Samsung's big plan to compete with the Apple Watch: keeping you healthy as you age
New York
CNN — Healthcare costs are
Healthcare costs are expected to rise in 2025 and older adults are increasingly looking to age in place — trends Samsung is targeting to get a bigger piece of the digital health market. And the company's upcoming smartwatch update is another step in that direction, says Hon Pak, vice president and head of the digital health team for Samsung's mobile business.
'You have an aging population with increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and then you have costs going up,' Pak said in a CNN interview. 'And so all of those pressures are leading to care shifting to the home where we happen to be.'
Samsung wants to use digital health as a way to catch up to – and maybe beat – Apple in wearable technology. Both companies are expanding their wellness offerings as they hope to lock in long-term customers amid slowing smartphone sales. A beta version of the software will be available this month for Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 and newer models, although certain functions will only be available for the company's latest models.
Pak believes the company may have an edge over its competitors in bringing health into the home because it's already there in the form of appliances and home entertainment products, he said.
Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker by market share, according to estimates from leading market research firms. But Samsung faces steeper challenges in smartwatches, as it only accounted for roughly 6% of that global market in the first quarter of 2025, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), while Apple took the top spot with about 20% of the market.
Apple has done a better job at marketing the Apple Watch as a compelling smartphone companion than Samsung, says Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager for the IDC.
'(Apple is) closest to making the smartwatch a 'must have' than any other brand or ecosystem,' Ubrani told CNN in an email.
Samsung hopes to differentiate itself by focusing on preventative advice — i.e. helping users eat right or get enough sleep before developing health conditions. Yet it also faces competition from smaller health tech companies like smart ring maker Oura, which takes a similarly proactive approach to health tracking that tech giants like Google have also emulated.
An attendee tries on a Galaxy Ring wearable smart device at the Samsung Electronics Co. Unpacked launch in Paris.
Nathan Laine/Bloomberg/Getty Images
'As a physician, we collect about, probably less than 1% of the patient data, and we use that 1% data to make diagnostic and treatment decisions,' said Pak, who was the chief medical officer for 3M Health Information Systems before joining Samsung. 'We don't know if the patient's exercising … if they are eating right.'
The smartwatch update will include a new feature for measuring whether wearers are eating enough antioxidants. It works by shining LED lights at different wavelengths on the wearer's skin, which it says can estimate their levels of beta carotene, a type of antioxidant found in foods like carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach. To operate the feature, the user takes off the watch and presses the sensor on the back.
Pak notes that the feature estimates if users have enough antioxidants in their system rather than qualify their vegetable intake. He said the feature went through clinical trials that involved measuring beta carotene levels in the blood.
The update also includes bedtime recommendations and a 'running coach,' which creates training programs to help wearers hit their running goals. It comes after Apple announced its own Apple Watch coach on June 9 called Workout Buddy.
Pak says Samsung has an AI-powered health chatbot in the works but couldn't share more details with CNN since there hasn't been an announcement on a project launch. Apple is also said to be working on a similar tool, according to Bloomberg.
Samsung's Stephanie Chosen speaks about the Galaxy Watch Ultra.Beyond watches, Pak thinks AI-powered smart glasses present an opportunity for new types of health features, particularly meal logging. He says new technology may soon tell whether a person is eating too fast or if their meal has allergens by analyzing their plate using AI models working in conjunction with glasses.
Developers have already created services that claim to analyze nutritional contents of food by snapping photos and analyzing them through ChatGPT or Google's Gemini models.
'I don't think it's a technology problem,' said Pak. 'I think it's just a packaging of the technology capabilities that we have today.'
Samsung previously said it was developing a pair of smart glasses to run on Google's new Android XR software.
But Samsung's smartwatches don't work with iPhones, a challenging limitation since Apple owns nearly 20% of the market. Samsung stopped making its watches compatible with iPhones several years ago, likely a move to convince users to remain loyal to its own phones.
However, Pak hasn't ruled out the possibility of working with Apple again.
'I think there are always discussions about this,' he said. 'There are active discussions, but I think no decision has been made in terms of timing.'
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Egypt Independent
4 days ago
- Egypt Independent
Dozens killed by Israeli fire as they sought desperately needed aid in Gaza, Palestinian health ministry says
CNN — At least 51 people were killed and more than 200 others injured by Israeli fire as they waited for aid trucks to arrive in Khan Younis in southern Gaza early Tuesday morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. The incident marks the highest reported number of people killed while seeking aid over the past few weeks in the enclave. In total, nearly 400 Palestinians have been killed near aid centers since Israel lifted an 11-week total blockade on Gaza and allowed a trickle of aid to enter, according to the health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a Tuesday statement that 'a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area.' The IDF said it was 'aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd's approach,' that 'details of the incident are under review,' and that it 'regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.' One eyewitness, Mohammed Abu Abed, said that a group of people was hit by an airstrike. He told CNN: 'We were waiting for flour trucks. Suddenly, we were among the people and were hit by two missiles that tore apart people's bodies, remains, pieces of flesh everywhere. I don't know what to say; they killed the people, unarmed people who had nothing on them.' Wounded Palestinians are brought to Nasser Medical Complex, in southern Gaza, on June 17, 2025. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty Images 'They went to bring bread for their children, just bread or flour. They killed us in cold blood,' Abu Abed said. The IDF told CNN it was 'unaware' of an airstrike in that area on Tuesday. Video from the scene in Khan Younis on Tuesday shows dozens of bodies lying on the ground, covered in blood. The latest scenes of death, violence and desperation underline a grim existence for over 2.1 million people living in Gaza – which the United Nations has warned is edging closer to famine. Humanitarian organizations say that aid currently entering the enclave is only a tiny fraction of what is needed, with the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – the main supplier of aid in Gaza – coming under global scrutiny since it opened its distribution points late last month. Palestinians en route to GHF distribution sites have repeatedly been fired upon since its inception, according to the health ministry, with some 3,000 people injured in addition to the fatalities. On Tuesday, eight people were also killed after coming under Israeli fire near an aid distribution site west of Rafah, the ministry said. The GHF denied media reports that Tuesday's incident had occurred at one of the Foundation's distribution sites, calling the reports 'categorically untrue.' 'To date, not a single incident has occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of GHF sites nor has an incident occurred during our operating hours,' GHF said. The GHF, an Israeli-US backed private contractor, has been criticized by multiple international aid agencies for setting up its distribution centers amid active combat zones. The organization has repeatedly said there has been no violence at their sites. But the GHF acknowledged earlier this month that there have been Palestinian casualties in the surrounding areas, which the organization described as 'well beyond our secure distribution site.' A spokesman referred further questions to the Israeli military. The IDF has not yet responded to CNN's question on Tuesday's incident in Rafah. On Tuesday, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on X: 'Israel has weaponized food and blocked lifesaving aid. I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians trying to reach food distribution centres.' One of those killed in Khan Younis on Tuesday was a 20-year-old man, who had traveled there in hope of returning with food for his family. Speaking through tears, his mother said: 'He didn't go for a picnic. He went to bring food for his siblings and father.' A young Palestinian, who was injured while seeking aid, is treated at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday. AFP/Getty Images Nearby, at Nasser Medical Complex, hospital staff said that the entire ward was crowded with casualties. Video from the hospital showed dozens of people arriving with wounds, with others inside the hospital waiting for treatment as they laid on the floor. One intensive care doctor told Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), an aid organization based in the United Kingdom, that the hospital had received on Tuesday 'a large number of injured and killed from the Israeli army's targeting of aid distribution points in Khan Younis.' 'The situation here is catastrophic beyond imagination,' the doctor said, adding that the morgue was completely full and that additional bodies had been placed outside the building. 'We are trying our best, but the numbers are overwhelming,' he said. CNN's Oren Liebermann contributing reporting.
Egypt Independent
5 days ago
- Egypt Independent
Samsung's big plan to compete with the Apple Watch: keeping you healthy as you age
New York CNN — Healthcare costs are Healthcare costs are expected to rise in 2025 and older adults are increasingly looking to age in place — trends Samsung is targeting to get a bigger piece of the digital health market. And the company's upcoming smartwatch update is another step in that direction, says Hon Pak, vice president and head of the digital health team for Samsung's mobile business. 'You have an aging population with increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and then you have costs going up,' Pak said in a CNN interview. 'And so all of those pressures are leading to care shifting to the home where we happen to be.' Samsung wants to use digital health as a way to catch up to – and maybe beat – Apple in wearable technology. Both companies are expanding their wellness offerings as they hope to lock in long-term customers amid slowing smartphone sales. A beta version of the software will be available this month for Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 and newer models, although certain functions will only be available for the company's latest models. Pak believes the company may have an edge over its competitors in bringing health into the home because it's already there in the form of appliances and home entertainment products, he said. Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker by market share, according to estimates from leading market research firms. But Samsung faces steeper challenges in smartwatches, as it only accounted for roughly 6% of that global market in the first quarter of 2025, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), while Apple took the top spot with about 20% of the market. Apple has done a better job at marketing the Apple Watch as a compelling smartphone companion than Samsung, says Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager for the IDC. '(Apple is) closest to making the smartwatch a 'must have' than any other brand or ecosystem,' Ubrani told CNN in an email. Samsung hopes to differentiate itself by focusing on preventative advice — i.e. helping users eat right or get enough sleep before developing health conditions. Yet it also faces competition from smaller health tech companies like smart ring maker Oura, which takes a similarly proactive approach to health tracking that tech giants like Google have also emulated. An attendee tries on a Galaxy Ring wearable smart device at the Samsung Electronics Co. Unpacked launch in Paris. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg/Getty Images 'As a physician, we collect about, probably less than 1% of the patient data, and we use that 1% data to make diagnostic and treatment decisions,' said Pak, who was the chief medical officer for 3M Health Information Systems before joining Samsung. 'We don't know if the patient's exercising … if they are eating right.' The smartwatch update will include a new feature for measuring whether wearers are eating enough antioxidants. It works by shining LED lights at different wavelengths on the wearer's skin, which it says can estimate their levels of beta carotene, a type of antioxidant found in foods like carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach. To operate the feature, the user takes off the watch and presses the sensor on the back. Pak notes that the feature estimates if users have enough antioxidants in their system rather than qualify their vegetable intake. He said the feature went through clinical trials that involved measuring beta carotene levels in the blood. The update also includes bedtime recommendations and a 'running coach,' which creates training programs to help wearers hit their running goals. It comes after Apple announced its own Apple Watch coach on June 9 called Workout Buddy. Pak says Samsung has an AI-powered health chatbot in the works but couldn't share more details with CNN since there hasn't been an announcement on a project launch. Apple is also said to be working on a similar tool, according to Bloomberg. Samsung's Stephanie Chosen speaks about the Galaxy Watch watches, Pak thinks AI-powered smart glasses present an opportunity for new types of health features, particularly meal logging. He says new technology may soon tell whether a person is eating too fast or if their meal has allergens by analyzing their plate using AI models working in conjunction with glasses. Developers have already created services that claim to analyze nutritional contents of food by snapping photos and analyzing them through ChatGPT or Google's Gemini models. 'I don't think it's a technology problem,' said Pak. 'I think it's just a packaging of the technology capabilities that we have today.' Samsung previously said it was developing a pair of smart glasses to run on Google's new Android XR software. But Samsung's smartwatches don't work with iPhones, a challenging limitation since Apple owns nearly 20% of the market. Samsung stopped making its watches compatible with iPhones several years ago, likely a move to convince users to remain loyal to its own phones. However, Pak hasn't ruled out the possibility of working with Apple again. 'I think there are always discussions about this,' he said. 'There are active discussions, but I think no decision has been made in terms of timing.'
Egypt Independent
04-06-2025
- Egypt Independent
Trump's tariff threat exposes China's tight grip on the global pharmaceuticals industry
Hong Kong/New York CNN — It's the most prescribed antibiotic in the United States, used by tens of millions of people every year to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia, stomach ulcers, and strep throat. Yet, it isn't exactly common knowledge that amoxicillin, a relative of penicillin that has been in chronic short supply, has only one manufacturer in the US, or that China controls 80 percent of the raw materials required for its production. That's a major concern as US President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, throwing a spotlight on America's dependence on critical drug supplies from abroad. 'Increasing trade hostilities or more protracted conflicts could devastate our access to amoxicillin or the ingredients used to make it should Beijing weaponize its supply chain dominance,' Rick Jackson, founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, which owns America's sole amoxicillin manufacturer, told CNN. Last year, 96 percent of US imports of hydrocortisone (the active ingredient in the anti-itch cream), 90 percent of imports of ibuprofen (found in common over-the-counter pain relievers), and 73 percent of imports of acetaminophen (in other kinds of pain relievers) all came from China, according to CNN calculations based on trade data from the Census Bureau. With the US already facing shortages of many essential medications, experts warn that Beijing could potentially exploit this reliance as leverage in an escalating trade war. Tensions between the two sides have soared since Trump unleashed his trade assault on the world's second-largest economy. While the two countries have announced a temporary truce that rolled back the three-digit tariffs for 90 days, relations remain tense with ongoing feuding over chip restrictions imposed by the US. Leland Miller, a commissioner at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said the 'chokepoints' that China holds over the US pharmaceutical supply are 'detrimental to American security.' 'Simply by having this leverage … whether or not they ever pull the trigger, causes us to change our policy positions on a lot of things, and that's not good,' he said. So far, China has made no official public threat about weaponizing its dominant position in this segment of the pharmaceutical industry. But Trump's tariffs on the sector, if imposed, could worsen existing drug shortages and drive up prices for Americans, undermining his promise to lower health care costs. Generic drugs, which are designed to provide the same therapeutic effects as brand-name ones and are released after their patents expire, account for 90 percent of all prescriptions in the US. India produces many of those generics, often from ingredients imported from China. Even though industry insiders and experts widely acknowledge America's heavy reliance on Chinese pharmaceuticals, there is little comprehensive data on the full extent of this dependence across the sector, as major pharmaceutical firms have little incentive to disclose such information. That's part of the reason why last month, the Trump administration launched a probe into pharmaceuticals imports as part of efforts to impose tariffs on the sector on national security grounds. A 'catastrophic' interruption With China making 80 percent of the world's raw materials for amoxicillin, according to Jackson, it's a clear example of just how vulnerable the world could be to 'Chinese political or economic whims.' 'Any interruption by China along the lengthy amoxicillin supply chain could be catastrophic, particularly in the face of a potential bacterial epidemic,' he said. In 2021, Jackson purchased a bankrupt manufacturing site located in Bristol, Tennessee, and renamed it USAntibiotics. The facility, built in the 1970s, used to produce enough amoxicillin for the whole country at the time. After the amoxicillin patent expired in 2002, the Tennessee facility began to make generic equivalents. At that point, it began facing lower-cost competition from overseas and eventually went bankrupt. Concerns about America's dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals aren't new. As early as 2019, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended that Congress assess America's pharmaceutical vulnerabilities. Two years later, when Jackson bought the amoxicillin factory, he cited national security and the need to ensure a steady supply of antibiotics as a major reason for the purchase. China controls 80 percent of the raw materials required for amoxicillin's production. Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images Still, progress in growing America's pharma supply chain has been slow. In late April, Trump said pharmaceutical companies were 'going to have to' produce drugs in the US or face a 'tariff wall.' A key goal behind Trump's threats of pharmaceutical tariffs is to 'onshore' drug production. An American study in 2021 found that the US imports 72 percent of its essential medicines. But experts said tariffs are unlikely to achieve that goal for generics, which have become commodities, with price being the main differentiator. So-called brand-name drugs, by contrast, are protected by patents and therefore command higher prices and bigger profit margins. Instead, tariffs would not only drive up medical costs for patients, but they could also exacerbate ongoing drug shortages by pushing generic drug makers out of the American market. Even if they are willing to build drug-making facilities in the US, the process could take years. Reliance on China China's dominance in the global drug supply chain is part and parcel of its position as the world's factory. Over decades, the pursuit of lower production costs has prompted drug makers to shift production from Western countries to places like China and India. China plays an outsize role in the drug supply chain for its significant production of the critical chemical compounds, called key starting materials or KSM, which are necessary to produce active ingredients, called active pharmaceuticals ingredients or API. China and India dominate the global manufacturing capacity for API. Together, they account for 82 percent of all API manufacturer filings to the US Food and Drug Administration, according to United States Pharmacopeia (USP), a nonprofit that sets official quality standards for medicines. The filings contain detailed information about the facilities and manufacturing processes submitted by API manufacturers. In the two years after 2021, according to the most recent data, India's share of the filings dropped to 50 percent, while China's surged to 32 percent. Chinese manufacturers have also benefited from Beijing's policy incentives and subsidies for the pharmaceutical sector since the early 2000s, which led to industry clusters springing up in the country, said Qingpeng Zhang, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's LKS Faculty of Medicine. 'These industry clusters, which help drive down overall costs while maintaining quality … ultimately made China an ideal location for the production of generics and APIs within a free trade environment,' he said. Besides lower costs, the environmental impact of drug production also contributed to China's rise in this sector, as the US and European Union often have stricter environmental regulation, according to Ronald Piervincenzi, CEO of USP. Even India, the world's top supplier of generics, relies on China for APIs and other key ingredients. In fact, 70 percent of India's API imports come from China, according to a 2023 report commissioned by the Indian government. Dinesh Thakur, a public health expert and author of 'The Truth Pill,' a book on Indian drug regulations, said that India's reliance on China for drug materials reflected the 'natural evolution' of the industry. At the time when Indian drug companies moved up the value chain toward higher-margin products like formulations and injectables, China's nascent pharmaceutical sector made inroads with API production at a lower price point, he said. The Indian companies then 'bought the API for a lesser cost from China and focused their money and their capacity in India on building competence for developing more complex finished formulations,' Thakur said. He added that China's well-established chemicals industry, built independently of pharmaceuticals, also gave its manufacturers a head start in producing drug-related chemicals. Major policy push Besides its cost advantage, China's pharmaceutical industry also got a boost from the government. In 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping unveiled his signature 'Made in China 2025' industrial strategy, which identified biopharma and advanced medical products as key sectors for development in its broader push to reduce the country's reliance on foreign technology. The Covid-19 pandemic further exposed global dependence on China for pharmaceutical supplies – and served as a reminder to Beijing of the strategic advantage that that dominance provides. In a state-run magazine in 2020, Xi said China must consolidate its leadership in its advantageous industries, and 'tighten global industrial chains' dependence on China to build strong countermeasures and deterrent capabilities against deliberate external supply cutoffs.' In 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping unveiled his signature 'Made in China 2025' industrial strategy, which identified biopharma and advanced medical products as key sectors for development in its broader push to reduce the country's reliance on foreign technology. Tingshu Wang/Pool/Getty Images In 2021, during the height of the epidemic, China's National Development and Reform Commission, the state planner, highlighted APIs as a 'key strength in China's pharmaceutical industry's participation in global competition.' Li Daokui, a professor of finance at Tsinghua University in Beijing and a Beijing adviser, even suggested that China, given its strategic position in the production of raw materials for vitamins and antibiotics, could limit drug supplies to the US as 'countermeasures' against American sanctions. 'Not effective' While Trump is not the first US president to push for onshoring drug production, he is the first to attempt it through the threat of sweeping tariffs. Some companies have fallen in line. British firm AstraZeneca, for instance, is shifting production of certain medicines from Europe to the US, following a $3.5 billion investment plan announced late last year. Similarly, companies including Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly have pledged to expand their US operations. But these companies primarily focus on patented drugs. Stephen Farrelly, global head of pharma and healthcare at Dutch bank group ING, noted that the US accounted for 44 percent of global pharmaceutical sales in 2023, making it imperative for makers of patented drugs to maintain a presence in the country. The story is different for generics because their margins are often half those of branded ones. 'Given their margin profiles, they can't afford to make long-term investment decisions with so much uncertainty around,' he said. 'If even possible, it would take in excess of five years to begin reshoring.' Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would eventually fall on patients, experts say, widening health disparities in an already strained health care system. Because generics are as much as 85 percent cheaper than branded drugs, low-income patients and those without health insurance rely on them disproportionately. An April study commissioned by the main American pharmaceutical lobby group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, revealed that a 25 percent tariff will increase costs of imported pharmaceuticals by $50.8 billion annually, causing prices to rise by 12.9 percent if passed to consumers. ING also found that a 25 percent tariff on a common generic cancer medication could raise its price by up to $10,000 for a 24-week prescription. Rather than achieving the intended goal of onshoring production, experts said the tariffs could risk pushing generics manufacturers to abandon the US market altogether. Piervincenzi warned that even modest tariffs could disrupt the supply of generics. 'There's very little profit there and any tariff would just result in [generic drug makers] being underwater and just exiting,' he said. Incentives other than tariffs are necessary to create a resilient drug supply chain, Piervincenzi said. And unlike with other industries, drug supply disruption or shortages could have life-threatening consequences. 'Each of these drugs, people's lives depend on them, and a single drug goes into shortage and a child can't get their cancer therapy, and it becomes a disaster, which you don't see if your favorite brand of ketchup's out of stock,' he said. 'You may be annoyed, but your life is not in danger.'
