Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Will Have Premium Fitness Service, More Sophisticated Than Apple Watch

JAKARTA - Health and fitness subscription services are now increasingly popular, from Apple and Google to special brands such as Garmin andmin. Now, Samsung seems to be also preparing to join in enlivening this market.

Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President of Samsung and Head of the Digital Health Division, confirmed in a recent interview with CNET that his company is exploring the possibility of rolling out subscription models for their wearable devices, including the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring lines released last year.

While there are no specific details about what will be offered or how much the subscription costs, the service is likely to compete with Premium Fitbits or Apple Fitness+, which are priced at $10 per month or 80 per year, respectively.

This news comes after a surprising one UI 8 Watch beta launch earlier this week, with a variety of new fitness and health features. Some of the flagship features include Bedtime Tracking and Vascular Load for better sleep and stress monitoring, as well as Running Coach which provides a more personal running experience.

According to CNET, the new One UI 8 Watch features are likely to be available free to Galaxy Watch 8 users, while old-generation Samsung smartwatch users may need to pay to access it.

This approach is slightly different from what Apple or Google does, where users usually get a free trial of the premium feature when buying a new smartwatch, but still have to subscribe if they want to continue.

With Samsung's fairly profitable (trade-in) exchange rate for old devices, this strategy could be profitable for those who regularly update smartwatches every year.

We still have to wait for the official launch of One UI 8 Watch and Galaxy Watch 8 to see if this subscription service plan really materializes and of course, whether the features will be worth the price Samsung might set.