Between our smartphones, apps like MyFitness Pal, and the various fitness trackers available today, our phones are already doing a lot to help us monitor our health. However, it looks like Samsung is going to take things one step further with the as-yet-unconfirmed Galaxy Note 4. Samsung has yet to officially announce its flagship Galaxy Note for 2014, but has confirmed that a new version of the phablet is coming in the second half of this year.
Just last month there was talk that the Note 4 would have a UV sensor. Now, Sammobile is reporting that the sensor will be baked into Samsung’s S Health application and will measure the sun’s UV radiation. It will offer guidance based on the current measurements, hopefully protecting Note 4 users from painful sunburn, skin damage, and melanoma.
S Health will offer advice based on five different levels of UV reading, low, moderate, high, very high, and extreme. It’ll then offer advice like “wear sunglasses,” “stay int he shade,” “avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” and more. This is all information we all know but frequently forget. The will also supply a list of true and false statements about spending time in the sun in an attempt to educated Note 4 users on the dangers of not covering up or applying enough sunscreen.
Really, it’s hard to believe the Note 4 will be the first smartphone to ever offer this kind of information via its own sensor. Sure, you can just as easily get a reading from your local weather service, but it’s not going to be as accurate as the reading on your phone. The only issue is that you, obviously, need to be outside for this reading to be measured.
According to Sammobile, you’ll need to maintain a 60+ degree angle of elevation towards the sun against the back of the sensor for S Health to be able to report the UV index. In other words, unless you’re already carrying sun screen, a big hat, and a pair of sunglasses, everywhere you go, you should still check the UV index online before you leave the house.
[source]SamMobile[/source]
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