Samsung finally adds period tracking to its Health app
Apple, Fitbit, Garmin and many third-party apps already offer this feature.
The Samsung Health app is finally offering a long-awaited feature: period tracking. According to SamMobile, Samsung is rolling out an update, version 6.9.0.055, which adds a new women's health category and allows users to track their menstrual cycles.
It's about time Samsung added the capability. Apple, Fitbit, Garmin and many third-party apps already offer period tracking. A quick scroll through Samsung forums shows that users have been calling for this addition for years. Many have questioned why women's health was not more of a priority.
As Engadget's Nicole Lee has pointed out, how effective period-tracking and fertility apps are depends on what you're using them for. For simply predicting when your next period will start, the apps use past cycle data and can be helpful. It gets a little trickier when you start using the apps to conceive. If you're looking for an app that can act as a contraceptive, you're better off with an FDA-approved option like Natural Cycles, and if you're pregnant, you may find pregnancy health apps more than a little disappointing.
The addition of period tracking is part of Samsung's attempt to make Samsung Health more comprehensive, allowing it to do more than simply track activity. Last year, Samsung Health added Calm's meditation, relaxation and sleep services. Samsung also brought blood-pressure monitoring and stress detection to its Galaxy Watch Active, but in those cases, too, Samsung was chasing competitors who had already introduced similar features.
