Samsung, a company known for its innovative tech, has ventured into a new product category with the launch of the Galaxy Ring. This smart ring marks Samsung’s entry into a market largely dominated by Oura for the past few years.
The Galaxy Ring is a compact device with a price tag of $400. While this may seem expensive upfront, it’s important to note that unlike Oura, there’s no subscription fee required for using the Galaxy Ring. This makes the Galaxy Ring potentially more cost-effective in the long run.
The Galaxy Ring is available for preorders starting July 10th and will be available for purchase starting July 24th. You can purchase it from Samsung.com, Samsung Experience Stores, and select retailers. Purchasing directly from Samsung’s website provides you with a free sizing kit to ensure a perfect fit.
The Galaxy Ring is designed with comfort in mind, as it’s intended for 24/7 wear. Crafted from Grade 5 Titanium, the ring boasts a unique concave design and weighs between 2.3 and 3.0 grams depending on the size. It’s also incredibly thin, measuring just 2.6mm thick, and has a width of 7mm. The Galaxy Ring features 10ATM water resistance and an IP68 rating, making it suitable for everyday wear.
Available in nine sizes (5-13), the Galaxy Ring comes in three color options: Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold. The black and silver colors sport a matte finish, while the gold boasts a glossy finish.
The Galaxy Ring packs a variety of health sensors into its small size. These sensors can track your heart rate and sleep patterns, alerting you to high and low heart rates and providing detailed sleep data. The ring also features Samsung’s “best in class” sleep tracking, offering insights into sleep latency, time in bed, nighttime movement, heart rate, and respiratory rate. All health data is accessible through the Samsung Health app.
The Galaxy Ring also incorporates AI-powered features like a daily Sleep Score, snoring analysis, and an Energy Score. The Sleep Score assists you in understanding your sleep patterns and building healthier habits, similar to the Oura Ring. The Energy Score utilizes AI to provide insights into how your health affects your daily life, offering recommendations based on your physical well-being across four factors: Sleep, Activity, Sleeping Heart Rate, and Sleeping Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
The Galaxy Ring also has automatic workout detection, currently supporting basic activities like walking and running. However, it currently lacks support for sleep apnea detection, irregular heart rate notifications, ECG, and BIA sensors.
Beyond health and fitness tracking, the Galaxy Ring offers additional features that set it apart. When paired with a Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy Ring allows for gesture control. Double pinch gestures can be used to take photos or dismiss alarms on your phone. These gestures are not compatible with non-Samsung smartphones. The Galaxy Ring is recommended to be worn on the index finger for optimal gesture use but can be worn on any finger.
The Galaxy Ring comes with a transparent charging case featuring a 361mAh battery capacity and LED lights for indicating charging status. The case lacks an IP rating, so it’s advisable to be mindful of your surroundings while charging. Battery life varies based on size, with sizes 5-11 offering around six days (with an 18mAh battery) and sizes 12-13 offering seven days (with a larger 23.5mAh battery). A full charge takes approximately 80 minutes.
For users who own both the Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch, Samsung Health will determine which device provides clearer and more accurate data for specific activities. If the Galaxy Watch is deemed better suited for a particular workout, certain sensors on the Galaxy Ring can be deactivated, extending its battery life by up to 30%.
The Galaxy Ring incorporates a Find My Ring feature, allowing you to locate it using the Samsung Find app. You can track the ring based on its last connection to your Galaxy smartphone. The ring can flash green and red to aid in locating it, but it doesn’t have an audible feedback or vibration motor.
The Galaxy Ring is compatible with any Android smartphone that supports the Samsung Health app, not just Galaxy phones. Unfortunately, there is no iOS support for the Galaxy Ring.