Samsung Health might follow Garmin down the subscription path

Samsung’s next Galaxy Watch is getting some new health features, but that’s not the only story. What matters more is that you might have to start paying to access some of them.

Samsung Health might not stay free for much longer

The company is testing a new batch of health tools as part of its One UI 8 Watch update. Things like bedtime guidance, running coach, vascular load, and even something called an antioxidant index. That’s the good news. The bad news is that some of this stuff probably won’t be free.

Dr. Hon Pak, who runs Samsung’s digital health team, recently told CNET they’re seriously looking at a subscription model for Samsung Health. Basic tracking will still be there, but some more advanced features could end up behind a paywall.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

The beta version of the update is already live in the US and South Korea. If you’ve got a Galaxy Watch 5 or newer, you might be able to try some of these features now. But not all watches will support all of them. Some need newer LED sensors that only come on the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra.

So even if you’re ready to pay, your current watch might not cut it.

Everyone’s doing it, but that doesn’t make it good

Subscriptions are a bit of a controversial topic when it comes to wearable tech. Fitbit was one of the first to kick-start the trend. Its Premium tier offers guided workouts, advanced sleep and stress insights, mindfulness sessions, wellness reports and a few other bits and pieces.

Garmin recently launched Connect Plus. It offers more polished summaries and a bunch of AI insights. Granted, all of this seems to be work in progress and probably not worth upgrading to for most people. Especially as you still get most things for free. Same goes for Polar. Their Flow+ plan adds recovery features and extras, but they haven’t gone all-in yet.

Then there’s Whoop. They went the opposite route. You don’t buy the device at all. The hardware is included with your plan, but what you’re really paying for is the data and analysis.

Samsung seems to be trying to find a middle ground. Keep the basics open, charge for deeper insights, and tie some of it to the newest watches. But once this structure is in place, it becomes easier to expand it.

The real cost isn’t the watch

This is where things start to shift. It’s not just about buying a device anymore. Now you’re also thinking about what parts of it you’ll be able to use without signing up for a plan.

And honestly, this feels like the beginning of something bigger. Health tracking used to be a built-in feature. Something that came with your watch and just worked. Now it’s turning into a service. And services come with monthly fees.

It seems like everyone’s looking for recurring revenue. But as a user, it means you’re paying more over time for features that used to come standard. And that’s before even getting into whether these new metrics are reliable or meaningful yet. A lot of them are still being tested, so it’s early days.

Still, it’s clear where things are heading.

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