Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 ECG and Fall Detection features tipped for early 2020

Ben Schoon | Sep 2 2019 - 6:09 am PT

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active2 looks like a promising smartwatch option for Android users, but when it debuts later this month, it will be lacking some big features. According to a new report, the Galaxy Watch Active2 will add ECG and Fall Detection features sometime in early 2020 after it has launched.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 is set to hit store shelves at the end of September with its “digital” rotating bezel, Tizen software, and improved design over the original. Perhaps the biggest feature adds, however, are ECG and Fall Detection. Like the Apple Watch, these features make Samsung’s watch a valuable tool when it comes to health.

Sadly, Samsung hasn’t been given approval to launch the watch with both of these features enabled. The FDA still has to clear the Watch Active2 for ECG and Fall Detection, and as of now, that clearance has not been granted. According to SamMobile, Samsung is on track to roll out ECG and AFib notifications, at least in the US, starting in February of 2020. Presumably, that means the FDA is getting close to approval.

Once enabled, the Watch Active2 will be able to take an electrocardiogram (ECG) and send a user notifications when it detects signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to other heart-related complications. As for Fall Detection, the Watch Active2 will be rolling out that feature on a wider basis starting sometime in Q1 of 2020. It’s unclear when ECG or AFib notifications will be available in other markets.

You can pre-order the Galaxy Watch Active2 later this week for $279.