If you've ever used Samsung smartphone, you must know that
this South Korean manufacturer always provides its own applications, ranging
from S Planner (calendar) to S Voice as its virtual assistant. And of course,
all these applications can only be accessed via Samsung smartphones.
But recently, Samsung decides to release the S Health to
Google Play so that all the Android smartphone users can download it, with one
condition: the minimum OS version used is the Android 4.4 KitKat. As
information, S Health is a complete healthcare application that can obtain data
through the smartphone's sensors without the interference of separate fitness
trackers.
As we know, most of modern smartphones have packed a variety
of sensors such as an accelerometer, gyroscope and GPS. By utilizing these
sensors, S Health will monitor the number of footsteps, the amount of calories
burned, as well as various other physical activities.
S Health also provides a virtual instructor that will help users
to achieve daily targets. The instructor can also provide voice guidance so
users can stay focused on activities without having to stare into the
smartphone screen. At the same time, S Health also keeps a detailed foods
database so you can calculate how many calories you have consumed.
But the question is why does Samsung feel the need to
release the S Health to Google Play? One of the most plausible theories is
because the Gear S2 smartwatch is designed to be compatible with other
smartphones in addition to Samsung Galaxy series. Thus, users can use the Gear
S2 and S Health simultaneously despite they don't use Samsung smartphones.
S Health itself can also draw data that's collected by other
wearable devices, such as Samsung Gear original and Gear Fit, but not from
Android Wear smartwatch. But what needs to be underlined here is S Health can
turn your smartphone into a fitness tracker. If you are interested, you can get
the application in Google Play for free.