I've spent an entire week wearing the new Samsung Galaxy Ring. And as many expected, Samsung's debut smart ring is shaping up to be one of the most exciting products from a major tech company this year.
My first impressions of the Galaxy Ring was that it had a lot in common with the Oura Ring, which I've used for the greater part of the last two years. But I started to notice ways Samsung's $399 smart ring was made to stand out from the competition. From AI-powered health insights to a neat double-pinch gesture, I started to see the hype around the Galaxy Ring. But after a couple of days wearing the Galaxy Ring 24/7 — while exercising, sleeping, and even showering — there's one feature that impressed me most: battery life.
Samsung didn't reveal too much about the Galaxy Ring's battery life expectancy. The company said, spec-wise, battery capacity spans from 18 to 23.5 mAh depending on the ring size. Samsung also estimated that ring sizes 12 and 13 can last up to 7 days, without clarifying what that meant for smaller ring sizes.
I'm testing a size 10 ring. I figured, per Samsung's scale, that this might mean around five days of battery life. If the Galaxy Ring lasted a full five days, that would be a slight advantage over my experience with Oura Ring. In comparison, my Oura Ring lasts closer to four days on a full charge.
Yet come my fifth day wearing the Galaxy Ring, it still had about 15% charge according its status in the Samsung Health app. I went the entire day before opting to juice up the ring a bit before bed, wanting to make sure it didn't drain entirely overnight.
My Galaxy Ring battery life was great — but there's a catch
Now is the point where I clarify that I've been testing the Galaxy Ring in conjunction with the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Since both devices as part of the Samsung ecosystem, they can work together to deliver stronger insights on health and wellness. Moreover, Samsung says that wearing a Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring together helps the ring preserve battery life longer.
When I'm wrapped on testing the Galaxy Watch Ultra, I can see how the Galaxy Ring battery life performs without a smartwatch taking some of the load off. I suspect it might be closer to a true five days.
I could argue that the battery life boost is an incentive for wearing both a Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch together, but that undermines some of the key benefits of a smart ring. It's more discreet and less obtrusive than a smartwatch can be.
Either way, the Galaxy Ring has impressed me with it's first battery life cycle, and even better that the portable charging case can come with me to top off the battery whenever the ring needs it.
