What you need to know
- The Galaxy Watch 5 launched in August 2022 with a new infrared temperature sensor.
- Samsung has announced a partnership with Natural Cycles to allow the smartwatch to track cycles.
- The new Cycle Tracking feature will utilize the temperature sensor and will launch in the Samsung Health app in Q2.
Samsung is putting the temperature sensor on the Galaxy Watch 5 to good use, thanks to its new partnership with Natural Cycles.
The two companies announced their collaboration on a new feature coming to the smartwatch later this year that will allow users to track their menstrual cycles. Cycle Tracking will utilize the infrared temperature sensor on the Galaxy Watch 5 — a feature we're seeing on more Android smartwatches — and Natural Cycles' proprietary algorithm to help users determine fertility status.
This is the first time Natural Cycles has brought its algorithm to a smartwatch — a major step in allowing more users to better track menstrual cycles and fertility, which is critical for users looking to either plan or prevent pregnancy. The company also partnered with Oura in 2022 to bring the algorithm to the Oura Ring, which also utilizes a temperature sensor.
Samsung ensures that data is encrypted and remains on-device.
"The Natural Cycles app has helped millions of women around the world take control of their fertility and this partnership will allow Samsung to leverage our fertility technology to offer temperature-based cycle tracking through a smartwatch for the first time," says Dr. Raoul Scherwitzl, co-founder and co-CEO of Natural Cycles.
Samsung says the feature has been registered by the FDA and approved by South Korea's equivalent health agency. The new Cycle Tracking feature will be available in the Samsung Health app on the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro in Q2 2023.
According to Samsung, Cycle Tracking will be available in the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the United States.
The Galaxy Watch 5 is Samsung's latest and greatest smartwatch. Not only does it have a great design, but thank to its upgraded BIA sensor, it has a plethora of health and fitness tracking features that are sure to appease many health conscious users.
