Gear Fit 2 will be able to collect a ton of info about your body – report

Gear Fit 2, Samsung’s new fitness wearable, could launch very soon, according to a new report.

Development of the Gear Fit 2 is complete, and now Samsung is preparing the final details before launch, sources told Korean website Pulse News. The device leaked on Samsung’s own website last week and this new report is further proof that the Gear Fit 2 is imminent.

The successor to the 2014 Gear Fit will focus more on fitness and health functionality compared to its predecessor, claims the report. In addition to the step counter and heart rate monitor that were also present on the original Fit, the Gear Fit 2 will also incorporate a GPS module, a boon for users looking to leave their phones at home when out and about.

The Gear Fit 2 won’t be the first wearable with built-in GPS, but Samsung’s wearable will mark the first time a bio processor is embedded in a fitness tracker.

What is a bio processor? It’s a chip designed specifically for collecting and processing physiological data. Signals include bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), photoplethysmogram (PPG), electrocardiogram (ECG), skin temperature, and galvanic skin response (GSR).

A wearable equipped with Samsung’s bio processor could measure body fat, skeletal muscle mass, heart rate, heart rhythm, skin temperature and stress level. That’s a wealth of data beyond what older wearables were capable of, and, because everything is on one chip, power consumption is reduced.

In December, Samsung announced that its bio processor would be featured in products coming out by the middle of 2016; the release of the Gear Fit 2 in the following weeks would fit the timeline perfectly.

Reportedly, the Gear Fit 2 is the “brainchild” of Rhee In-jong, a Samsung senior vice-president that oversees software. Hopefully, the software side of the project will receive the attention it needs.

Would you like a wearable that can track your body functions up close? Let us know your thoughts.