More Galaxy Watch 4 owners are finally receiving these long-awaited health featu...

(Image credit: Daniel Bader / Android Central)

What you need to know

• A new firmware update is activating ECG and blood pressure monitoring on the Galaxy Watch 4 series. 
• The software update is rolling out to Canadian Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 owners.
• ECG monitoring on the Galaxy Watch 4 is already available in the U.S., but BP is still inactive.

From sleep tracking to keep an eye on your heart rate, health monitoring is one of the most popular reasons for buying a smartwatch or fitness tracker. Some recent product launches have put even more emphasis on health sensors, with the Galaxy Watch 4 being one of the most advanced. Well, some users are getting ECG and blood pressure monitoring via the Samsung Health Monitor app on their Galaxy smartwatches thanks to a new update.

SamMobilereported, via a tip from Twitter user @Da_Ali_G_Show, that Canadian owners of the Galaxy Watch 4 are receiving a software update version R8xxXXU1FVC8 that is activating both ECG and blood pressure monitoring on their watches. While U.S. owners of the smartwatch have been able to use the ECG feature since launch when using the watch with a Samsung Galaxy phone, the blood pressure feature has been missing from North America. 

As one of the best Android smartwatches, the advanced health sensors in the Galaxy Watch 4, like the BIA sensor, make it excellent for monitoring your health. Picking up the ECG and blood pressure monitoring will only make the watch better for those interested in those metrics. Once updated, the new features will need to be enabled within the Samsung Health app to begin using them.

While Samsung has been doing a fairly good job of keeping its smartwatch fresh with updates, the Galaxy Watch 4 series is still missing Google Assistant, among other features keeping it from being even more impressive. There’s still no telling if or when the FDA in the U.S. will approve the ability to monitor your blood pressure from the smartwatch, but it is nice to see that Samsung is still working to bring the feature to areas it can. 

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 runs the latest version of Wear OS 3 and has some of the most advanced health sensors you can put on your wrist.

Chris Wedel

Senior Editor - Smart Home

Chris Wedel is a fan of all things tech and gadgets. Living in rural Kansas with his wife and two young boys makes finding ways to get and stay online tricky. By utilizing his years of experience with the tech and mobile communications industries — success is assured. When not conquering connectivity challenges and testing new gadgets, he enjoys cruising a gravel road in his UTV with some good tunes.