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Originally teased at the very end of the S24 launch earlier this year, the Samsung Galaxy Ring has finally been fully unveiled at Unpacked 2024.
I saw it briefly, in person, back in January at CES. Placed securely within huge clear boxes and surrounded by security, it certainly wasn’t a hands-on experience, but it was my first glimpse at Samsung’s first foray into finger-born health tracking.
Samsung is going one further – they’re referring to the Galaxy Ring as the “new era of AI-powered health”. What that means is anyone’s guess, and it’s something about which I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve had one on my finger for an extended period.
The good news is, I had a Galaxy Ring on my finger briefly last week, and I’ve already got some thoughts.
Galaxy Ring specs and pricing
The 2024 Galaxy Ring comes in nine sizes. As you might expect, Samsung sends out a ring sizing kit before you commit which contains plastic replicas of every size.
Once you get your actual Galaxy Ring, you’ll be treated to a tiny piece of tech titanium (grade 5) jewellery that’s 7mm wide, 2.6mm thick, and weighs just three grams.
Despite its size, Samsung has managed to squeeze up to seven days of battery life out of the Galaxy Ring while also cramming a bunch of sensors into its tiny frame. Those sensors measure everything from your heart rate to skin temperature and help keep track of activity, inactivity, sleep, menstrual cycles, and more.
The Galaxy Ring is IP68 water resistant and can stand depths of up to 10ATM. It comes in gold, silver, and black, and there’s just one price – £399.
The Galaxy Ring goes on sale on 24th July.
My first impressions of the Galaxy Ring
Last week, I was invited to a behind-the-scenes hands-on session in London for everything Samsung announced at Unpacked this week. While there was the inevitable throng around the new Fold and Flip smartphones (not to mention the fascinating Galaxy Watch Ultra), there was a considerable amount of attention thrown the Galaxy Ring’s way.
This should come as no surprise. New smartphone launches are always interesting, but entirely new product categories are captivating – particularly for the tech press. Smart rings have been around for some time, but this is new for Samsung and it’s a challenging entrance.
While brands like Ultrahuman and Oura have focused solely on developing a smart ring as their main product, Samsung is an entirely different animal. It has smartphones, smartwatches, and services, all of which are either vying for the attention of the Ring or, in the watches’ case, competing with it. The latter raises one of the biggest questions I think people are going to have: if you’ve invested in a Galaxy Watch, why do you need a Galaxy Ring?
The short answer might be: you don’t. Samsung is, I would guess, targeting people who don’t want a smartwatch on their wrist, or who would much rather have their favourite mechanical timepiece located there. The bullishness behind the Galaxy Ring’s messaging suggests that it’s intended to be in a class of its own.
In-person, the Galaxy Ring feels incredibly lightweight and surprisingly understated. That isn’t to say I was expecting a diamond-encrusted statement ring that’s going to compete with your wedding band, but it is just a very simple band. Whether or not that works for you is entirely a personal preference, and, admittedly, I’d rather it was understated than in-your-face. Equally, the durability will have to wait for my full test.
I like the fact that Samsung has integrated the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2024 into its ecosystem. We’re told that, if you have a compatible Galaxy smartphone, there will be a bunch of gesture controls available for Ring wearers, including the ability to cancel alarms and answer phone calls. We didn’t get to play with that during the hands-on, but it’s something I’ll check out in my full review.
However, the trump card for the Galaxy Ring appears to be the method by which it is charged. Samsung has opted for an earbud-like charging case into which you place the Samsung Ring and juice it up whenever needed. Given that the Ring has up to seven days of battery life, that should significantly extend its stamina, and it makes it far more convenient than my Ultrahuman Ring Air.
This brings me to the obvious comparison.
My experience with the Ultrahuman Ring AIR
Avid viewers of my YouTube channel (I know there are a couple of you out there) will have spotted that, for the last couple of months, I’ve been wearing a ring on my forefinger.
It’s an Ultrahuman Ring AIR, and I fully intend to review it within the next few weeks. I think it’s time; I’ve had long enough with this thing attached to me to form a meaningful opinion on smart rings. I think.
I spotted the appeal, immediately. I’m a watch guy – I always have been, therefore any other form of fitness tracker is going to have a hard time competing with whatever smartwatch I’m wearing. That said, I know this isn’t the case for everyone; if you’re not bothered about watches – or genuinely hate them on your wrist – but want to know a bit about what’s going on with your body, a smart ring is a brilliant alternative.
They are, possibly, an acquired taste, aesthetically, but as someone who hasn’t worn a ring for a very long time, I’ve become quite accustomed to having the Ring AIR on my left forefinger. I quite like it. I’ll save my full thoughts for the review, but in essence, I’ve learned that a smart ring needs to be:
- comfortable;
- durable;
- easy to charge;
- capable of delivering meaningful feedback on your body conditioning; and
- supported by a fantastic app experience.
Does Ultrahuman win in all of those areas? No. Will the Samsung Galaxy Ring? We’ll have to wait and see!
Final thought: what about the ‘Apple Ring’?
It’s only natural, isn’t it? As soon as Samsung launches a new product category, the same amount of attention is placed on Apple. Will they? Won’t they?
I think they will. I just don’t think we’re going to see it this year. In my mind, 2025 feels like the right time for Apple to launch a smart ring and answer the big question – why would you own one if you already have an Apple Watch?
I can’t wait to see their answer to it. As for Samsung’s… stay tuned!
