Samsung first teased its debut smart ring, the Samsung Galaxy Ring, at its Unpacked event for Samsung Galaxy S24 phones in January. The long wait is almost over: the Galaxy Ring was fully detailed at the July Unpacked event in Paris, and preorders are open now. Once a form factor more or less defined by Oura, interest insmart ringshas been growing in recent years, and with this release, competition is bound to heat up. Here’s what you need to know about the new Samsung Galaxy Ring.
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Samsung Galaxy Ring: Hardware and design
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a plain-looking ring available in three finishes: black, silver, or gold. Its outer titanium surface is concave, a shape that should help mitigate the discomfort that can come with wearing thicker rings. While the Galaxy Ring is thicker than most normal, non-smart rings, it is notably thinner and lighter than thethird-generation Oura Ring. The Galaxy Ring comes in sizes 5 through 13, providing options that should fit most fingers.
The Galaxy Ring comes with a clear plastic charging case that can provide several additional full charges for the ring itself. The charging case charges over USB-C, and features a circular charging indicator that lights up to show the ring’s level of charge.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Fitness and health tracking
Like all smart rings, the Galaxy Ring is made to be more of a passive device thanwrist-worn fitness trackers, collecting information about your sleep and activity in the background, 24/7. Samsung Health uses the information the Galaxy Ring collects to formulate guidance about your health. Samsung Health offers an Energy Score that aims to quantify how much energy you should have available in a single number, similar to Oura’s Readiness metric or Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score.
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Samsung Galaxy Ring: Hardware specifications
Despite being notably thin, the Galaxy Ring has sensors to measure heart rate, activity, skin temperature, and more. Available in sizes 5 through 13, it weighs in between 2.3 and 3 grams. Battery life in size 13 should be about a week, with smaller sizes packing smaller batteries that don’t last quite as long on a charge. Every size comes with a charging case, though, that can provide several additional charges.
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is available for preorder beginning today for $400. That price is higher than options from competitors like Oura, whose third-gen smart ring starts at $299. Samsung doesn’t charge a subscription fee to use the Galaxy Ring, though; Oura costs $6 a month indefinitely. A sizing kit is available from Samsung for $10; if you purchase the Galaxy Ring from Samsung after buying the kit, you’ll get a $10 discount, effectively making the sizing kit free.
General availability begins on July 24. You can grab a Galaxy Ring directly from Samsung or from the retailers you’d expect, including Amazon, Best Buy, and others.
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Samsung Galaxy Ring: Taking smart rings mainstream
Left: Samsung Galaxy Ring. Right: Third-generation Oura Ring.
Smart rings have been around a while — the first-generation Oura Ring debuted nearly a decade ago — but the form factor has failed to catch on in the same way as other now-common accessories like smartwatches and true wireless earbuds. Clocking in at a considerable $400, the Galaxy Ring might not break through to the masses, but coming from a company as well-known as Samsung, it’s sure to make waves in the space nonetheless.
Samsung Galaxy Ring
With a thin form factor and bundled charging case, Samsung’s first smart ring is set to take on more established players in the space like Oura. But at $400, it’s a significant investment.
