With the introduction of the Galaxy Ring at Unpacked, Samsung jumped on the smart ring bandwagon, a market currently dominated by Oura.
Boasting a sleek 7 mm wide concave design, the Galaxy Ring weighs between 2.3 grams to 3 grams, depending on the size, and is a mere 2.6 mm thick. It offers nine size options, from 5 to 13, and Samsung provides a sizing kit to ensure customers order the right fit.
We expect good durability, thanks to the titanium finish, 10ATM water resistance, and IP68 certification. According to Samsung, the inboard 18 to 23.5 mAh battery delivers 6 to 7 days of battery life, depending on the size. The stylish transparent charging case has LED lighting to indicate the charging status.
The Galaxy Ring, priced at $399.99, is available in three colors: Titanium Gold, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Black.
Thanks to Isa Does Tech for the photos – check her video hands-on of the Samsung Galaxy Ring, Z Fold6, and Z Flip6 here
The smart ring, equipped with an optical PPG sensor, a skin temperature sensor, and an accelerometer, tracks sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), menstrual cycle, and activity. The primary advantage of smart rings is their comfort, making them ideal for sleep tracking compared to smartwatches. Additionally, using a smart ring for sleep tracking will allow me to recharge my smartwatch every night, which is necessary for advanced intelligent watches that deliver only one to two days of battery life.
Healthcare professionals know that a pulse oximeter sensor at the tip of the index finger provides the best accuracy. When placed on the index finger, the PPG sensor provides more accurate heart rate and blood oxygen data tracking than other fingers and performs even better than wrist-worn sensors. That is why Samsung recommends wearing it on the index finger.
A smart ring packed with AI-driven wellness features
The Samsung Health app provides a Sleep Score based on a comprehensive sleep analysis and an advanced sleep AI algorithm that includes new metrics such as movement during sleep, sleep latency, heart rate, and respiratory rate. The Cycle Tracking feature monitors the menstrual cycle through overnight skin temperature tracking.
Samsung introduced its new AI-powered Energy Score, which is only available on the most recent health-tracking devices in the Galaxy ecosystem, including the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra. This score is based on Samsung’s proprietary algorithm that evaluates users’ physical conditions using four key datasets: sleep, activity, sleeping heart rate, and sleeping heart rate variability. The new Energy Score will not be available on Galaxy Watches older than the Galaxy Watch 4. The Energy Score will not be available on non-Galaxy phones. The Galaxy Ring acts merely as a passive wearable sensor since all notifications are managed by the Samsung Health app on the user’s Android phone, with no vibration or LED lighting happening on the ring. With Wellness Tips, the Samsung Health app displays personalized messages to help enhance the user’s well-being. Comprehensive data and individual interests drive these Galaxy AI-powered tips.
Heart Rate Alert provides instant notifications about unusually high or low heart rates in real-time via the Samsung Health app. The Live Heart Rate Check feature offers detailed information about the heart rate, including beats per minute, start time, and duration. The Auto Workout Detection feature automatically detects walking and running, and Inactive Alert sends daily fitness reminders.
Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring
The Galaxy Ring competes with the Oura Ring, the current leader in the intelligent ring market. I have listed a few differences between the rival devices.
The Oura Ring is available in two design styles, Heritage and Horizon, and up to six finishes, depending on the style chosen: brushed titanium, gold, stealth (matte black), silver, rose gold, or black. The Oura Ring Gen3 starts at $299 for the Heritage model in silver and black versions and goes up to $499 for the Horizon model in Rose Gold; the regular Horizon in silver or black costs $349. Samsung provides a transparent portable charging cradle, similar to an earbuds case, which is more convenient than Oura’s charging dock.
Each device provides custom wellness scores; both have a Sleep Score, Oura offers a Readiness Score and an Activity Score, and Samsung has an Energy Score that looks equivalent to Oura’s Readiness Score. Samsung sends Wellness tips, while Oura has insight messages. Regarding automatic detection, Oura detects 40+ activities and workouts, while Samsung only delivers automatic detection for walking and running. Since the Galaxy Watch 6, 7, and Ultra can automatically detect much more activities, I am convinced that Samsung will ramp up on that side. I need to test both devices more in-depth to provide a better evaluation of the feature set provided by each brand’s software.
A unique feature of the Galaxy Ring is the double pinch gesture, which allows you to control the camera or the alarm of a compatible Samsung Galaxy phone, such as the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6.
Both companies offer the ability to find their ring via an app, but Find My Ring requires Samsung Find installed on a Galaxy phone. Oura provides the feature for iOS but has yet to release it for Android. Android users can use a third-party app to find their Oura.
Samsung Galaxy Ring does not require a subscription to access the data it collects and the health and wellness features provided by the Samsung Health app. On the other hand, Oura users have to pay a $5.99 monthly subscription to access sleep analysis, heart rate monitoring, temperature monitoring, blood oxygen sensing (SpO2), cycle sensing, stress measurements and insights, and the activity monitoring dashboard.
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