Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8David PhelanWhen I meet Samsung’s Annika Bizon she is in relaxed mood — perhaps surprisingly so given that in a matter of hours the company is about to hold its biggest event in London for years (instead, she describes this as “the moment of excitement.”). Bizon is Vice President of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience (MX) at Samsung UK & Ireland. Here’s what she has to say about the new Galaxy products and how Samsung is placing health and fitness at the core of its work. ForbesApple iPhone 18 Pro Release Date September Signaled In Keynote UpdateBy David PhelanThe Galaxy Z Fold8 Design EvolutionI begin by asking her about one of the products the company is about to unveil, and which I’ve seen behind closed doors the week before. That’s the new Galaxy Z Fold8, one of three new foldables and the first to land in an all-new shape, as previewed by CEO TM Roh. What makes a folding phone so compelling, I wonder. “I've always been a massive fold advocate,” she explains. “I love them anyway, but because I travel a lot, I can watch content without carrying a tablet, it’s great for watching on planes. The aspect ratio and passport size: it just makes sense. And it's a bit playful. When we first brought out foldables, people would stop and be like, What's that?’ Now people are a lot more used to foldables, this one, I think, will grab attention again.”Preventative Health Tracking With Galaxy Watch Ultra 2I’ve talked to Bizon about health before and raise it again now. “I always want to talk about health,” she immediately says, and she certainly seems enthusiastic about the topic. The latest watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 seems key. MORE FOR YOU“It's taking what we know people need to the next level,” Bizon says. “Everything from your vitals, being able to understand how your health is working and what the trigger signs around that might show up, whether you might need to go and see a doctor or if there’s potentially a cold on its way you could adapt your lifestyle to that. I love the fact that we're now in the preventative health space. We talk about antioxidant levels and various heart health tracking parts. To now be in a position where, having MHRA endorsement, we can send your health directly to your doctor. My mum sits down and writes down her blood pressure every morning to give to a doctor. The fact I can put a watch on her and she can just have that go straight to the GP is tremendous.”Annika Bizon, Samsung UK&I Mobile Experience VP of Product and MarketingSamsungPersonalized Endurance Coaching And Hydration AlertsThen there’s the endurance health angle — double the number of people are running marathons compared to three years ago, she notes. “People are taking on significant health challenges they never used to. And one of the struggles I have, and I do a load of different kinds of sports, is that a lot of people are telling you what you should do, and it's a bit like putting on someone else's prescription glasses and expecting to be able to read. It's just not realistic. So the fact that we're in a place now where we can not only look at this endurance health, we can understand what you should do in a much more personal way.”Bizon also shares a personal story, showing how catering to professionals and amateurs equally is part of the plan. “I'm really into ultra walking and running. And on one of them, I got to a point where I was three quarters through the race, and I hadn't drunk any water and so I started to literally wipe out. Someone said to me, ‘Look, you need to rehydrate.’ If I'd had an alert at that point, it would have helped. I think those little nudges, little triggers are what it's all about.”Galaxy Ring Integration And Sleep Latency MetricsSamsung has other devices tracking health, like the Galaxy Ring. “One thing I like is that all the data is brought together in a way that works for me. It gives you those nudges in a consolidated view, but then you can deep dive into the data if you want to. And I think that's the interesting piece. We know that AI is personalizing health. Sensor technology brings those two things together through Samsung, and you've got an overall picture.”“We need to understand what matters,” she goes on, turning the topic to sleep tracking. I find the sleep latency development incredible,” she explains. The fact that I get see how many solid hours am I getting of sleep, to understand what works for me is crucial. I know deep sleep is really important because that's restorative sleep. Sleep is the absolute — we restore in our sleep. So therefore, understanding how you're sleeping then sets you up to do an endurance race or be better at work.”The Future Role Of AI In Everyday WellnessWith such excitement about health and fitness I wonder what Samsung’s role is in reaching people to engage them with health or, perhaps, the company’s responsibility.“There's a few things. One is we are all about innovation and technology, and we're known for it,” she smiles. “We bring quality products to our consumers that are there to last. Secondly, we want to be cutting edge when it comes to AI technology and where we're going on that journey. The natural step is we want people to lead better lives. Healthier, better lives, and that's not just about how you live your life. It's also how you can live your life in the future.” Which manifests itself in understanding the triggers that are important in your health journey in the future,” Bizon says. “More people now are running marathons at an older age than they ever did before. You've got to be prepared for those things. We talk about health and some of the negatives around telling you the things are wrong. You might find your heart health is younger than you think it is. So, therefore, you can do more and actually keep going because it's working for you. And I think that's an exciting space to be in. It's something we're really proud of. Preventative health is really important.”Will Wearables Ever Replace The Smartphone?Finally, I wonder if the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring will ever supplant a smartphone. “The phone is, let's call it the control hub of your life, because ultimately everything runs from apps, generally sat on your phone,” she insists. “We want to make life easier, and AI is in the background, and the technology is in the background to just take some of the weight out of life, and then we can understand what people want to be able to do. I want to be able to link my phone to turning my lights off in my house because it makes my energy better. "Then there are the general things that you do as behaviors that sit together, and we want to be able to help people do those in a really seamless way. AI is in the background. You just need it to work — and work for you. So really simply, all of these things are working together to make you don't have to think about them. And that's the beauty of technology with AI.”ForbesSony Reon Pocket Pro Plus Air Conditioner Arrives In U.S. To Beat Summer HeatwavesBy David Phelan