Samsung’s Galaxy S4 comes in many sizes and shapes, and it also comes with many different features. Some people find these features frivolous, while others find them to be quite valuable. Thankfully you can disable anything you don’t normally use, but what about some of the software Samsung stuffed into the Galaxy S4? S Health is one of those applications, and it was designed to replace the growing number of health-related apps out there as it has a calorie counter, pedometer, comfort meter and many more features. Samsung is adding to that list of features for S Health today with the introduction of S Health Buddy; a very Mii-like avatar that you can customize and share with friends. SammyHub was kind enough to find this one on the Korean Play Store, and while this has currently only been announced for the Korean market you can be pretty sure it’ll make it elsewhere.
Samsung’s S Health app allows users to track things like walking steps, biking, running and many other physical activities, and also allows you to track what you’ve eaten and how many calories you’re taking in and burning on a day. What better way to keep you going than some community motivation though? S Health Buddy includes not only customizable avatars that you can adjust the looks, weight, height and clothes for, but also use them to compete on a leaderboard and even earn badges when you successfully complete a task. For instance if you set a workout goal or a weight loss goal, there’s a badge you can earn for either. You’ll get points based on how well you’ve been doing in all the areas that S Health tracks, and then placed on a leaderboard with others to keep you motivated. There’s also full social networking integration so you can share with your “real” friends too. If you’ve ever used a Nintendo Wii you’ll be familiar with this kind of avatar creation and sharing, and Samsung seems to have a pretty unique art style and overall looks for S Health Buddy.
Currently S Health and S Health Buddy are Galaxy S4 exclusives, so if you have one of the many Galaxy S4 variants you’re in luck. You can grab it from the Korean Play Store here if you live in that region. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until it’s localized in your country of choice. While Samsung hasn’t announced English versions of S Health Buddy, we’re pretty confident that they’ll come through with a good localization soon. After all this is from the same company that makes over 30 different kinds of phones in a year, right? Check out the trailer below to see it in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74fWSJ60WWg