Lava Pulse is a basic feature phone, whose USP is that it comes with a heart rate sensor. (Image: Lava)

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, people have become a lot more conscious about their health. Seeing an opportunity here, Lava Mobiles has launched a new feature phone, dubbed Lava Pulse, which comes with a heart rate sensor. While this sounds interesting for a mobile phone, it is not the first phone to do so.

To recall, Samsung first introduced a heart rate sensor on its smartphone back in 2014 with the Galaxy S5. Since then, the South Korean giant added the feature to every subsequent flagship model and finally let it go with the Galaxy S10. While a lot of smartphone manufacturers tend to copy each other, this was a feature that never really took off.

Lenovo did launch its ZUK Z2 Pro smartphone with one, but that phone never made it to the Indian shores.

In case you are tempted to get a phone with a heart rate sensor on it, here’s a list of phones that you can currently get in India.

Lava Pulse

Lava Pulse is a basic feature phone, whose USP is that it comes with a heart rate sensor. The device allows its users to keep track of their heart rate as well as their blood pressure. At a price of Rs 1,949, it is the cheapest phone to have such a feature. Apart from this, the company claims that the device has a battery life of up to 6 days on a single charge.

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8 Plus

Galaxy S8 Plus is available on Flipkart at a price of Rs 53,990. (Express Photo)

The Galaxy S8 series was launched back in 2017, with both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus featuring a heart rate sensor right next to the camera module on the back. The sensor with the help of the Samsung Health app can check for a user’s heart rate, when they place a finger on it. However, before you go to buy it, keep in mind that the phone is almost three years old now. The Galaxy S8 Plus is available on Flipkart at a price of Rs 53,990. However, we would recommend looking in the second hand market for a better deal.

Also Read: What is a pulse oximeter and how to use it

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Just like the Galaxy S8, the Galaxy Note 8 also features a heart rate sensor. Besides offering the HR sensor on the back, the company also added a dual-camera setup on their flagship lineup for the first time. Currently, the Galaxy Note 8 is available on Amazon with a price tag of Rs 45,770.

Samsung Galaxy S9/S9 Plus

Samsung stopped including heart rate sensors on its flagship phones with the launch of the Galaxy S10 series. This makes the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus the last Galaxy S series smartphones to come with one. In case you are interested in this one, you can easily grab one from one of the e-commerce websites or an offline retailer. As of now, the smartphone is not available on either Amazon or Flipkart. Also, we would recommend waiting for a sale as you can get it below the Rs 30,000 mark.

Covid-19 effect: Demand for pulse oximeters, infrared thermometers rise

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 marked the end of the HR sensors in Samsung phones. Besides the heart rate scanner, the Galaxy Note 9 was also the last flagship device from Samsung to feature a notification LED and an Iris scanner. However, it did begin a new journey by bringing Bluetooth functionalities to the S-Pen. Right now, the Galaxy Note 9 is available at a starting price of Rs 73,600 but waiting for a sale could fetch you a discounted price of well below the Rs 50,000 mark.

Before you head over to the market to get one of these devices, keep in mind that you can also find many wearable devices with a heart rate sensor and other health related features. List of smart wearables is very long including the Xiaomi Mi Band 4, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Apple Watch and more.

Keep in mind that a heart rate sensor on a smartphone or a wearable device does not offer the most accurate results. For that, you will require professional equipment like a pulse oximeter.

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