Samsung partnered with Natural Cycles to add temperature-based cycle tracking

Samsung’s press release says the feature will give users “more detailed insights” into their cycles, but is a bit vague on what those insights are. Advanced period tracking as well as digital fertility features come in various forms. For example, Apple uses the temperature sensors on its Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra to give menstruating users retrospective ovulation estimates. However, it does not use this temperature data to make predictions about future ovulation. Conversely, the Oura Ring introduced temperature-based period predictions with the Gen 3 version of its Smart Ring. Other wearable companies like Garmin offer period And pregnancy tracking.

At the request of The edge To clarify the new features in this integration, Samsung said its primary purpose is to help people view their cycles in a simple, convenient, and holistic way — including retrospective ovulation estimates and period predictions.

Samsung also provided some handy details about the feature: Galaxy Watch 5 or Watch 5 Pro owners don’t need to download a separate app to access it. Instead, it will be part of the Samsung Health app. This follows with previous Samsung integrations with apps like Calm and Sleep Cycle to flesh out the mindfulness and sleep offerings.

The company also noted that the feature has been approved by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, meets European CE Mark requirements, and is FDA registered. FDA registration is not the same as clearance or approval. It simply means that the product has been registered in the FDA’s database. However, since Natural Cycles’ algorithm has received FDA clearance, Samsung only needs to register the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro as supported devices. The feature will be available in 32 countries, including the US, in Q2 2023.

It might seem like Samsung is lagging behind Apple and Oura in this area, but it’s a significant improvement considering it took the company until 2020 to add basic period tracking. Fitbit was the first company to add period tracking in 2018, followed by Apple and Garmin in 2019. Conversely, temperature-based period tracking on wearables is not yet widespread. The fact that Samsung managed to release a little less than six months after Apple – that’s a step forward.