KUALA LUMPUR, August 22 — Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 is a powerful new tool that can help people monitor their health and live healthier lifestyles, amid the country’s non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch8, certified by Malaysia’s Medical Device Authority (MDA), has features for health and fitness, and is also the world’s first smartwatch to have Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, built in.
The watch series suits diverse lifestyles and provides advanced capabilities, setting a new standard for style and personalised health experiences.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 is the first smartwatch in the world that can measure your antioxidant levels by looking at carotenoid levels in your skin within seconds, enabling you to make informed lifestyle choices for healthy aging. According to Healthline, carotenoids are beneficial antioxidants that can protect you from disease and enhance your immune system.
This makes adopting healthier habits more tangible, actionable, and rewarding.
Holistic Health Monitoring: Heart, Stress, Sleep
The Galaxy Watch8 has complete heart health monitoring by measuring your vascular load, blood pressure, heart rate or irregular heart rhythm, and ECG.
Monitoring one’s vascular load will provide insights on various lifestyle factors, including sleep, stress, and activity, helping you adopt a more comprehensive approach to managing your health.
Cardiovascular disease is part of Malaysia’s NCD burden. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s (DOSM) 2024 report on causes of death, ischaemic heart disease has been the principal cause of death in Malaysia for two decades, except in 2023 when it was superseded by pneumonia and in 2021 when Covid-19 was the main cause of death.
A high stress alert on the Galaxy Watch8 will immediately signal you to take a break to manage stress levels in real time.
With Mindfulness and Stress Tracker, you can record your mood and receive guidance on breathing exercises to relieve your stress – all at once on your wrist.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 also has a sleep coach that analyses your sleep patterns over three days of sleep data to assess the amount of rest required, besides sending reminders on when to head to bed.
Personalised Fitness Goals Based On Test Run
For fitness, the Galaxy Watch8’s Running Coach can tailor an entire workout plan.
Based on a 12-minute test run wearing the Watch, you will be assigned a level of 1 to 10, ranging from goals as simple as doing a 5km run up until a full marathon within a set timeframe.
The Galaxy Watch8 keeps you accountable for your targets and removes the hassle of planning a workout routine yourself, using data from the test run instead to recommend a routine personalised for your fitness level.
Various sports activities are incorporated into the smartwatch, including walking, running, cycling, track running, hiking, swimming, treadmill, elliptical trainer, circuit training, weight machine, badminton, golf, pilates, yoga, tennis, and many other popular sports.
Fall Detection, SOS Messages, Medications Tracking
Senior citizens can benefit from Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8’s fall detection feature that sends SOS messages to their assigned contacts during an emergency.
Regardless of age, if you end up in a medical emergency, you can send SOS messages to assigned contacts to let them know where you are and how to track you down.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 also links directly to your Samsung Health App that has a medications tracking feature to enable you to keep track of your medication regime.
The new feature will help you easily keep track of both prescription and over-the-counter medications and provide important, relevant information, and tips about these medications.
First Watch Ever With Gemini Live, Template Replies For Text Messaging
Finally, Google Gemini is an AI assistant that helps you perform an array of tasks. Gemini analyses conversations and past responses to suggest tailored replies for messages, making communication on the go more efficient and personalised.
The Galaxy AI produces daily Energy Scores, based on its analysis of your workouts, sleep patterns, and night-time heart signals.
Snug And Comfortable Fit, Clear Visibility In Direct Sunlight
The Samsung Galaxy Watch8 is the thinnest Galaxy Watch ever, 11 per cent thinner than the previous model.
A new ‘Dynamic Lug’ system is also introduced, which improves flexibility at the connection between the watch body and band, allowing a snugger, more comfortable fit. Internal tests showed a 12 per cent improvement in wearing comfort over the previous model.
The display has also advanced, offering peak brightness of up to 3,000 nits, 50 per cent brighter than before, for clear visibility even in direct sunlight.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has repeatedly touted his ambition of digitalising the health care system, including creating lifetime health records and electronic medical records for every citizen.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 helps the country move in that direction by empowering individuals to keep track of their own health with personal data on their heart health, stress levels, and sleep habits, among other user-inputted data like weight and periods.
