using the on-screen keyboard or use voice command controls when your hands are full. With the ability to connect hands-free to e-mail, calendars, productivity applications and real-time notifications, wearables are changing the way we work.

Monitoring

Health and fitness tracking are major areas of concern for consumers. The Gear Fit was designed to be light and easy to wear during a workout, or for simply tracking your steps every day. It is the first wearable that was curved to fit your wrist, and featured a slimmer face than the Gear S.

S Health comes equipped and ready to use on the latest Samsung wearables, including the Gear Fit, the Gear S, the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo. You can set goals and track heartrate, steps, calorie intake, stress levels, sun exposure and more. S Health helps you take control of your health. The wide range of apps available for Samsung wearables allow users to build healthy lifestyles that are just right for them.

Samsung Gear S not only includes S Health, it is a perfect health and fitness companion with more enhanced multi-sensors and built-in GPS. Using Bluetooth technology, it receives notifications while on-the-go. Partnerships that make third party apps available, such as Nike+ Running and Trek Bicycle allow users to track exercise and stay motivated, without their smartphones.

Connectivity

Wearables are also changing the way we stay connected. The Gear S can be used as a stand-alone device, with its brilliant, curved Super AMOLED display. The first wearable that supported connectivity through Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth, the Gear S lets you stay in touch, even away from your phone. The Gear S makes and receives calls, directly from the wrist and syncs automatically with your smartphone.

When the Gear Circle is paired with a smartphone, users can easily receive calls, listen to music and make voice commands in style through a Bluetooth connection. It features a magnetic lock which clasps around the user’s neck when not in use, as well as a vibrate function to signal incoming calls and notifications.

Design

The Samsung wearable products feature a rectangular face and interchangeable wristbands. After the first Galaxy Gear, the following Gear 2 had a finishing that made it look more similar to the elegance of a timepiece. With a Super AMOLED, 2MP camera, tracking apps and connectivity power, the Gear 2 took wearable devices to the next level. The Gear 2 was one of the first wearable devices that not only worked in sync to receive notifications from your smart device, it was the first to run apps on its own. When launching the Gear Fit and the Gear S, Samsung applied its curved display technology for a more comfortable, contoured fit. As materials and display quality improved, curved screens were developed and more interchangeable wristbands were offered, wearables from Samsung have become as fashionable as they are functional. Customizable screen options and changeable straps empower users to express their own tastes and styles.

The Gear series help users express moods and fit each day’s look with changeable bands and charms. Partnering with leaders in the fashion industry like Moschino, Swarovski and Nicholas Kirkwood, Samsung introduced a collection of wide-range accessories.

What’s Next?

As the technology and innovation of wearables meets the Internet of Things (IoT), the future of connectivity is bright. It is clear that wearables and connected devices will continue to transform our lives. Wearables will improve wireless connectivity, improving our homes, our cities and communities everywhere.

1. Multi-Tasking with the Multi Window

Smartphones are now vital to every part of our lives, from business to pleasure and from productivity to entertainment. With the fast pace of life and expectations of immediate response, being able to quickly maneuver between applications is non-negotiable.

Galaxy devices take multi-tasking to the next level by allowing you to view multiple windows simultaneously. This feature has been really popular for the Galaxy Note series, and has been available ever since the release of Galaxy S3. How many times have you gotten an invitation and needed to check your availability? You have to close the message, open your calendar, close your calendar, open your messages, back and forth. Now, you can view your messages and calendar at the same time on your Galaxy device.

2. Selfie Sensor and Selfie Cam

Double click the home button to access the camera from any screen. The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge can launch the camera in under a second. Not only do the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge offer wide selfies, you can use the sensor on the back of the devices to snap your pic at the perfect angle. No more fumbling around with your device, trying to get the right angle while reaching for the shutter button.

The dual camera mode, which is one many free modes you can easily download, lets you take a photo using both front and back cameras at the same time. This is great for sharing moments with friends and family, as you can take a selfie while taking a photo of a beautiful background.

3. Power Saving Mode & Ultra-Power Saving Mode

The faster our devices perform, the more battery life (or lack thereof) becomes a critical issue and a major source of anxiety for some. Watching the battery percentage tick down has become a daily habit.

While the Galaxy S6 comes with a 2,550mAh battery, everyone finds themselves in a situation when saving every percentage point is crucial. With Power Saving Mode and Ultra-Power Saving Mode on Galaxy S6, you can extend your battery life easily. Power Saving Mode limits CPU performance, reduces screen brightness and goes into sleep mode faster after receiving notifications. Ultra-Power Saving Mode applies grayscale to the home screen and limits the number of usable apps to reduce power consumption to the bare minimum.

4. Wireless Charging & Fast Charging

While these features are available on other Galaxy devices, the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge have revolutionized fast charging technology. With built-in wireless charging, there is no need to purchase additional attachments or gadgets to use the wireless charging pad. The fast charging technology of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge charges from 0 to 100 in only about 80 minutes. They also charge up to four hours of use after only ten minutes of charging. Say goodbye to charger anxiety.

5. Samsung Pay

While other mobile payment services use near field communication (NFC) and fingerprint authentication, the benefits are limited to the vendors that install the required equipment to receive such payments. Samsung Pay supports both NFC and magnetic secure transmission (MST), allowing customers to pay at any PoS terminal. Backed by KNOX security, users can be confident that their personal information is safe.

6. True Privacy

Other devices allow you to hide your private photos, but they remain visible in the list of albums. Private Mode is available on many Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S6. This can be activated or deactivated in Quick Settings. When you turn on the Private Mode, you can create a private folder under My Files, and you will find that your private albums are hidden activated.

The photos saved in Private Mode are stored separately from those in normal mode with stronger security. Fingerprint identification is required to access information moved to Private Mode so you can be sure that your sensitive information will always be protected.

7. S Health

S Health is an all-in-one companion for your healthy lifestyle. With the new S Health, you can track your everyday activities, get coaching to reach your daily goals and improve your fitness with various training programs. Measure and understand your health with trackers such as heart rate and SpO₂, using built-in sensors in Samsung Galaxy and Gear devices.

8. Palm Swipe Screenshot

Easily take a screenshot by swiping your palm across the screen. No other device uses motion recognition to activate screenshot capture. This means you can easily capture information you want to access later or send to a contact with just a single gesture.

Lastly, there is one additional feature that Galaxy devices do better than any other device, Ultimate Customization. Samsung Galaxy devices let you make your device truly yours. The home screens of Galaxy devices are fully customizable. You can move icons to any area of the screen, or use widgets like the minimal clock, allowing you to see your beautiful wallpaper.

With the introduction of themes on Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, Samsung took customization to the next level. Within each theme, users can further change the font style of the dialer numbers and the clock.

Samsung continues to think about what matters to users and how its products and services can make daily life easier for people around the world. With just a few, but huge innovations, the Galaxy series is taking smart devices to the next level.

*All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

Technology leader Samsung Electronics and global health service company Cigna announced a new version of the Coach by Cigna mobile application, which uses simple questions to identify users’ personality type, understand their wants, needs and preferences, and provide the appropriate programs to help with diet, exercise, sleep, stress and weight.

“Samsung is committed to providing our users with mobile health solutions that go above and beyond what is currently available in the market,” said Yong Jin Lee, head of Health R&D Group at Samsung Electronics. “By partnering with Cigna, we can put advanced health technology into the hands of our users, making our applications an informative and integral part of their everyday lives.”

Coach by Cigna identifies personality types such as “Planner,” “Day Dreamer” or “Explorer” and determines aptitude levels (for example, whether a person is disciplined or needs an extra push), to help prioritize their health and understanding of health issues.

The application also puts health, diet and fitness programs in the hands of Galaxy users, providing instructional videos and support from health coaches to help users focus on improvements in five categories: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress and weight management.

“Cigna aims to find effective ways to help people achieve healthier, more secure lives,” said Heather Valteris, Cigna Global Head of Channel and Partnership Marketing. “We tested, we learned and now we’re putting our expertise into our next generation of Coach by Cigna. With several simple questions, we can get to know you and your preferences, and the best ways to help get you to where you want to be.”

Users can personalize their health goals and select recommended programs with Coach by Cigna, which supports them with motivational messaging. It also provides quantifiable health activities and achievement badges, ensuring users can record their successes.

Coach by Cigna’s programs complement Samsung’s S Health application. S Health is an all-in-one companion for people who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. With the new S Health, users can track their everyday activities, receive coaching to reach their daily goals, and improve their fitness with various training programs. Users can also measure and understand their health progress with built-in-sensors for heart rate and SpO2 (oxygen saturation) on Samsung Galaxy and Gear devices.

For more details of S Health:

http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/track-manage-improve-better-health-with-s-health-app/

Coach by Cigna is available at no charge in the Google Play store for Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge mobile devices that have been updated to the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system.

The Coach by Cigna application is for educational purposes only and intended to promote consumer health. It does not constitute medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for proper medical care provided by a physician. Always consult with your doctor or other health care professional for appropriate medical treatment and health care recommendations.