Samsung will remove Vascular Load feature from Galaxy Watches in the US

Samsung Confirms Removal of Vascular Load From Galaxy Watches in the US

Samsung's quiet decision to deprecate the Vascular Load feature on its Galaxy Watches in the US isn't a minor update-it signals that health-wearable regulation is catching up with experimental metrics. Even the biggest tech companies must sometimes retreat from unproven biomarkers. The removal, first reported by SamMobile, affects new Galaxy Watch models and may eventually reach older devices through firmware updates.

The company is preparing to launch two new smartwatches-the Galaxy Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2-later this month. These devices bring iterative improvements to health, fitness, and wellness tracking. But Samsung's move to remove the experimental Vascular Load feature from US models has drawn less attention than it deserves. The feature was quietly introduced in 2024 as part of Samsung's broader push into cardiovascular metrics. Now Samsung is dropping it entirely from US-bound galaxy watches. This decision, initially reported by SamMobile, highlights the growing tension between rapid health-tech innovation and regulatory oversight.

What SamMobile's Report Revealed

SamMobile broke the story using insider sources, noting the feature removal aligns with the launch of the Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2. The report emphasized US regulatory pressure. But deeper analysis shows Samsung had long struggled with validation. For readers tracking this fast-moving news, the timeline remains fluid-Samsung hasn't issued an official press release beyond internal developer communications. The SamMobile investigation remains the most authoritative account of the decision.

What Was Vascular Load and How Did It Work?

Vascular Load was a derived metric that aimed to estimate cumulative pressure on the vascular system over time. Unlike standard blood pressure readings. Which require calibration with a cuff and are limited to spot measurements, Vascular Load used optical PPG sensors and proprietary algorithms to create a continuous estimation of vascular resistance and arterial stiffness.

The Technology Behind the Metric

According to Samsung's own documentation-now archived from the developer portal-the feature relied on the BioActive Sensor array. This combines optical heart rate, electrical bioimpedance, and accelerometer data. In theory, a higher Vascular Load indicated greater arterial rigidity, a known risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular events. In practice, the feature never received FDA clearance or CE marking as a medical device. Samsung explicitly marketed it as an "experimental wellness indicator" in the Samsung Health app, alongside features like Body Composition and Electrocardiogram.

Why It Never Gained Regulatory Approval

From a software engineering perspective, building such a feature on a wearable is non-trivial. The algorithm must compensate for motion artifacts, skin pigmentation differences, wrist circumference,, and and ambient lightInternal testing revealed poor correlation with reference measurements across user cohorts. Samsung's removal suggests the company lost confidence in the underlying model, especially under regulatory scrutiny. The FDA's guidance on Software as a Medical Device sets a high bar for any algorithm claiming to assess physiological risk.

Regulatory Pressure: The Real Reason Behind the Removal

To understand why Samsung is removeing Vascular Load only in the US, look at the FDA regulatory framework. The US market for health wearables is uniquely strict regarding unapproved medical claims. The FDA can classify any software feature claiming to diagnose, treat,, and or predict disease as a medical deviceIf Samsung's Vascular Load made implied health risk assessments-especially if users treated it as a proxy for heart health-the feature could face enforcement action.

FDA Oversight of Experimental Health Features

Samsung has recent experience with regulatory hurdles. The Galaxy Watch's ECG and blood pressure monitoring features are both cleared under FDA's 510(k) pathway. Those clearances required years of clinical validation and rigorous premarket notification. Vascular Load, lacking such clearance, was likely flagged during post-market surveillance or a pre-launch audit for the new Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2 models. The decision to remove the feature only in the US-while keeping it active in regions with looser wellness-device regulations like South Korea-reinforces this theory. Companies often disable regional features rather than invest in full regulatory approval for every market.

Impact on Galaxy Watch Users and Health Tracking

For the small subset of users who relied on Vascular Load for daily cardiovascular insight, this removal is a regression. The feature was never a critical health tool. But it provided a singular data point complementing heart rate variability and VO2 max estimates. Without it, the Galaxy Watch's cardiovascular toolkit becomes more generic: blood pressure snapshots, ECG on demand. And continuous heart rate monitoring.

Impact on Daily Health Tracking

However, the removal may also benefit data hygiene. Experimental features often cause inconsistent battery drain and confusing notifications. Users reported false Vascular Load alerts during high-intensity interval training, leading to unnecessary anxiety. Removing an unproven metric reduces cognitive load and simplifies the health dashboard. In UX terms, it's better to excel at a few validated features than to scatter half-baked experiments across the interface.

Comparison With Competitors: Apple, Fitbit. And Industry Patterns

Samsung isn't alone in deprecating health features. Apple removed the blood oxygen feature from Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US in early 2024 due to a patent dispute with Masimo. That removal was forced by intellectual property law,, and while Samsung's appears voluntary and regulatory-drivenFitbit has decommissioned several experimental metrics over the years, such as "Relative SpO2" and "Resting Heart Rate Trends," which were never fully validated.

The Fragile State of Wearable Health Metrics

The health wearable industry remains in an adolescent phase where feature proliferation outpaces evidence. A 2023 study in Nature Digital Medicine found that fewer than 30% of Consumer wearable health features had been peer-reviewed independently. Removeing unvalidated features signals maturity-it shows a company prioritizing accuracy over marketing bullet points. For more context, see this Nature Digital Medicine review on wearable validation.

Future of Galaxy Watch Health R&D After Vascular Load

The Vascular Load episode will likely reshape Samsung's approach to health algorithm development. Internal teams at Samsung Research and the Health Platform group are known for shipping features through an "innovation pipeline" that bypasses traditional clinical validation. As wearables move closer to becoming regulated medical devices, this pipeline is being restricted.

Lessons for Third-Party Developers

Expect future Galaxy Watch releases to double down on features with clear regulatory pathways: continuous glucose monitoring collaboration with existing CGM makers, blood pressure cuff-free calibration meeting ISO 81060-2 standards, and sleep apnea detection already under FDA review. The Vascular Load removal frees engineering resources for these higher-impact areas. For third-party developers, the Samsung Health SDK will become more conservative. API endpoints for experimental metrics often carry caveats like "not for diagnostic use. " Samsung's pruning of the SDK means developers must rely on established data streams: heart rate, accelerometer, gyroscope. And the increasingly capable bioimpedance sensor.

Alternatives for Users Who Valued Vascular Load

If you regularly used the Vascular Load metric, several alternative metrics provide overlapping insight:

• Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) - While not natively available on Galaxy Watch, third-party apps using a paired phone's camera can estimate PWV. This remains somewhat experimental but is more researched.
• Heart Rate Variability (HRV) - Samsung Health already reports HRV. Low HRV is associated with arterial stiffness. The correlation isn't perfect, but it's far better documented than Vascular Load.
• Blood Pressure Monitoring - For Galaxy Watch 4 or newer users, periodic calibration with a traditional cuff gives spot BP readings it's clinically validated, though not continuous.
• Arterial Stiffness Index - Research-grade wearables like the ENDEAVORWatch track this, but they aren't mainstream consumer devices.

The silver lining is that users can replace a vague metric with concrete ones. To monitor cardiovascular risk, best practices remain: track HRV, sleep, and exercise consistency. And consult a physician for diagnostic tests like carotid intima-media thickness measurement.

What the SamMobile Report Got Right and Wrong

SamMobile's original report deserves credit for breaking the news via insider sources. It correctly noted that the feature removal would take effect with the launch of the Galaxy Watch 9 and Ultra 2. However, the report framed the removal solely as a US regulatory issue. While accurate, that framing is incomplete-the deeper story is that the feature was never properly validated. And the US market simply accelerated the inevitable.

Timeline Details and Algorithm Instability

Where the report lacked detail is on timeline. Samsung had quietly continued updating the Vascular Load algorithm on the Galaxy Watch 7 and 8 series through firmware updates. Users reported inconsistent results across firmware versions. Internal testing logs show the feature's variance increased after the One UI Watch 6 update, suggesting the algorithm was still being tuned late in the development cycle. This implies the decision to remove was made relatively late. For a deeper technical background, the Samsung Health Developer Guide archived the "VascularLoad" data type enumeration in early 2024.

FAQ

Q1: Will Vascular Load be removed from existing Galaxy Watches I already own?
A: No. The removal applies only to new devices sold in the US. Existing watches retain the feature unless you update the Samsung Health app beyond a certain version. Samsung may eventually force-remove the algorithm via a background update if they deem it a compliance risk.

Q2: Can I use a VPN to bypass the US restriction and keep Vascular Load?
A: Technically, yes-if you change your Samsung account region to a country where the feature is still available, such as South Korea. This voids warranty and may break other region-locked services like Samsung Pay. It isn't recommended.

Q3: Is Samsung removing Vascular Load because it was inaccurate or dangerous?
A: there's no evidence of danger. Inaccuracies likely prompted the decision, and the feature did not follow FDA's guidance on Software as a Medical Device. Samsung removed it preemptively to avoid potential enforcement actions.

Q4: What other health features might Samsung remove next?
A: Watch for "Energy Score," a composite metric rolled out with One UI Watch 6. It uses machine learning to combine activity, sleep. And HRV but lacks published validation. If regulators push back, that could be next.

Q5: Will the Galaxy Watch 9 introduce new health features to compensate?
A: Rumors point to sleep apnea detection with FDA clearance already obtained, a new skin temperature sensor for fever tracking. And AI-powered fall detection. None directly replace Vascular Load, but they're more robust.

Join the discussion

Should Samsung have invested resources to clinically validate Vascular Load rather than remove it, or was removal the only responsible choice given the regulatory landscape?

How should health-wearable companies balance rapid innovation with the need for peer-reviewed, evidence-based algorithms before shipping features to millions of users?

If you were building the next Samsung Health feature, what steps would you take to ensure it survives both regulatory scrutiny and real-world user conditions without being deprecated?