After years of regional limits, Samsung is finally unlocking blood pressure monitoring for Galaxy Watch users in the U.S. Starting Tuesday, the feature is rolling out to the current Galaxy Watch 8 series as well as older models dating back to the Galaxy Watch 4. It's a major addition for anyone tracking cardiovascular trends, but you shouldn't expect a simple "plug and play" experience.

For starters, you'll need to own (or buy) a traditional upper-arm blood pressure cuff to calibrate the feature on the smartwatch. And you'll have to download a separate app, the Samsung Health Monitor app, on your smartphone. Then you'll have to recalibrate with the cuff every 28 days to ensure accurate readings.

In other words, the blood pressure monitor requires a blood pressure monitor to function.

Samsung first introduced blood pressure monitoring on its watches in 2020, gradually rolling it out in other countries, but regulatory holdups kept it from being usable in the US. 

Unlike Samsung's ECG and sleep apnea detection features (both FDA-cleared), the blood pressure feature has not received FDA clearance and is intended for wellness purposes only. This means it is not a diagnostic tool and should not be used to identify or treat high blood pressure. Readings are also on-demand only, so you have to manually take them through the watch rather than having it happen automatically in the background. 

That last part may change. Samsung's announcement also noted that passive blood pressure trend monitoring is coming later this year.

Apple debuted FDA-cleared hypertension alerts on newer Apple Watch models in September 2025, which passively monitor and alert owners when it detects signs of high blood pressure. Oura and other wearable companies are working toward similar features through long-term data trends, though true on-demand blood pressure readings remain out of reach for most mainstream consumer smartwatches.

The blood pressure feature is compatible with Galaxy Watch 4 and will only work on watches paired with a Samsung Galaxy phone running Android 12 or higher. It will not be available on other Android phones or on Samsung's Galaxy Fit tracker. And even if you check all those boxes, you might not get it right away. Samsung says it's rolling out the feature in phases.

If you do have access (and a cuff handy), setup is fairly straightforward. Once your watch is connected to your phone, download the Samsung Health Monitor app, enable blood pressure tracking and follow the calibration steps while using your upper-arm cuff. Just know you'll need that cuff nearby anytime you want to keep your readings accurate.