The Samsung Galaxy Ring is something I’d like to buy, even if I already have a smartwatch. But will the Korean company introduce it soon?
The Galaxy Ring is a device that has been rumored for years. As the name suggests, it is a smart ring that could measure additional health parameters for the user.
Despite having various smartwatches on my wrist for years, I would consider such a “ring” as additional equipment for my devices. I would be willing to buy it if its features turned out to be what I expect. What could the Galaxy Ring be like, and is there a chance we will see it soon?
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What we know about Galaxy Ring
I’ll remind you that smart rings currently available on the market offer health and well-being tracking, including monitoring and reporting on your sleep, workouts, pulse, and stress levels.
Rumors have been circulating for quite some time that Samsung is developing a smart ring called the Galaxy Ring. The name is not confirmed, as only in 2023 did Samsung register a dozen other trademarks.
Nevertheless, experts and journalists seem to lean towards the name Galaxy Ring. Therefore, we will continue to use it for consistency, at least for now. Adding fuel to the fire, the company itself filed a patent application for a smart ring with heart rate monitoring and ECG, so we are almost confident in this prediction.
As far as we know, the Galaxy Ring is a smart ring capable of tracking user health and fitness data, similar to the Galaxy Watch. It may be able to do even more, but information is scarce.
Needless to say, the main difference between the watch and the Galaxy Ring smart ring is that users will wear the latter on their fingers, not on their wrists. How exactly this ring will look is unknown. Apart from patent applications, which, admittedly, are quite dated (one dating back to 2016), there is nothing to determine the appearance of the Galaxy Ring. It could be a simple, unadorned ring, or perhaps not. Colors and materials also remain a mystery.
One thing can be stated for sure – the Galaxy Ring will undoubtedly be a very small device. Therefore, it is worth considering that many advanced sensors will not fit inside. This means we should not expect all the functions available in much larger smartwatches. Additionally, developers also have to find a place for a battery. Perhaps this introduction sounded not very optimistic, but it’s worth approaching this device with restraint and tempering overly high expectations.
One of the main sensors that could be included in the Galaxy Ring is likely to be a heart rate sensor. I wouldn’t count on more advanced features such as blood pressure monitoring, as some experts claim. However, the device may have sensors that measure blood oxygen levels and body composition. These are already known to us from the Galaxy Watch4, although they do not work very accurately.
However, some journalists, relying on the obtained data, claim that the Galaxy Ring will be able to track the user’s health more accurately than even traditional Samsung smartwatches.
It is expected that the Galaxy Ring will connect to the smartphone via Bluetooth. However, it is unclear whether the smart ring will offer NFC capabilities. If so, this could open up new possibilities for Samsung Pay and other mobile payment platforms.
There is no information about whether the Galaxy Ring will have touch-sensitive sensors. Additionally, it is unclear if it will feature a miniature display, LEDs, vibration motors, or other similar methods for displaying information.
Certainly, any data collected by it will likely be displayed in the Samsung Health app and possibly in SmartThings Find. Therefore, it is probable that controlling and tracking the received data can also be done within this application. Something tells me that once again, most features will be available only for Samsung devices. But it’s worth it.
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The “killer feature” I expect
The most crucial function of the ring will undoubtedly be sleep monitoring. This is the feature I am looking forward to the most. Why? Despite wearing a smartwatch every day, to be frank, sleeping with it is quite uncomfortable for me. Firstly, it’s rather inconvenient, and secondly, I’m constantly afraid of accidentally activating some function or making a call. Sometimes the smartwatch even woke me up in the middle of the night. Although I’ve gotten used to it, I understand people who use sleep tracking features on their smartwatches.
With a smart ring, it would be different. Wearing it on my finger won’t bother me at night, and additional measurements will undoubtedly provide more information about my health and well-being. I would like to see how sleepless nights are “measured” by the Galaxy Ring.
One potential issue with selling the Galaxy Ring could be its size. Rumors suggest that the device will be available in four sizes. I fear that this might not be sufficient, and uninformed customers may order and return a ring that doesn’t fit them. Samsung is unlikely to allow this to happen, and it’s very probable that they will send customers a set to choose the ring size. They might also come up with a way to adjust the size if needed, or “try-on” options may be available in physical stores. Various solutions could be explored, and the developers at the Korean company will need to be inventive in addressing this issue.
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What else does Galaxy Ring have to offer?
At this stage, I’ll let my imagination run wild and consider what features might emerge in this small device. Here, we might see some forms of activity tracking, but they could be limited to counting steps and burned calories. However, this won’t create a “Wow” effect among customers, as all wearable devices can already perform these functions.
Other possibilities seem more intriguing. Firstly, continuous body temperature measurement stands out. This would allow, for instance, women to track their menstrual cycle. Another idea is multimedia control, which would be highly desirable. Just imagine – switching music tracks by simply rotating the ring on your finger. Swiping or tapping the ring with a finger could activate specific functions on a smartphone. Additionally, I wouldn’t mind if the Galaxy Ring could interpret gestures made with a finger or hand. This, for example, could help us manage received notifications. It would also be great if the smart ring could control smart home devices. That would be a true Ring of Power!
I can’t imagine that the Galaxy Ring wouldn’t support wireless charging. The only sensible solution in this case is placing it on a charging pad. I also can’t fathom its battery not lasting at least a week of use. Would this be a concern for potential buyers? Samsung smartwatches don’t impress with their battery life either. However, considering the size of the smart ring, its charging time would obviously not be substantial.
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Possible Galaxy Ring price
Since we don’t know when the smart ring will be manufactured or released, there have also been no news or leaks about the price or availability of the Samsung Galaxy Ring. But we can make some assumptions! Being the first of its kind from Samsung, the Galaxy Ring will most likely have a fairly high price.
Samsung Galaxy Ring could potentially have a similar price to Samsung’s Galaxy smartwatches. At the time of writing, the starting price for the cheapest Samsung smartwatch is $350. Looking at other smart rings on the market, the Oura Ring Gen3 is priced at $299, and the Ultrahuman Ring Air is $400, so the price of the Samsung Galaxy Ring may be in a similar range.
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Galaxy Ring release date
As some of my colleagues have suggested, and I would like to agree with them, the Galaxy Ring may be unveiled on January 17 during the Samsung Unpacked event. However, it’s challenging to expect that this will indeed happen. I am more inclined to believe the rumors suggesting that the smart ring will only hit the market at the end of 2024.
It’s worth noting that the choice of features for the new device may affect the release date, as Samsung may want certain capabilities of the Galaxy Ring to be FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved. As a result, the release of the ring may be postponed.
Therefore, we eagerly anticipate Samsung Unpacked, which is just around the corner on January 17, and still hope to catch a glimpse of the Galaxy Ring.
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