Samsung Watch users in the US can finally track their blood pressure – but it's tricky

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Samsung Galaxy Watch users in the US can now monitor blood pressure.
• An inflatable cuff monitor is required for calibration.
• Actual systolic/diastolic readings are provided on the Galaxy Watch.

I am fast approaching 60 and regularly get high blood pressure readings during my medical exams, so when Samsung released its blood pressure monitoring capability five years ago, I planned to always wear a Samsung watch to track this metric outside the stressful doctor’s office.

However, this functionality was not supported in the US due to the FDA approval process, so I’ve been wearing other watches.

Also: I tested the best blood pressure watches: Here are the top options

Today, Samsung finally announced that blood pressure monitoring is now available for compatible Samsung Galaxy Watch models. This new capability will work on Galaxy Watch 4 and later models, and I plan to put the awesome Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025 back on my wrist to track trends in my blood pressure throughout the day.

How to enable blood pressure monitoring 

To enable the feature and use it with your Galaxy Watch, download the latest Samsung Health Monitor app to your Android smartphone, then follow the steps to connect your Galaxy Watch and set up the monitoring utility. A blood pressure cuff, something like a Garmin or Withings monitor, is required to set the baseline and calibrate the Galaxy Watch every 28 days.

Although this functionality has not been available in the US, there were methods to hack it onto your watch, and that’s what I tried for a couple of years. The hack wasn’t always perfect and required several steps to set up, but I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the blood pressure readings from the Samsung Galaxy Watch and look forward to having a complete, authorized experience on my wrist.

I had some unpleasant experiences with doctors when I was younger and suffer from “white coat syndrome,” so my blood pressure at the doctor’s office is usually much higher than when I take readings at my home. With a Galaxy Watch and Samsung Health Monitor app, I will now be able to take readings throughout the day and share them with my doctor for a more accurate diagnosis and possible treatment.

Also: I bought the 2025 version of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 

You should not rely solely on your Galaxy Watch for a high blood pressure diagnosis, but it is useful for tracking trends and also validating situations such as white coat syndrome.

Apple also offers some support for high blood pressure detection with the Apple Watch, but it is much more limited than Samsung’s. Apple detects patterns of hypertension over a 30-day period and will give you a notification if there is something detected, but no blood pressure readings are provided.

A certified cuff is the most accurate way to measure high blood pressure, but combined with a Galaxy Watch, users can now be better informed, which hopefully will lead to fewer deaths due to high blood pressure complications.