Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s tech giant is set to release its healthcare tracking smartband Gear Fit 2 as early as next month. The new model will be focused more on fitness monitoring functions than the original one. The product is drawing attention because it is the first product that the company is set to commercialize after the remarks of Samsung’s Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong at Boao Forum in China in April 2014 that the mobile healthcare industry will be the next growth engine for the company. Gear Fit 2 is a brainchild of the company’s senior vice president Rhee In-jong who is leading Samsung’s software business including Samsung Pay.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, a launch of Gear Fit 2 is imminent as the company has finished development process and embarked on preparation for launching. The image of the smartband has been leaked, raising consumers’ expectations.

Fitness-tracking features are strengthened for Gear Fit 2. The new model is expected to come with a built-in GPS to allow users to better track their outdoor activities and daily whereabouts, adding to the heart rate sensor and a pedometer that its predecessor already has.

Gear Fit 2 will be the world’s first smartband that is embedded with bio-processor, according to a source at the company. The all-in-one chipset is able to measure body fat, skeletal muscle mass, heart rate, heart rhythm, skin temperature and galvanic skin response (GSR) which is the body’s physiological response based on sweat production. It can also produce new physical information by combining two or more data. The company’s Device Solution (DS) division has been manufacturing the chip since early this year.

The global mobile healthcare market is growing rapidly. Estimates vary, but the market is expected to grow to 30 trillion won ($25.6 billion) by 2017 and 70 trillion won by 2020.

By Lee Gi-chang

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