What you need to know
- A new rumor suggests Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch 5 will come with a skin temperature sensor.
- The feature was discovered in the most recent beta version of the Samsung Health app.
- Previous rumors claimed that the Galaxy Watch 4 successor would not include that health sensor.
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch 5 might ship with a skin temperature sensor after all. This was revealed by an experimental toggle found in the latest Samsung Health beta.
The health feature was spotted by Reddit user u/thedrunkmayor (opens in new tab), who shared a screenshot of the Health app’s most recent beta version (via Android Police (opens in new tab)). This is the same beta release that recently spilled the beans on Samsung’s rumored plan to ditch the Classic version of the Galaxy Watch 5 in favor of a Pro variant.
As you can see in screenshot below, there is a toggle for a feature that measures skin temperature during sleep. It is used to forecast your cycle more accurately, according to the feature’s description.
This new piece of evidence contradicts a previous claim made by renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (opens in new tab), who tweeted that the Galaxy Watch 5 “might not support the body temperature measurement due to algorithm limitations.”
Prior to that, a report from South Korea suggested that Samsung’s successor to the Galaxy Watch 4 would include an infrared temperature sensor. Unlike skin temperature sensors, this type of sensor is said to provide a more accurate reading of body temperature since it’s immune to ambient temperature and extra heat from exercise.
Temperature sensors, of course, are not new to our wrists. Many of the best Android smartwatches, such as the Fitbit Sense, include this useful health feature. It will be interesting to see how Samsung plans to implement the skin temperature sensor, in particular, in the Galaxy Watch 5.
However, the feature’s presence in the Health app’s latest beta doesn’t guarantee that it will be available in the upcoming smartwatch at launch. It’s possible that Samsung is only preparing the sensor at this stage and will release it later via an OTA update.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
If you want one of the best smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 4 is difficult to beat. The Wear OS 3-powered watch has deep integration with your favorite Android phones for fitness tracking, app support, and everything in between.
