Why it matters to you
Two of the Galaxy S8’s coolest features revolve around health and the weather to keep you better informed.
People expect certain features from their smartphones these days. They want an alarm that will wake them up in the morning and a news app that will keep them informed. They want an easy way to get the day’s weather forecast. And increasingly, they expect a health app that can connect them with a doctor in case of an emergency.
That is where The Weather Company, S Health, and the Galaxy S8 come in. At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in New York on Wednesday, the smartphone maker detailed the new weather and health features that will ship with the Galaxy S8 later this year.
Upgraded S Health
The new S Health for the Galaxy S8 integrates deeply with WebMD and Amwell. Thanks to the combined power of the two services, you will be able to search for symptoms, diseases, and drugs, find nearby pharmacies, and even schedule an online visit with a doctor. S Health users can reserve video appointments with certified medical professionals 24/7, and handle doctor’s fee payments.
The new S Health app can also store information regarding upcoming appointments, like symptoms, photos, and medical prescriptions. There is a way to rate doctors and save medical insurance info and an easy way to dial 911 from within the app.
New weather app
IBM, The Weather Company’s parent, announced that The Weather Company will become the native weather data provider on Samsung’s new Galaxy S8. As part of the multi-year agreement, The Weather Channel app for Android will get prime placement in Samsung’s Galaxy App Store and will ship with exclusive features like compatibility with the Galaxy S8’s Infinity Display and Smart Weather Wakeup.
The collaboration goes beyond the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Going forward, all new Samsung devices will tap The Weather Company’s data platform for forecast info — one of the world’s largest, delivering 37 billion forecasts daily and processing 400TB of data daily.
More: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus: Our first take
It’s an extension of an existing partnership between the two companies. In 2016, The Weather Company created The Weather Channel App for Samsung, designed for Samsung Galaxy smartphones like the Galaxy S7 Edge, S6 Edge+, and Note 5.
“This is an exciting moment for The Weather Company and IBM. This partnership with Samsung will put our weather information in millions of new devices, allowing us to serve crucial weather information to people in new markets across the globe,” Weather Company CEO Cameron Clayton said in a press release. “Partnering in this way will also bring new opportunities to connect with users and expand our growing IoT business.”