Samsung has announced that it will start the rollout of the Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN) feature this summer. The upcoming Galaxy Watch feature will be available in 13 countries via the Samsung Health Monitor app. The list of supported regions includes Argentina, Azerbaijan, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Panama, UAE, South Korea, and the US.
It was known last month that the feature has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last week, it was also approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). Samsung explains that IHRN is designed to detect irregular heart rhythms while working in the background and alert users about potential AFib (atrial fibrillation) activity. For that, it uses the built-in blood pressure and ECG monitoring capabilities of the Galaxy Watch.
However, the company cautions that the "feature is intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only" and it is not "intended for use in detection, diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition or disease."
Speaking of its rivals, Apple added Afib tracking to its smartwatch lineup several years ago with the release of the Apple Watch Series 4. However, Google which launched the first Pixel Watch back in 2022 is yet to introduce the feature.
Samsung confirmed that IHRN will first arrive on upcoming Galaxy Watch devices, which is expected to be the Galaxy Watch 6, as part of the One UI 5 Watch update. After that, the irregular heart rate notifications will expand support for existing devices, including Galaxy Watch 4 series and Watch 5 series models.
While there has been a dip in global shipments, Galaxy Watch is among the top three smartwatch brands. According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung"s market share recently dropped from second position to third in Q1 2023. The South Koran giant has been replaced by the Indian brand Fire-Boltt which achieved a whopping 57% growth compared to the previous quarter.