According to a tweet from a generally-reliable tipster, Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 might not come with a thermometer to measure body temperature. The tweet is in direct contrast to an earlier report which claimed that the Galaxy Watch 5 would ship with a thermometer to help users measure their body temperature. The report further claimed that Samsung has devised a novel way to measure body temperature accurately through a smartwatch and that the new technology could help users detect COVID-19 symptoms at home.
Expected to be announced later this year, the Galaxy Watch 5 will be the successor to last year's Galaxy Watch 4, which was released to a largely positive reception from both the media and buyers alike. The Watch 4 series marked Samsung's return to Wear OS after ditching it several years earlier in favor of Tizen. While Samsung is expected to continue with Wear OS for its next-gen smartwatch line, the company is rumored to ditch the 'Classic' variant in its upcoming Galaxy Watch 5 lineup. This would be in favor of a 'Pro' model, likely with additional features and a higher price tag compared to the vanilla Galaxy Watch 5.
According to a tweet by tipster Ming-Chi Kuo, the Galaxy Watch 5 might not come with body temperature measurement after all. According to Kuo, Samsung is facing some challenges while implementing the new feature in its next-gen smartwatch and might ditch it altogether in this year's models. Kuo further claimed that Samsung is ditching the temperature measurement feature in this year's models due to the difficulty in accurately measuring body temperature on the wrist. That's because skin temperature on the arm is affected by various external factors, such as exposure to extreme cold weather or direct sunlight, both of which could result in inaccurate readings. A smartwatch needs a special algorithm instead of just hardware to measure body temperature, which is where Samsung is facing a massive challenge.
No Body Temperature Measurement For Galaxy Watch 5?
Kuo didn't reveal anything else about the upcoming Samsung smartwatch but reaffirmed earlier reports that the next-gen Apple Watch might ship with the ability to measure body temperature. According to him, The Apple Watch Series 8 might come with the new feature "if the algorithm can meet Apple's high requirements before mass production." This seemingly confirms earlier reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal that Apple is working on the new feature for its upcoming smartwatch lineup.
Only time will tell if Samsung will be able to shoehorn the new feature into the next Galaxy Watch, but even if it can, it will not be the first smartwatch to come with a thermometer. Several smartwatches already include skin temperature sensors, including the Fitbit Sense, the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH, the Amazfit GTS 2e/GTS 2e, and more. In addition, the Whoop 4.0 fitness tracker and the Oura Ring 3 also have built-in thermometers, helping users track their body temperatures.
Source: Ming-Chi Kuo/Twitter