Samsung Galaxy S5 baby monitor mode revealed

By Alex Dobie
last updated

'Baby crying detector' beams notifications to your Gear smartwatch

Samsung smartphones are all about the features, but one unique capability we didn't hear about at the Galaxy S5's Barcelona launch event is its apparent ability function as a baby monitor. Tracked down by Malaysian site SoyaCincau, the feature, dubbed "Baby crying detector" lives under the Accessibility menu and lets you alert a paired Samsung Gear smartwatch if the phone picks up the sound of a child crying.

The mode comes with a wall of disclaimer text advising users how best to use the feature, while reminding them that "the baby should not be left in a house or building alone" and that they use the feature at their own risk. (And perhaps this is why this feature hasn't been more widely publicized ahead of launch.) Regardless, the GS5's baby monitor mode could be useful in a pinch for those with a both a full complement of Samsung products and a tiny human to keep tabs on.

Source: SoyaCincau; via: Engadget

Alex Dobie
Alex Dobie
Executive Editor

Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.

56 Comments
  • Oh great here come a bunch of lawsuits and devastated parents. People are just stupid enough to trust this. Posted via Android Central App
  • Samsung was smart enough to include a disclaimer. They're safe. Posted via Android Central App
  • Day early? Posted via Android Central App
  • How else are you supposed to catch people? They will be expecting it tomorrow(April 1, 2014).
    Posted via Android Central App
  • More shite I don't need installed. Posted via Android Central App
  • I just got off the phone with Samsung, they are taking it out because you don't need it. Consider it gone. -------------------------------------------
    You really should see the crap I don't post. Sorry if honesty offends you
  • Hehe Posted via Android Central App using an LG G2.
  • Dammit bez54... see what you did!?!?!? Complain on the internet and ruin things for everyone!
  • Then don't buy it. Isn't that simple? Posted via Android Central App
  • This is a 3-step process:
    -Complain on the internet before release
    -Don't buy it
    -Complain on the internet after release
  • Haha! +1
  • Well if you don't need it then Samsung should probably not offer it to appease you, right? Real simple solution....uninstall it.
  • No they shouldn't offer it because I'm sure it's going to have glitches or your cell would die and you wouldn't be able to hear the baby. So they shouldn't offer it cause there's idiots out there that would actually try it Posted via Android Central App
  • That can happen with anything. As a responsible parent you do some research on things like this before you give it your full trust. This should be the case with ALL things. Too many regulations because of idiots and an idiotic judicial system. (Caution, this cup of coffee may be hot.) Dumb
  • Bloat Posted via Android Central App
  • Some features should be just apps...
    I don't even get when this feature should be used, as babies crying is something that many people hear quite easily already...
  • So baby moniters are stupid too Posted via Android Central App
  • Well, it's under accessibility... Maybe it's aimed at deaf people? Posted via Android Central App
  • +1 Posted via my SPARK enabled Sprint LG G2, K00949438Yd FRAMILY!
  • I hadn't even considered that... and it's pretty brilliant. A lot of deaf people have smartphones, having one that could double as a baby monitor with vibration alerts could be a great feature (albeit for a relatively small % of the population)
  • Since the phone can be paired with the Gear, and as such a person would be receiving their text messages, emails, phone calls, and other notifications, without having to hold the phone, then this could be useful.
    A mom or dad that has there hands busy with other chores around the house could leave the phone in a room with the baby while he/she is napping and be alerted via the Gear if the baby needs assistance.
    My kids are much older so it doesn't apply to my situation, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be useful for another family.
    I think it's narrow minded to discredit these features just because I wouldn't use it. Personally I think it's pretty neat that for someone who could use such a feature that it's available as an option.
    Posted via Android Central App
  • +1 -------------------------------------------
    You really should see the crap I don't post. Sorry if honesty offends you
  • Agreed. It's a potentially really good feature (although not so much for my babyphobic ass), and if you're already a Galaxy user and you've got a baby, I could see this being a really good selling point for picking up a Gear. I wouldn't be surprised if we see it highlighted in a Gear commercial sometime soon. That said, it's also probably a niche enough feature that I'd rather see it as a separate app in the Play Store than as a baked-in feature.
  • As a parent, I also have to say it's a great feature. That is, if you want to use $950 worth of equipment as an inferior substitute for a $30 baby monitor.
  • Yep. Exactly what I was going to say.
  • If you could leave the watch next to the baby and hold the phone, maybe, just MAYBE this would have a use.. But, you get Junior finally laid down for a nap.. Now you as the parent can catch up on some stuff... some texts, Facebook, Mombook, Pintrest, etc.. Oh, wait.. You have to leave your cell phone in the baby's room. Nevermind if someone calls, texts, etc.. and the phone rings/beeps, you're going to wake up the kid. I think this is FULL of fail.
  • Hahaha duh Posted via Android Central App
  • I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the phone is probably silenced whilst baby monitor mode is enabled, with calls/texts going to the Gear.
  • I like it Posted via Android Central App
  • Yeah, because Samsung does it...it's bloat, if HTC had done it on the one(m8), it'd be magical. The outright bias of some of the folks that comment here is pretty silly. Much in the same vein as how people are leaping to defend how HTC is treating benchmarks as 'perfectly reasonable" as the same people who were grabbing pitchforks and torches last year when Samsung got called out for doing the same thing. Don't get me wrong...the M8 is a great device...love the one I have to play around with at work....but magical and without flaws it ain't....just like the gs5. Posted via Android Central App
  • Yep! People seem to like talking crap about Samsung recently. Even though their doing a ton of things the rest of the industry should be doing, sd support and accessible batteries. Posted via Android Central App
  • I'd think this would be hampered by the BTLE range limits. It seems like the watch would go out of range of the phone before you'd get past the point where you wouldn't be able to hear a crying baby. We'll see how it works out, but this seems like another feature that might have been better off on the cutting room floor.
  • My thoughts exactly. I would think the relatively limited range of the connection would lessen the utility of this feature. Posted via Android Central App
  • Yes, isn't BT range something like 30ft??? I guess this would work if you are hearing impaired and in the room next door...
  • Yep. It probably won't even work from the next room. It's a gimmick put in as a sales tactic and nothing more.
  • One assumes it sets the phone to silent so baby isn't woken up by someone ringing the mobile or incoming text message.
  • "Oh crap, my watch vibration was off and I didn't see the baby monitor notification 45 minutes ago." Methinks someone forgot there are 31 days in March...
  • Does it also have mom bitching detector? :)
  • Hmm... It would be an incredibly niche feature. I don't have kids, but I'm not sure I'd trust this... Mostly because of the flakiness of Bluetooth. I'm sure someone will find it useful though, maybe deaf parents who can't hear a monitor could benefit from the vibration function. Posted via Android Central App
  • I will be using this feature Posted via Android Central App
  • I see this popular with 16 year old babysitters. Put the baby down, then invite the boyfriend over...
  • Can a16 year old be that far from their phone and survive? Posted via Android Central App
  • I initially thought this was stupid because of the range of the gear and the fact that if you are within 30 feet of your kid you should hear them crying. But what if you put your baby down for a nap and want to watch a movie with your tablet with headphones because you are afraid your TV will wake the little one? I am a heavy sleeper to sound so vibration on my wrist would work pretty well on me and I wouldn't be afraid to take a mid afternoon nap. Not bad samsung Posted via Android Central App
  • You really had to stretch for that.
  • Not really. Just two quick use cases from previous life experiences that this would have been nice if I had this set up. Would I ever use this? Probably not since I would prefer to use an iP camera instead. Also wouldn't buy a gear in any of their current configurations. Posted via Android Central App
  • It's a stretch because very few people will sleep through a monitor going off full blast, let alone a baby 30 feet away. They aren't quiet. In fact, I find it difficult to believe anybody could sleep though that noise but wake up with a mild vibration. Which, by the way, most baby monitors do anyway along with visual indications. But whatever, if you think it is useful, knock yourself out.
  • Haha I think we are butting heads in this because I am the person who will sleep through a baby monitor. I grew up in a family that fostered over 60 kids under the age of two so growing up I learned to just sleep through the noise. Add in six years in the navy and I am dead to the world when I fall asleep. Alarm clocks don't work but vibrating wrist watches do. My most effective baby monitor is my dog. If there is something going on he will make sure one of us takes care of it. I think we will both agree that this does not replace a baby monitor. Would only be used to supplement one for certain situations if you already had them. Posted via Android Central App
  • When baby naps, parent nap....Or clean.
    Ain't got no time and energy for movies. Posted via Android Central App
  • This guy gets it, lol. First baby: Put the monitor on, turn volume way up, wake up with him every time he makes any noise.
    Third baby: Crack the bedroom doors open a bit, we will hear her if she's mad enough to need attention.
  • I don't need to be monitored damnit! :) Posted via the porcelain throne.
  • Samsung is such a innovator. Always coming out with great ideas and inventions.
  • Not sure how well this will work. Most of the time my wife's note 3 won't even wake up from saying "hi galaxy"
  • Crybaby detector? Is this something to do with their ongoing feud with Apple?
  • Wut.
  • Any parent who has a Galaxy and a gear will have a baby monitor, too. Where this could be useful is if you're visiting family or friends for a couple of hours, don't have the monitor with you, and the baby needs a brief nap. All the critics are funny. Just because it doesn't suit you doesn't mean it isn't useful to some. It's time to realize the world doesn't revolve around you, and manufacturers don't design their products just to suit you.
  • Malaysia can find this in a phone but they can't find a missing airplane?! Priorities!!