Your smartphone already has a heart rate sensor like the Galaxy S5

Sometimes it boils down to one or two bits of functionality that helps you decide on which new smartphone to buy. If you were basing your purchase of the Samsung Galaxy S5 on its health and fitness tech like the built-in heart rate sensor, you might want to watch this video first.

If you’re in to the latest mobile fitness gadgets and looking to shell out your hard-earned on upgrading to Sammy’s latest Galaxy flagship it is probably timely that you discovered that the smartphone you already have is probably just as capable of telling you what your heart rate is.

Although this is great news for most people, it’s a little disappointing to hear that the heart rate sensor that’s being touted as an integral part of Samsung’s new offering is little more than a bit of gimmicky PR spin.

The video below, created by macmixing, takes an in-depth look at the Galaxy S5’s heart rate sensor in comparison to the Android and iOS app Runtastic, which does a bunch of things as well as read your heart rate from the flash and camera on the back of your phone.

Granted, some of the more premium Runtastic features will mean paying for add-ons but it will still be a heck of a lot cheaper than upgrading just for the sake of it.

Check out the video as the macmixing team put all of the different options to the test and prove that, although the Samsung Galaxy S5’s dedicated heart rate sensor may sound like a great bonus, chances are that your current phone with the Runtastic app will be able to provide you with similarly accurate results.

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