Samsung proved it can still deliver surprises by closing January’s Unpacked with the galaxy ring revelation. This brief teaser was interpreted as a key validation of the nascent format of wearables. While the concept of a smart ring is not entirely new, the category has so far been dominated by Oura.
HAS Unpacked 2024The company has shared more details about the Galaxy Ring, which represents the first attempt by a hardware giant in this category. Samsung has effectively leapfrogged Apple, Google, and the like with a health and fitness device that fits right in with the rest of its health efforts. It can be pre-ordered starting Wednesday for $399.
Samsung has flirted with a lot of different form factors; remember the IconX earbuds with integrated heart monitoring? As he tries, however, everything always seems to come back to normal. the galaxy watchAdding a ring to its smartwatch lineup is promising for a few reasons. First, the Oura and its ilk have already proven that plenty of customers are interested in them. Second, the features on this watch complement — rather than replace — everything devices like the Galaxy Watch already do.
The ring’s design is limited, with a suitably small footprint and no display. As such, these devices tend to take a more passive approach to tracking. Samsung describes it as “24/7 health monitoring,” thanks in large part to a generous battery life claimed to last up to seven days — which, not coincidentally, is exactly how Oura rates its own ring.
The Galaxy Ring starts with the most passive health tracker of all: sleep. The device offers a sleep “score” based on various metrics, including movement, heart rate, and breathing rate. It also tracks the cycle based on the wearer’s skin temperature while they sleep. The product’s small size makes it a much less obtrusive sleep companion than a larger smartwatch.
Of course, there are also Galaxy AI implications here, bringing together measurements of sleep, activity, sleep heart rate, and sleep heart rate variability to gather what Samsung calls “holistic insights and motivational encouragement.” Most intriguing of all, the aforementioned features are all available without a paid subscription. There’s no guarantee that Samsung won’t go down that route one day, but for now, it’s certainly a point it has over the Oura’s $6 monthly fee.
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring will be released on July 24.