No one would blame you for calling Samsung a fitness freak. The recent release of its smartwatch. the Samsung Sear, firmly planted vital biometric sensors in the add-on bundle sections of cell phone contracts. Prior to that, the Korean OEM went out of its way to make sure that even those who don’t adopt the wrist mounted wearable could check their pulse on the go by including a heart rate sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Now, Samsung has gone a step further in the direction of active living customers, with Forbes reporting that the company’s new SAMI platform is being used as a biometric data bank.
Android news followers will recognize SAMI as the Samsung answer to Apple’s Siri: a virtual assistant that lives in smartphones and tablets. When it was last demonstrated in November, SAMI would sync with a wearable and offer workout updates on command.
Now, it seems that SAMI is being opened up a bit more for the benefit of authorized Samsung partners. The idea is to take advantage of the open philosophy of Android, allowing developers to leverage SAMI and create exciting new health apps.
According to Forbes, this move’s timing is likely meant to undercut the upcoming release of Apple’s expected health-tech announcements at next week’s WWDC conference.
Keeping things grounded, it is important to remember that vital tech, although a strong selling point in the active living niche, is not likely going to move wearables all by itself. There are two big takeaways from this news. The first is that mobile ID is becoming much more optimized for healthcare now that vital biometrics are taking a more prominent focus. The second is that the smartphone war is on it’s way to your wrist, and every new diferentiating feature is going to be a talking point.
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