Get ready for a new wearable from Samsung in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Samsung first teased the device at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in January and now we've actually seen the Galaxy Ring in person ahead of what is likely to be a potential July launch date.
It's looking like the Galaxy Ring will sport an ECG sensor, monitor your blood flow and be available in multiple varieties. Expect strong tie-ins to Samsung Health, the company's health tracking initiative.
When the Galaxy Ring finally arrives, it could prove to be a major competitor to the best fitness tracking rings on the market, namely the Oura Ring. Then again, based on our recent chat with Oura CEO Tom Hale, the fresh competition is, at least, partially embraced.
Here's everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
Samsung Galaxy Ring cheat sheet: Biggest rumors
- Release date prediction: July 2024 launch, August 2024 release
- Price prediction: $300 or higher
- Wellness features: Heart health monitoring, sleep tracking, "Vitality" score
- Smart features: Compatibility with Galaxy devices
- Design: Available in black, gold and silver, nine sizes
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Expected launch date
The Galaxy Ring is likely to get an official announcement at the next Galaxy Unpacked, believed to be taking place on July 10.
As reported by ETNews (via Revegnus on the X social media site), the wearable is currently in the prototype production stage, with mass production anticipated to begin in May. It also sounds like Samsung plans to launch the device with just 400,000 production units, according to a report in the Korean publication The Elec.
The Galaxy Ring made its initial debut — however brief — at Unpacked 2024, alongside the Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra, with no initial details on a launch date or features.
Samsung trademarked the name Galaxy Ring back in February 2023, along with a bunch of other names that could either refer to features of the ring or other products entirely.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: How much will it cost?
We don't have any indications of how much the Samsung Galaxy Ring would cost, but we can take some educated guesses based on the price of other smart rings currently on the market.
For starters, the Galaxy Ring's presumptive competitor, the Oura Ring, costs $299 at Best Buy. Other smart rings, such as the Circular Pro 1, costs $410, and the Ultrahuman Ring AIR comes in at $349 on Amazon.
With those in mind, we'd be surprised if the Galaxy Ring cost more than $300.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Design
Quite obviously, we expect the Galaxy Ring to be, well, a ring. And now that we've seen the Galaxy Ring for ourselves — it was on display at MWC 2024 in February — we can confirm that's exactly what you're getting with this wearable.
The finger-based wearable will be available in nine sizes — specifically ring sizes five through 13 — and weigh roughly three grams, which makes it considerably lighter than the current-gen Oura Ring.
At the Galaxy Ring's public showing during MWC 2024, we learned the wearable will feature three colors — black, gold, and silver. We found the gold and silver options to be particularly striking in person.
Our view of the Galaxy Ring was limited to what we could see inside a glass enclosure, so we didn't get a chance to measure dimensions. From our vantage point, the Galaxy Ring looked to have the same width as the Oura Ring. We can say that size if fairly slim and the finish very sleek looking.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Possible health features
The Galaxy Ring will boast a range of health-monitoring tech, including possibly an ECG sensor and a sensor for “blood flow measurements,” as reported by ETNews. It will also monitor the quality of a user's sleep.
For wellness tracking, Samsung intends for the Galaxy Ring to complement health data from Galaxy smartwatches, not replace it.
The brand is also rolling out a new user My Vitality Score feature, which is similar to Oura's Readiness Score or Garmin's Body Battery and is calculated based on factors like the intensity of recent workouts and quality of sleep.
Another new feature called Booster Cards will apparently send users wellness insights throughout the day to encourage healthy habits. They are also based on an array of health metrics like resting heart rate, sleep quality, stress levels, etc.
The device may also include some sort of cognitive alert test, according to a report from CNET.
We also know that the Galaxy Ring will play nice with the Samsung Food app, potentially providing healthy meal recommendations based on a user's fitness goals. It will additionally support fertility and menstrual health tracking.
A built-in heart rate sensor will no doubt come standard — this is table-stakes for all of the best fitness trackers — but the smart ring could also have more advanced features, such as blood pressure monitoring and aFib detection. However, some of these could require FDA approval, which can take months, if not years.
Of course, it may launch without all of its features active, but the company will roll out the advanced tracking once it clears regulatory hurdles with the FDA. Fitbit underwent a similar process last year for approval of its wrist-based atrial fibrillation detection feature.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Possible smart features
On the “smart” side of things, Galaxy Ring users will likely be able to use the wearable to control other Samsung devices, according to reports, which sounds pretty cool — imagine all the tasks you could theoretically do with the wave of a finger.
Like the Oura Ring and the long-discontinued Amazon Loop, consumers who purchase the Galaxy Ring will most likely have to size their fingers beforehand, so that they get a ring that properly fits their finger. This could mean receiving a sizing kit in the mail first, followed by the actual ring.
Most likely, the Ring will connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, a fact that was uncovered in 9to5google's APK teardown.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: What we'd like to see
There have been relatively few smart rings thus far, but from what we've seen (and tested), we would hope that the Samsung Galaxy Ring has the following:
Activity tracking: While it's highly doubtful that the Ring would be able to fit or use GPS, it should be able to track your daily activity, such as walking, running, and so forth, and measure your heart rate.
Advanced sleep tracking: We know the Galaxy Ring will have some sort of sleep-tracking functionality, but it better be solid. This is another table-stakes feature that the competition, especially the Oura Ring, excels at.
Temperature tracking: If the Galaxy Ring could keep tabs on your temperature, it would not only help you know if you were coming down with something but could also be helpful for women who want to track their cycles and pregnancy.
Media control: Reports suggest that the Galaxy Ring will be able to control other devices, which sounds fantastic if implemented well. Rather than tapping on your phone or your wireless earbuds, it would be handy if you could tap the Galaxy Ring to change music tracks, change the volume, or even accept and reject calls.
Wireless charging: Like the Oura Ring, the Samsung Galaxy Ring needs to be able to charge wirelessly. Bonus points if you'll be able to charge it by placing it on the back of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, or other Samsung phones offering reverse charging.
Tap to pay: The inclusion of NFC with support for Samsung Pay would put the Galaxy Ring one step ahead of Oura, which currently doesn't support contactless payments.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Outlook
Samsung launching into a new wearables category certainly is interesting; the brand is entering a market with relatively few competitors, giving it a first-mover advantage over the likes of Apple and Google. Although we still don't know how the Galaxy Ring will stack up against the Oura Ring.
The device could appeal to those who want a health-focused wearable but don't want something as large as a watch. In that way, it could carve out a separate market away from smartwatches, where it has to compete with the Apple Watch, not to mention Garmin.
The Samsung Ring might also be an entry point into the company expanding its online health and fitness offerings into both free and paid tiers, much like what Apple and Fitbit/Google have done.
Given that Samsung isn't exactly the tightest ship when it comes to product rumors, we expect to hear more about the Galaxy Ring in the coming months. Stay tuned.
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