Suggestions on why I should keep the Galaxy Watch 8

[HopFrog]

To be clear, I am a long-time Samsung product customer, and I have loved loved loved every single Samsung Phone I have ever had. Love them. Aaand ... welll ...

I recently started using the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 ... and it's not like either the advertising nor the Samsung Support chat folks represented it to be. I'm trying to decide whether to cut my losses and try something else, or stick with it in the hopes the advertised benefits materialize ... help, please?

My purpose for the Watch8 is to passively measure and record, 24-7, estimated blood pressure, pulse-oxygen, heart rate, actual skin temperature, and then measure and record sleep and movement during sleep. 

I was assured by a Samsung Support person via chat (yes, screen-shotted) that passive blood pressure measurement and recording was now available in the US. I bought the watch. Aaand ... it's not.

I check the skin temperature, and all it gives me is a range of variation around a non-disclosed midpoint temperature. Not useful. Not at all. And it apparently is only being measured when it detects sleep? I need this 24-7 ... 

And I'm having to tell the Samsung Health app when I nap, instead of the Watch8 figuring it out through absence of movement and recording it passively.

On top of all this, even though I have notifications, sound, vibration, everything I can find turned off except for the health measurement, I'm having to take the watch off and charge it every day to every other day ... this is wayyy less than helpful, as measurement is only possible while the watch is being worn and has power ... 

The Watch8, in theory, cost me nothing through a special run by T-Mobile, my carrier; aaaaand, in true "give them the razor and sell them the blades" fashion, the charges come in for the insurance and extra line and accessories that aren't explicitly included in the Watch8's package ... 

So, on a fixed income, I'm out around an additional $40/month for something that isn't doing what it was represented to be able to do here in the US.

I'm looking for both encouragement, honest feedback, and hope, please. 

Has anyone heard of upcoming updates or changes that will bring estimated blood pressure functionality? Will improve skin temperature recording? Or sleep detection? Or battery function?

Hoping Samsung Support sees this and has something useful to say ... thank you all in the Community for your information and opinions!! 8-)

[Dan2023]

I'm sorry that you were led to believe that the Watch8 is 'capable' of providing blood pressure monitoring in the US. Technically, the Watch8 is 'capable' of doing this, but this feature has not been approved by the FDA and, therefore, is not available yet.

Hopefully, you're able to return the watch for a full refund.

[HopFrog]

... thank you ...

[Mindblowingself]

I get your point and they shouldn't have guaranteed that since the function won't work yet but seems like you need a different approach for your health tracking needs

[HopFrog]

... thank you ... suggestions are welcome ... 8-)

[realaud]

Do you think there's going to be a sudden, major change in your vitals during the hour a day it takes to charge your watch?

[HopFrog]

... welll ... part of the reason for my monitoring is that I never know ... and if my readings were consistently homeostatic, why would constant readings be necessary? And, if, in order to reduce the possibility of triggering a major change, I have to limit location and activity for that hour a day, and make certain I don't doze off while remaining still? Yeahhhhhh ... charging for an hour a day when something is supposed to last several days is asking quite a bit. In my not-so-humble opinion. Thank you kindly for offering the reality check! 8-)

[realaud]

Do you never shower or get ready for work? You shouldn't wear your watch in the shower and that would be a good time to charge it. Not for nothing, but if your health is so precarious, maybe the watch is not your ideal method for monitoring.

[HopFrog]

I am choosing to read your response as if it has no snarky overtones, in case your questions are innocent and genuine, and in case you truly have never met anyone with challenging mid-level health conditions. I actually deal with questions and judgments that sound like what you've typed. All. The. Time. They do get old; and, while constantly educating others is exhausting and using energy I don't have, I get that communication has to start somewhere. And that no one else can describe my situation quite like I can.

So.

First, I can't shower ... thanks for asking.

Second, not everyone who can't shower has health that's considered precarious ... believe me, if it was considered precarious by medical professionals, Medicare would likely cover much more sophisticated monitoring systems than this watch. Many people have incredibly debilitating and perplexing symptom sets (that aren't seen by medicine as precarious or life-threatening) that require data collection to get medical practitioners to even listen, and don't have the physical ability to actively monitor and record data from multiple organ systems constantly; nor do they have the funding to hire personnel to do so.

I am one of those people.

One of those many multitudinous people with "invisible" ailments. I fall through the gaping cracks between "fitness" monitoring and hospital level monitoring.

I could care less about step counting or the timing of splits. Would that those could be valid concerns for me again. Constant passive blood pressure measurement and recording is a weeeee bit more significant in my circumstances.

Ok ... stepping away from that, more into the direction of battery life, ...

I charged this Watch8 last night for two hours while sitting still before going to bed. It's not yet 8 am here, and the Watch8 is showing 66% battery life ... with everything except for health monitoring and wi-fi/Bluetooth turned off. Everything. Ringers, vibrations, notifications, you name it.

Call me naive, but that just doesn't seem right. There's a big difference between charging every few days and charging a couple of hours every day.

A reality check from an outside party on this particular battery life point would be most welcome, please. Thanks! 8-)

[realaud]

The watch uses up to 30% at night. It is not idle. It backs up and looks for updates, as well as does the health monitoring. Let's not forget that the night is 8 hours long and that would account for the battery usage. How much battery does it use up over the course of 8 hours during the day? Normal uptime for a non ultra watch is 32-36 hours - a day and a half. Continual monitoring uses more resources than intermittent monitoring . No one is going to try to convince you to keep a device that is not working for you. Whatever you decide to use next, I urge you to thoroughly investigate that it meets all your requirements. I think the Fitbit may have a longer battery life, but that's because it does less. No Samsung device in the US has been approved for BP monitoring, even though the capability has been built in. The CS rep should have been better trained in this fact, as it is pretty much common knowledge. So, if BP is your main concern, look elsewhere, it's not on a Galaxy watch. As for the battery life, if you can't carve out an hour of time to charge, I suggest you charge in smaller blocks of time whenever you find yourself sitting still. I have multiple chargers stategically placed. I did this when I had a failing battery so that I could boost it whenever I needed to - even carried a keychain power pack with me.