Mobile Health
Samsung Electronics’ health care application has seen the number of users grow dramatically, accelerating its mobile health care business. The company also plans to offer remote medical care services through the partnership with global leading health service providers.
Samsung Electronics announced on Apr. 28 that the number of “S Health” users launched in 2012 exceeded 100 million in Nov. last year and 150 million in 130 countries as of the end of Apr in five months. The S Health app, which can be downloaded in smartphones and wearables, including smart watch and smart bracelet, monitors the user’s health condition, including heart rates, and suggest healthier lifestyle and habits.
Samsung Electronics is also developing a solution which manages the user’s chronic diseases through smartphones and wearables installed S Health. In particular, the company has joined hands with the U.S.-based medical care service provider HealthTab, to converge the medical consultation service technology which connects patients with physicians through smartphones. It has also established the partnership with Vivify Health, an information technology company in the U.S., to provide remote medical care services by monitoring the patient’s health conditions online through smartphones.
As the user base of the mobile healthcare services led by Lee In-jong, vice president at Samsung's IT & mobile communication (IM) division, is expanding, sales of smartphones and wearables, which include relevant services, will have a synergy effect, according to Samsung Electronics.
Moreover, the success in the mobile healthcare business will have effect on its semiconductor business. Samsung Electronics decided to start commercializing bio processors from this year as a new growth engine in the non-memory semiconductor system chip market. This chip is a core component of smart watches featuring health care functions.