Samsung and Natural Cycles are teaming up to add temperature-based cycle tracking

Samsung’s press release says the feature will give users “more detailed insight” into their cycles, but is a bit vague about what those insights are. Advanced menstrual tracking and digital fertility features come in a variety of 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 that temperature data to make future ovulation predictions. Conversely, the Oura Ring introduced temperature-based period predictions with the Gen 3 version of its smart ring. Other wearable companies, such as Garmin, offer a period And follow pregnancy.

When asked by The edge clarifying the new features in this integration, Samsung said it’s primarily to help people view their cycles in an easy, convenient, and holistic way — including retrospective ovulation estimates and period predictions.

Samsung also gave some practical details about the feature: owners of a Galaxy Watch 5 or Watch 5 Pro don’t have to download a separate app to access it. Instead, it’s part of the Samsung Health app. This follows with previous Samsung integrations with apps like Calm and Sleep Cycle to shape its 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 marking requirements, and is registered with the FDA. FDA registration is not the same as approval or approval. It just means that the product is registered in the FDA database. But since Natural Cycles’ algorithm has received FDA approval, 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 may seem like Samsung lags behind Apple and Oura in this area, but it’s a marked improvement when you consider that it wasn’t until 2020 that the company added basic period tracking. Fitbit was the first to add period tracking in 2018, followed by Apple and Garmin in 2019. Conversely, temperature-based period tracking on wearables is not yet a widespread feature. The fact that Samsung managed to roll out something less than six months after Apple, that’s progress.