Samsung ditches Tizen; collaborates with Google for new smartwatch with health-focused features

There aren't many good Android smartwatches to choose from. Samsung's Galaxy Wear and OnePlus' Watch are some nice options but Apple continues to rule the smartwatch world. Aiming to change this, Samsung has not just ditched its Tizen platform for Google Wear OS but has added some new health-focused features to its new smartwatches.

“We have seen an incredible amount of growth for the Galaxy Watch series as consumers have discovered the health benefits and convenience of wearables," says Dr TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. "We understand the path to wellness is different for everyone, so we built a robust suite of health and wellness features to give people a deeper and more helpful understanding of their overall fitness."

With increasing focus on sleep, the Galaxy Watch4 series has taken sleep tracing to the next step. The compatible smartwatch can detect the sounds of snores, while the smartwatch can measure the blood oxygen level while sleeping. Together with advanced Sleep Scores, users can learn more about sleep patterns to get better rest.

The Galaxy Watch4 is equipped with Samsung's BioActive Sensor -- a new 3-in-1 sensor using a single chip to precisely run three powerful health sensors -- Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis -- to monitor blood pressure, detect an AFib irregular heartbeat, blood oxygen level, and even calculate their body composition.

Samsung says its all-new Body Composition measurement tool gives users a deeper understanding of their general health and fitness, with key measurements like skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water and body fat percentage. This can be checked by using two fingers in about 15 seconds.

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Focusing on health and wellness, the two new smartwatches can track daily activities, feature a wide range of guided workouts, and group challenges. It can be used to set up a home gym by connecting Galaxy Watch4 to compatible Samsung Smart TV, where calorie counts and heart rate metrics appear on screen for easier tracking.

Both the watches feature 1.4? 450×450 Super AMOLED, Full Color Always On Display, Corning Gorilla Glass with DX+ and are powered by a 5nm processor and 16GB of memory, battery backup of up to 40 hours and 30 minutes charge cycle support that can last 10 hours. While the Galaxy Watch4 will be available in 40 and 44mm aluminium cases, the Galaxy Watch4 Classic in 46 and 42mm stainless steel cases.

Priced starting $249.99 for Bluetooth versions and $299.99 for LTE models for the Galaxy Watch4, and $349.99 for Bluetooth versions and $399.99 for LTE models of Galaxy Watch4 Classic, the watches are available for pre-order in select markets starting on August 11, with retail availability starting August 27.

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