Have you ever looked at the fitness results on your smartwatch and wondered how accurate they are? You aren’t alone. Samsung asked that same question about its Galaxy Watch and partnered with the University of Michigan to put it to the test. The results? That’s what we’re going to dig into.
The Human Performance & Sport Science Center (HPSSC) discovered that the Galaxy Watch’s findings were on par with the sport science reference devices used to measure heart rate, sweat loss, VO2 max, and body fat percentage. By “sport science reference devices,” we mean the high-end medical equipment used to determine the physical performance of a professional athlete.
The study used elite runners to test the Galaxy Watch and found that it was 90% accurate when tracking heart rate compared to electrocardiogram equipment. That’s especially impressive when compared to similar studies done on other wearables, such as a 2018 study that demonstrated a lack of accuracy in Fitbit devices.
A 95% correlation was found when measuring sweat loss over distances ranging from 2.5 km to 20 km, as well as when measuring body fat percentage. The lowest score comes when measuring the VO2 max of runners, with a correlation rate of only 82%. Even though this is significantly lower than the other scores, HPSSC calls it an acceptable measurement.
Smartwatches aren’t built to be as accurate as medical devices (no one could afford them if they were!), so the precision of the Galaxy Watch is a welcome surprise in a field where metrics can be somewhat looser.
Hon Pak, senior vice president and Head of the Digital Health Team at Samsung, said: “We are committed to delivering precise and insightful fitness tracking experiences through strategic partnerships and advanced research.”
So, how can you use your smartwatch to get a better read on your body? Take advantage of the body composition feature for a detailed breakdown of your muscle mass, water content, and more. You can also set up a heart rate zone to suit your personal fitness goals. Samsung warns that to get an accurate VO2 max reading, you need to run outdoors for at least 20 minutes with GPS enabled.
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