Samsung wants the upcoming Galaxy Watch 9 to not only track your health, but also serve as your personal trainer. On June 8, it’s rolling out a major Samsung Health app update that will turn tracking data into “simple, actionable guidance” — the company’s answer to AI training. On Fitbit Air With Google Health Premium.
The revised program will center around a simpler layout of five main sections: Activity, Mindfulness, Nutrition, Sleep and Vital Requirements. Each of them will have AI-powered insights instead of just giving you raw data or lumping everything together under a common Energy Bill.
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Samsung
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Wear OS
Vitals, for example, will compare your sleep data (heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen and skin temperature) to your baseline and only alert you when it sees significant changes. Instead of tracking heart health through vascular load metrics, you’ll get a Heart Health Score that combines body composition data with activity, sleep, and stress. You need to better understand your overall well-being.
Training extends to workouts. The new Daily Cardio Load tracks total exertion and will suggest exercise goals and rest days to minimize the risk of burnout. You’ll also get a Fitness Index that shows the effectiveness of your workout by comparing your data with your peers. You will ideally know what you are doing and what you need to improve.
Samsung Health will also provide clearer trending insights into your food choices through the Antioxidant Index, while the AGEs Index will now quietly collect overnight data to show how your “lifestyle choices” affect you over time. And Hearing Health will use the Galaxy Watch to determine whether loud ambient sounds and music are damaging your ears.
The upgrades will initially be available through the Galaxy Watch 9 family, but are expected to reach other devices as well.
Samsung Health and Google Health Premium: Which is better?
Your taste in advice and devices will count the most
If the Samsung Health update reminds you of Google Health Premium, it should. While features vary between services, they share the same basic AI coaching concept: you get advice, not just data.
Google’s service costs $10 a month ($100 a year), but is more clearly built around creating fitness plans and asking questions. If you’re on a business trip, you can change your exercise routine or ask if heart rate variability is healthy. Vitals, food intake and sleep quality are also present, but in theory you’ll never be in doubt about what to do next.
Samsung Health is free apart from the price of the watch, but it focuses more on ideas than action. You can get exercise recommendations and research specifics, but you won’t have a plan ready and waiting. Your AI coach won’t be on call like with Google Health Premium.
There’s also the matter of device options. Google Health Premium launched with the Fitbit Air, but it’s not tied to a single device or even Android. Samsung needs the Galaxy Watch to update, and the company retains the best smartwatch features Galaxy phones. What you save by opting out of membership, you can lose by locking yourself into an ecosystem.
If you already prefer Samsung devices, this is no problem, and it can be useful if you are willing to give up some options on the devices to avoid another subscription fee. Plus, if you’re already diligent about tracking your health, Google Health Premium might be unnecessary — why pay AI to tell you what you already know?
