Samsung may have released three new smartwatches this year, but the wearable I was most excited about was the Galaxy Ring. After months of teasers, Samsung officially announced the $399.99 smart ring at today’s Unpacked event, and I finally got to try one out. Admittedly, I only got to try out the Galaxy Ring for a short time, but so far, I like what I’ve seen.
Right off the bat, the Galaxy Ring's hardware is pretty nice, though its overall design isn't too far removed from other smart rings. (I know this because I showed up for the test with four other smart rings.) It comes in three colors: gold, silver, and black. All have titanium frames and look attractive, but, like a magpie, I went with the gold since it had the shiniest finish. I can't speak to durability yet, but it does have 10 ATM water resistance and an IP68 rating.
At 7mm wide and 2.6mm thick, felt It’s slimmer when worn next to my Oura Ring, though that may be because the ring itself is slightly concave. It’s also lightweight, though not as noticeable compared to other smart rings. It weighs between 2.3 and 3g, depending on the size. Speaking of sizes, there are nine in total, ranging from size five to thirteen.
But while the Galaxy Ring doesn't stand out among the other smart rings on my finger, its charging case is a real eye-catcher. Samsung isn't the first to put a smart ring in a charging case, but the ones I've seen don't have this futuristic transparent design or the LED light. Not only does it look stylish, it’s also super practical. Other smart rings, like the Oura Ring and the Ultrahuman Ring Air, come with disc-shaped bases that are easy to lose. A case like this is much easier to keep in your bag if you run out of power while on the go. (It’s also more immune to mischievous cats who like to knock things off your nightstand.) The case itself has 1.5 times the charging capacity, and the rings will have a battery that will last six to seven days. A full charge takes about 80 minutes.
I also got to try out Samsung’s measuring kit, which I highly recommend even if you know your usual ring size. You can order the kit online and it’s worth the extra effort since size really matters with smart rings. Fingers can swell in hot weather, and no two fingers are exactly the same size. For example, I wear a size 7.5 on non-smart rings, a size 8 on all other smart rings, and a size 9 on the Galaxy Ring. Not to mention, size affects battery life. The smallest rings (sizes 5 through 11) last six days on a single charge, while the two largest last up to seven.
Samsung is also sticking to the tried and true when it comes to technology. Like the Oura Ring and the vast majority of smart rings currently available, this one is primarily intended to be an alternative, more discreet health tracker. If you were hoping for something that could give notifications or had silent alarms like previous smart rings, this one is definitely worth a try. — You’re out of luck. There are no vibration motors, LED light indicators, or anything like that. As for sensors, you’ve got an accelerometer, an optical heart rate sensor (which includes green, red, and infrared LEDs), and a skin temperature sensor. Broadly speaking, you’ll be able to track sleep, heart rate data, and activity, though Samsung is throwing some new Galaxy ai-powered metrics into the mix.
These include new Energy Score and Wellness Tips features. The former uses Galaxy ai to determine how you’re feeling based on sleep, activity, sleep heart rate, and sleep heart rate variability. It’s similar to the various readiness metrics other health trackers have started incorporating in recent years. Meanwhile, based on your data, the latter offers personalized insights into your well-being, which again is very reminiscent of what the Oura Ring and other competitors offer. Other health features include cycle tracking, high and low heart rate alerts, live heart rate readings, automatic workout detection, and inactivity alerts.
Like other smart rings, the Galaxy Ring puts a big emphasis on sleep. Users will get a sleep score that takes into account parameters such as movement during sleep, sleep latency, and heart and breathing rate. But while smart rings are great for sleep tracking, The galaxy ring will be No You won't get the new FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection feature, nor will you be able to send irregular heart rhythm notifications. These notifications are limited to Galaxy watches.
Since this was a hands-on test, I wasn't able to personally test the Galaxy Ring's software, tracking accuracy, or battery life. That said, Samsung has some interesting ideas about how smart rings should work within its own ecosystem of devices.
Sorry, iOS users, but Samsung spokesperson Cole Hagedorn said: The edge This Ring is Android-only (as long as your Android phone can run the Samsung Health app), but you’ll have a better experience if you’re in the Samsung ecosystem. For example, new health ai features like Energy Score won’t be available if you have a non-Galaxy phone. The same goes for Find My Ring. It uses Samsung Find, which, again, requires a Galaxy phone. Meanwhile, if you use a Samsung Galaxy Watch with the Galaxy Ring, the Samsung Health app will be able to choose which device it’s pulling data from. If you’re out running and your watch’s signal is clearer than the Ring’s, it will go with the watch’s data. That, in turn, could lead to longer battery life.
But the most interesting example of this is that if you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can use a double-pinch gesture to control your phone's camera or dismiss an alarm. free handsIt’s basically the same thing as the Apple Watch’s double-tap (aka pinch) gesture. Is it a gimmick? Yes, and it was still pretty cool when I tried it out. Getting the gesture right takes a bit of trial and error, but I haven’t seen it on any other smart rings yet. Unfortunately, it’ll be limited to the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 at launch. Samsung told me it’s also coming to the S24 “very soon.”
Considering the extremely limited time I’ve spent with the Ring, it already has a few things going for it. The hardware is sleek, and despite the $400 price tag, there’s no additional subscription (I’m looking at you, Oura). But the Galaxy Ring’s success hinges on two things: accurate tracking and good battery life. If it can do that while incorporating these ecosystem-specific ideas, Samsung could very well take the lead in the smart ring category. And if not, it’s laid out an ambitious idea for where smart rings should be headed.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is available for pre-order starting today, and will be available for general use starting July 24.
Photograph by Victoria Song / The Verge
