Samsung Galaxy Ring mass production could begin in August — what you need to know

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Wearable may not emerge next year if it requires medical approval

The Galaxy Ring could give the Oura Ring (above) a run for its money.
(Image credit: Oura)

Rumors of Samsung making its own smart ring to rival the Ouras of this world have been circling since last year. There was even talk of a possible teaser at last week’s Galaxy Unpacked event where we got our first look at the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5, though this ultimately didn’t end up happening.

Now, a new report in Korean publication The Elec reveals that Samsung is close to making a decision about whether to mass-produce its smart ring after recently testing a prototype. The report states that a preliminary development review will be delivered to Samsung's mobile chief TM Roh next month, and if signed off, “product development can begin in earnest” (machine translation).

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you can expect to have one on your finger this year. And, depending on what Samsung expects from the device, next year might be a push as well.

The Elec estimates the product development phase could take seven to eight months, which means March or April 2024. That plausibly could indicate at least a teaser alongside the Samsung Galaxy S24 early next year, but it all depends on what the company is expecting from the wearable. 

“To apply for medical device certification, the product must be developed to a level that can receive radio wave certification,” the official said (again, a machine translation). “Even if development is completed around July, it will take an additional ten to 12 months to obtain medical device approval.”

While Samsung could go for a basic wellness device that doesn’t require this additional approval, it doesn’t feel likely. Not only has the company actively been chasing the health benefits of wearables with features like blood pressure monitoring and AFib detection, but one of the big advantages of a theoretical Galaxy Ring is that its sensors could be more effective than those on smartwatches.

That’s because a ring, by its nature, is held much closer to the skin than a loose-fitting smartwatch, which makes reading blood flow more consistent. The flip side of that is that the blood vessels in the finger are far smaller than the ones on the wrist, which presents its own challenges.

Whatever Samsung decides to do, a smart ring has a couple of other key advantages over the smartwatch. For one thing, it’s a lot more subtle, hiding the tech in plain sight with no screen to speak of. Even the best-looking smartwatches won’t be mistaken for a Rolex or an Omega.

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.