Samsung Health Challenges vs Edge Rewards

Samsung Health challenges and Edge Rewards reward you in different ways: Samsung Health challenges are free step competitions and badges inside the Samsung Health app, while Edge Rewards, launching in November 2026, will turn your logged workouts and steps into points you can spend on real products. If you own a Galaxy phone or watch, you can keep the challenges you enjoy and add Edge Rewards on top.

Edge Rewards is our own programme and it is not live yet, so everything below about it describes how it will work at launch. We have kept the Samsung side factual and fair, based on how Samsung describes its features at the time of writing. Menus can vary by phone, app version and country.

What are Samsung Health challenges?

Challenges live in the Together tab of the Samsung Health app on your phone. Samsung pitches Together as a way to motivate each other: you add friends from your contacts, set up group challenges to hit step or distance goals together, and use a message board to chat and cheer each other on. You need to connect your contacts to take part, and Samsung's support pages say Together is for Android phones.

There are two main formats. In the first, everyone races to a set step count and whoever gets there first wins. In the second, you see who can rack up the most steps within a set time. When Samsung launched group challenges in 2021, it said you could invite up to nine friends, and that they could join even if they were not already on Samsung Health.

Then there are the monthly global challenges. You join, and your step count for the month is measured against people using Samsung Health around the world. The theme changes over time, so there is usually something fresh to sign up for.

You stay in control of who sees what. Samsung's privacy settings let you choose who can see your step count and who can send you a challenge, from anyone to friends only or no one.

Does Samsung Health give you badges or rewards?

Badges, yes. Samsung says you can earn badges as you reach new milestones, and coverage of the app's design describes a badge system that spans exercise, sleep, personal bests and eating habits, with badges that change colour and shape as you progress. We could not find an official full list, so check your profile in the app to see what you have earned.

Real-world rewards are a different story. Samsung does run a Samsung Rewards scheme in the UK, but its UK page describes earning points on purchases from Samsung.com, the Samsung Shop app and the Samsung KX store in London, then spending them with Samsung. It does not mention Samsung Health or challenges. At the time of writing, we found no UK scheme that turns Samsung Health challenges into free products or discounts.

Samsung Health itself is free to download from Google Play or the Galaxy Store on Android 10 or later, and we found nothing suggesting the Together challenges need a subscription at the time of writing.

What are Samsung Health challenges good at?

• Simplicity: a step race is easy to understand, easy to set up and easy to win or lose with good grace.
• Anyone can join: walking counts, so friends and family at very different fitness levels can still compete.
• Something new each month: global challenges give you a fresh target without having to organise anything yourself.
• Nothing extra to buy: if you already own a Galaxy phone or watch, the challenges are a few taps away.
• More than steps on newer watches: on the Galaxy Watch8 and Watch8 Classic, Samsung Health also has a Running coach, which uses a 12-minute test to pick a plan from more than 160 programmes, from 5K up to half marathon.

The trade-off is that challenges are mostly built around steps. That is brilliant for walkers, but a 45-minute strength session or a HIIT class barely moves a step leaderboard. And the prize is recognition: a win, a badge, a place on the board. For lots of people that is plenty. If you would also like your training to add up to something you can use in real life, that is the gap Edge Rewards is built to fill.

What is Edge Rewards?

Edge Rewards is a free rewards programme inside the Edge app, built around one simple idea: get rewarded for moving. It is our own programme, and it is not live yet. Founding members on the waitlist get early access from Sunday 1 November 2026, and the public launch is on Saturday 7 November 2026.

Instead of badges, you collect points and spend them in an in-app marketplace on real products from partner brands, a mix of free items and discounts. Categories include coffee and drinks, gels, snacks and bars, protein and supplements, and apparel and gear. The rewards are gifted by partner brands, and everyone can earn and redeem, on the free app or on Edge Pro. As a rough guide, about a week of training earns a free coffee.

How will you earn Edge points?

• Workouts: 1 point per minute of any logged workout, up to 50 points a day.
• Steps: 2.5 points per 1,000 steps, up to 25 points a day.
• Daily cap: the two add together, up to 50 points a day for free members. Anything over the cap does not roll over.
• Monthly reset: points reset to zero at the end of each calendar month, so spend them before the month ends.

This is the big difference from a step challenge. Any logged workout counts, whether it is a run, a ride, a strength session, a HIIT class or a mobility session. Points are counted by the minute, not by pace, so a steady 30-minute jog earns the same as a fast one, and nobody has to beat anyone else to earn. Edge Pro members, from £19.99 a month with a free 7-day trial, earn faster with Double XP, have no daily cap and get exclusive prizes and secret offers.

Does Edge work with Samsung Health?

Not directly, and we want to be clear about that. Edge syncs with Strava, Garmin, Apple Health and Coros, and Samsung Health is not on that list. That does not stop Galaxy owners earning, because any logged workout counts, including manual entries. Here are the practical routes:

• Record with Strava on your watch: Strava has a Wear OS app that can record with your watch's GPS, and Edge syncs with Strava, so the workout can come through to Edge.
• Share from Samsung Health to Strava: Samsung Health has offered a Strava link in its settings, so workouts recorded in Samsung Health can be shared on to Strava. Check it is working on your own phone before you rely on it.
• Log it by hand: manual entries count, so you can add the session in Edge when you finish.

For help choosing what to run on your wrist, see our guide to the best running apps for Samsung Galaxy Watch. If Strava is already your main app, our comparison of Strava challenges vs Edge Rewards goes into that side in more detail.

How do Samsung Health challenges and Edge Rewards compare?

Prices and features change, so check each app for current details. Accurate at the time of writing.

Should you use Samsung Health challenges, Edge Rewards or both?

For most people, both. Keep the step races with your friends if they keep you walking, and let Edge turn the rest of your training week into points. A quick way to decide:

• Samsung Health challenges suit you if you love a weekly step race with friends or family, already own a Galaxy phone or watch, and want something free with no extra setup.
• Edge Rewards suits you if you train across running, strength and HIIT and want every logged minute to count towards real products, not just a leaderboard.
• Both suit you if you want the friendly rivalry and the rewards. Your walks can win a step race in Samsung Health, while your logged workouts earn Edge points.

If you also wear a Garmin, our guide to Garmin badges vs Edge Rewards covers how those badges and levels compare. And if you want more than points, Edge Pro gives you a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, pregnant, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.