The next health tracker from Samsung is WELT, a smartbelt

Because Samsung is losing the smartphone market to its competitor, the South Korean tech giant is instead concentrating on health trackers and other technologies. Three gadgets from its Creative Lab would be showcased in the forthcoming CES 2016.

On top of the list is a smartbelt called WELT which the Seoul-based electronics giant describes as a “smart wearable healthcare belt that looks like a normal belt.” Besides ensuring that the pants of the wearer would not fall and serving as a fashion accessory, WELT measures the wearer’s waist size, counts the number of steps taken and records the amount of time spent sitting down, reports Gizmondo.

The data is then sent to an app that would offer exercise and nutrition recommendation. The last function is vital since studies have shown that spending too much time sitting is bad for one’s health.

The smartbelt would likely also use the Bio-Processor that Samsung announced on Tuesday. The all-in-one-chip is capable of processing several biometric signals such as heart rate, body fat, skeletal muscle mass, heart rhythm, skin temperature and stress level, reports Yibada.

The chip, already in mass production, integrates the eFlash memory, digital signal processor, power management integrated circuit, microcontroller unit and Analog Front Ends. It would be found on several wearable reference platforms such as the wrist band, board and patch type reference devices.

Besides the smartbelt, Samsung would also unveil at CES 2016 rink and TipTalk. Rink is a set of hand-motion controllers for virtual reality headsets. TipTalk is a watch strap that allows the user to listen to sounds from devices, such as the Samsung Gear 2, without headphones. It works by simply pressing a finger on the ear similar to how it is done in sci-fi detective movies like in “James Bond.”

WELT is different from another smartbelt called Belty, developed by a company called Emiota. The pants-holder would be manufactured in France, made of fancy leather with a huge buckle that is wirelessly connected to a smartphone app.

Belty would teach the wearer the preferred level of tightness and looseness and could be tweaked during dining emergencies. It loosens when the “full” wearer sits down after a massive meal or tightens when the user went on a week of fasting, reports Gizmondo.

These two belts would certainly be useful to use at the start of a new year since waistlines would likely be expanded due to the holiday meals. And as the wearer attempts to begin the year with a resolution to lose unwanted pounds, the tracking device would help the user know how many more steps to take and how those extra steps affect heart rate and other biometrics to prevent a cardiovascular incident.