What you need to know

  • A new patent suggests that Samsung could introduce visceral body fat tracking to target the deeper parts of your anatomy
  • It would use an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar, combined with your Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA) data and other basic metrics to give you an accurate reading
  • We don't know how Samsung plans to introduce this, but our guess is through the next Galaxy Watch

There's pretty much nothing that Samsung's Galaxy Watch lineup can't do, but deep body fat tracking is one area the tech giant hasn't quite been able to master — not yet, anyway.

This speculation comes from a new Samsung patent filing describing a possible upcoming tool as a ’Method and system for estimation of abdominal fat’. Additionally, the patent says the system would use an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar and would be combined with existing Galaxy Watch tracking metrics to present you with a result.

According to the patent description, 'the technical result is reduced complexity and increased accuracy and speed of estimation of the abdominal subcutaneous fat area and the abdominal visceral fat area with portable devices'.

I know what you're thinking: Samsung wearables have been able to measure body fat since the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 back in 2021, so what makes this rumored feature any different? Turns out, quite a lot!

(Image credit: Patent Public Service / USPTO)

Visceral vs subcutaneous fat

When it comes to the new patent, the tracking feature is designed to target and analyze visceral fat, which isn't like standard (or subcutaneous) body fat, which sits just beneath the skin. Visceral fat is found much deeper, mainly around your internal organs, and can only be read with the help of clinical tech such as MRI and CT scans.

Not only does visceral fat require advanced tools to be measured, but it's also much more difficult to burn than regular body fat. If the tech in the patent is used, it means that Samsung could be one of the first consumer tech companies to embed a feature into a wearable that's historically been in the control of medical professionals. Smart scales can give you an estimated visceral fat reading, but can come with some inaccuracies.

As mentioned, Samsung's visceral fat tracker would be used against existing features for analysis. As per the finding, the system's UWB radar emits radiation into the abdominal region and measures reflected signals, combining this information with Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA) data and basic metrics including your weight, height, age, and gender.

The only thing that isn't mentioned in the patent is through which device Samsung intends to introduce visceral fat tracking, but the Galaxy Watch is the safest bet since it already packs BIA sensors that measure patterns and changes in body fat percentage, skeletal mass, BMI, and much more.

The next step for Samsung would be to integrate a UWB sensor — could this be the biggest upgrade for the Galaxy Watch 10?