It’s hard to believe watches used to only tell us the time; these days, they’re more like wearable personal trainers that happen to also know the time.
What happened: Samsung is hoping to win over some of the world’s ~1.2 billion smartwatch owners with upgraded models that the company says can more accurately track health indicators like your biological age and blood pressure.
- Smartwatches have become critical for companies trying to attract or keep more health-conscious customers in their ultra-connected device ecosystem.
Why it matters: The technology behind these watches continues to get smarter. These devices can now track your sleep quality, heart rate, and stress levels. If your stress indicator is a little high, some can even help you with a guided meditation.
- Samsung and Apple are now developing a blood sugar tracker that could one day read the glucose levels of people with diabetes without the need to prick their skin.
Zoom out: It’s not just wearables that tech companies are pitching to fitness-crazed customers. OpenAI announced yesterday that it's building a health coach chatbot to help with things like meal planning, workouts, and destressing exercises.—LA