Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 may rival Apple Watch with ECG support

Samsung's next smartwatch looks set to match the Apple Watch by introducing an ECG feature for clinical-grade heart health monitoring, along with a new fall detection support.

The two features will land on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, according to Sammobile, who were the first to catch wind there was a new Samsung smartwatch on the way. It previously believed that was the Galaxy Watch 2, though the evidence now points to it being the successor to the Watch Active, which was only announced back in February.

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Bringing an electrocardiogram to the wrist would enable users to capture more serious heart rate data, which can then be shared with physicians to offer insights into health-related issues. Like Apple, Samsung will need to get the necessary regulatory approval to roll a feature like this out. We'll be intrigued to see whether this will be available when the new watch launches.

The Active 2 will also apparently be able to offer atrial fibrillation notifications by monitoring heart rate rhythms in the background. Again, this is something Apple is offering through multiple models of its smartwatch.

It sounds like the Apple mirroring won't end there, either, with a fall detection feature also tipped to be included. This means that the watch can detect when the wearer has experienced a hard fall activating an alert and even contacting emergency services or assigned emergency contacts.

While these details have come from Sammobile's trusted sources, that's not absolute confirmation they will definitely make an appearance when the Active 2 is revealed.

If Samsung is ready to go down the health monitoring route, we sincerely hope it does a better job than it did with the blood pressure tracking feature it promised with the first Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. This was meant to offer the ability to take blood pressure readings without the need for the cuff-style setup you'd normally use. Except a lot of people (including ourselves) had problems getting the feature to work at all.

We are, however, starting to build a picture of the Active 2, which is expected to be available in two model sizes, much like the flagship Samsung Galaxy Watch. One of those models is expected to offer LTE connectivity, while it looks like that rotating bezel will be absent, like it was on the first Watch Active.

We may well see the new watch at Samsung's next Unpacked event, which takes place on 7 August, where Samsung's next Note smartphone is likely to be hogging the limelight. Maybe a new smartwatch will share some of that attention next month, too.