Samsung's Galaxy Phones Can Now Scan Your Pet for Health Issues—Here's How

Taking your dog or cat to the vet for a routine check-up can be a logistical headache. What if your smartphone could give you a head start? That's the idea behind Samsung's latest reveal: a new AI-powered tool that scans your pet for early signs of disease using just a photo.

Unveiled at Europe's biggest tech conference, VivaTech 2026, on June 17 in Paris, the feature is a collaboration between Samsung and Lifet, a South Korean health-tech startup . It will live inside Samsung's SmartThings app under the Pet Care service, meaning no extra gadgets are needed. All you'll need is a compatible Galaxy phone .

How the AI health check works

The process is refreshingly straightforward. You take a photo of your pet—or upload one from your gallery—and the AI gets to work. The system doesn't run any complex medical diagnostics. Instead, it analyzes the image for visual clues linked to several common, progressive conditions. Think of it like a super-powered screening tool that helps you decide when it's truly time to call the vet.

Samsung's partner Lifet has trained its models on over 150,000 images sourced from animal hospitals and labeled by veterinary specialists, collaborating with top-tier institutions like KAIST and Carnegie Mellon University .

What conditions can it detect?

The AI screens for a surprisingly broad range of issues:

• Dental and oral problems: Look out for signs of periodontal disease or heavy tartar buildup .
• Eye conditions: It can flag potential cataracts and nuclear sclerosis .
• Joint issues: The tool is particularly useful for spotting patellar luxation, a dislocated kneecap common in small dog breeds .
• Skin disease: Signs of dermatitis can be picked up by the visual analysis .
• Obesity: The AI also performs body condition scoring, giving you a sense of whether your pet is at a healthy weight .

The underlying platform from Lifet covers five key areas: eye AI, skin AI, oral AI, patella AI, and obesity AI .

Just how accurate is it?

Lifet makes some bold claims about accuracy, citing a general figure of 97% . More specifically, the company reports a sensitivity of 97.6% and a specificity of 98.8% in its official materials, meaning the tool is very good at correctly identifying both the presence and absence of these conditions. These metrics have been verified by South Korean government bodies, including the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (농림축산검역본부) and the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) .

To put that in context, sensitivity refers to how well the tool catches a problem that's actually there, while specificity measures how well it avoids false alarms. Those are strong validation numbers, but it's worth remembering they come from company-commissioned testing rather than broader, publicly-reviewed clinical trials.

Regulatory approval in South Korea

Lifet isn't just running a simple app. It has earned South Korea's first veterinary medical device approvals for two of its diagnostic assistance softwares: one for patellar luxation and another for periodontal disease . The technology is already being used in the real world, including by pet insurance companies for underwriting assessments .

Is this a replacement for your vet?

Absolutely not—and both Samsung and Lifet are clear about that. The tool is described as a way to monitor potential health issues at home and enable early detection . Lifet's own platform presents results that flag a "possibility of disease" alongside veterinary commentary, not a clinical verdict . The intended user journey goes like this: you get an early warning, and that warning prompts you to book a professional examination far sooner than you might have otherwise.

When can you use it, and on what device?

Here's the catch: Samsung hasn't given a hard launch date, a list of supported Galaxy models, or any pricing details yet. The company says the feature will roll out in the future to Galaxy smartphones via the SmartThings app's Pet Care service . For now, Lifet's standalone service is available in South Korea, but Samsung's global timeline remains a question mark.

The bigger picture: Samsung's 'Connected Care' vision

The pet screening tool isn't a one-off. It's part of a broader push Samsung calls "Connected Care," which it showcased at VivaTech 2026 under the banner "Open Invitation to a Healthier Tomorrow." This ecosystem includes everything from human health integrations with hospital platforms like Zeroth to AI-powered diet management on the Bespoke AI Family Hub refrigerator and new "Now Brief" dashboard features for Galaxy devices that cover Home Security, Family Care, and Pet Care . In Samsung's vision, your phone becomes the nervous system for a healthier household—pets included.