Samsung is Having Trouble Getting Approval For its Smart Watch’s ECG Outside of Korea

The ECG sensor on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 has been unused since its introduction, but the Korean company is finally close getting it to see some action, but only in Korea. Samsung has managed to secure approval its ECG feature for measuring heart rhythms from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, but no luck from the US FDA jut yet.

Like on more recent Apple Watch models, all you need to do is launch an app (Samsung Health Monitor) and place your finger on a button for a short amount of time to get a decent ECG reading. After that, your watch can then warn you if there are any signs of atrial fibrillation and can then recommend that you see a doctor for a full diagnosis.

The Korean electronics giant was also awarded clearance to perform blood pressure measurements through its Health Monitor app, which will potentially provide an even clearer picture of your overall well-being than an ECG alone.

There is a catch, though, the wait. Samsung is expected to release the Health Monitor app for Active 2 during the third quarter of this year (2020). It also isn’t allowed to make the ECG feature available in other regions until it receives approval from the respective governments. So, you might wait a lengthy amount of time before this feature is available in your part of the world, depending on from where you are reading. In the future, Galaxy Watches will also include the app, and this will be one of the few opportunities to run ECG tests on an Android-friendly smartwatch.