Samsung’s next Galaxy Watch could measure the kind of fat that’s usually only visible on an MRI. A new patent describes a system that uses radar to estimate visceral fat, the deep fat around your organs, which would be a big step up from what any smartwatch can measure today. If it ships, it’d be one more reason to pair a Galaxy Watch with one of the Android phones Samsung makes.
Android Central spotted the patent, titled “Method and system for estimation of abdominal fat.” It describes an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar that sends signals into your abdomen and measures what bounces back. That data then gets combined with bioelectrical impedance (BIA) readings, along with your weight, height, age, and sex.
According to the patent, the goal is to estimate both subcutaneous fat, which sits just under the skin, and visceral fat, which sits deeper around your organs. Samsung says it should be faster and more accurate than current methods on portable devices.
Why visceral fat is harder to measure
Samsung watches have measured body fat since the Galaxy Watch 4 in 2021, using BIA sensors. But that’s an estimate of overall body composition. It can’t tell you how much fat is sitting around your organs.
That usually takes a CT scan or an MRI. Some smart scales give you a visceral fat estimate, but they’re not known for being very accurate. Adding radar could help a wearable get much closer to what a doctor’s office can measure.
There are still a lot of unknowns. The patent doesn’t say which device this is meant for. A Galaxy Watch makes the most sense, since it already has BIA sensors, but it would also need a UWB radar, which Samsung’s watches don’t have today. It could show up in the Galaxy Watch 10.
It’s also not clear how a watch on your wrist would read your abdomen. You might have to hold it against your stomach, similar to how you press two fingers on the buttons for a BIA reading now. The patent doesn’t spell that out.
Samsung has been pushing hard on health features lately. It recently upgraded sleep apnea detection on the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Ring, and Google is adding blood pressure tracking to the Pixel Watch. UWB is also becoming more selective on Samsung’s phones, with the base Galaxy S27 and Galaxy S27 Plus reportedly dropping it.
The post The Next Galaxy Watch Could Measure Visceral Fat With Radar appeared first on Android Headlines.
