At a Galaxy Unpacked event on July 10, Samsung announced the Galaxy Ring, its long-awaited fitness tracking ring first teased in January.
After months of waiting and rumors, we finally have the official specs and design for the Galaxy Ring. Laptop Mag also got a hands-on look at it during a special preview event ahead of the July 10 presentation. If you're excited about the Galaxy Ring or curious how it compares to competitor Oura, we have all the details.
The Galaxy Ring joins the Galaxy Watch and the new Galaxy Watch Ultra as one of Samsung's flagship wearables. It's also tied into the new Samsung Health app, which acts as the hub for all the data the ring collects. Depending on your health and fitness tracking goals, it could be an even better option than a smartwatch.
Here's everything we know about the Galaxy Ring, Samsung's latest wearable gadget.
Latest news (updated July 11, 2024)
- Galaxy Ring earns praise in its first wave of reviews after Galaxy Unpacked
- Galaxy Ring pre-orders go live on July 10 with official launch slated for July 24
- July Galaxy Unpacked recap: Samsung announces Galaxy Ring alongside new phones, watches, and earbuds
- Laptop Mag gets a hands-on look at the Galaxy Ring ahead of Galaxy Unpacked
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Price
Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Ring on July 10, so we finally know how much it will cost. As we predicted, Samsung priced it similarly to Oura's smart rings, the main competitor for the Galaxy Ring.
The Galaxy Ring costs $399, but Samsung will not require a subscription for access to its full range of health features. This is important to note since Oura's rings start at $299 but do require a monthly subscription for the complete experience.
Oura's $5.99 per month subscription fee means that the Galaxy Ring is better value in the long run, despite having a higher initial purchase price. To be exact, the Oura ring becomes more expensive than the Galaxy Ring after 17 months of paying Oura's monthly subscription fee.
The $399 price tag on the Galaxy Ring also positions it on par with a smartwatch, which the ring could replace for users who are mainly focused on health tracking rather than additional features like notifications.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Release date
Samsung initially teased the Galaxy Ring in January 2024, hinting that it was nearing its release date. We predicted Samsung would officially unveil the smart ring at the July 10 Galaxy Unpacked event and sure enough, it was one of the stars of Samsung's keynote presentation.
The Galaxy Ring pre-order window opened on July 10, but it won't officially launch until July 24. If you want to reserve yours now, you can pre-order it on Samsung's website.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Design and sizes
The Galaxy Ring features a design that's hard to argue with. It's sleek, minimalistic, and easy to match with just about anything. It's also gender-neutral and comes in a few different colors: Titanium Silver, Titanium Gold, and Titanium Black. The gold version has the most metallic, glossy finish while the black is a bit more matte and subdued. The silver is a nice in-between option, but all three look great.
Unlike a smartwatch, you can't easily adjust the size of a ring. So, you need to purchase the Galaxy Ring in your ring size for the specific finger you plan to wear it on. Samsung currently offers it in ring sizes 5 through 13.
If you're not sure what your ring size is, select the option "I don't know my size" when you're choosing your Galaxy Ring. You can complete the purchase to reserve your ring and Samsung will ship you a sizing kit first. Once you receive the kit and find the right size, you can update your order and Samsung will send you your Galaxy Ring. Samsung recommends wearing the sizing sample ring for at least 24 hours to make sure it's comfortable before finalizing your Galaxy Ring order.
When you're not using the Galaxy Ring, it goes into a clear plastic case to charge. The case has an indicator light and a central button for checking the battery level of the ring and pairing it with new devices. You won't have to charge it often, though — the battery can last up to 7 days on a single charge.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Specs and health features
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Galaxy Ring was its specs, particularly its health sensors. Samsung finally revealed the details at the July 10 Galaxy Unpacked presentation, so we now have all the key specs.
The Galaxy Ring is designed to be worn 24/7 and has a battery life of up to 7 days on a single charge. It's waterproof and rated for 10ATM water resistance, meaning you can wear it up to 100 meters underwater (although you'd need some SCUBA gear to get that deep).
The Galaxy Ring has three sensors for measuring sleep health, activity, and heart health. You can view and analyze all the data these sensors collect through the Samsung Health app.
Sleep tracking is one key area where the Galaxy Ring could have a major edge over the Galaxy Watch. Sleeping with a ring on is much more comfortable for most people than sleeping with a watch on. That comfort combined with the 7-day battery life on the Galaxy Ring makes it a no-brainer for people who want to track their sleep.
The Galaxy Ring's sensors can monitor sleep data like sleep stages (how deeply you're sleeping throughout the night), heart rate, and snoring. All of that info gets compiled into a "Sleep Score" in the Samsung Health app, which measures how long you rested and how deeply you slept.
In addition to health tracking, the Galaxy Watch can also allow you to remotely control your other Samsung devices. For example, when paired with a Samsung phone, you can use pinch gestures with your Galaxy Ring to remotely take a photo or turn off an alarm. Those shortcuts can quite literally come in handy for Samsung fans.
What's next?
The Galaxy Ring is an exciting addition to the budding smart ring market, which up until now has been dominated by Oura. It will be interesting to see how the Galaxy Ring competes with the Oura over the coming months, especially since the Galaxy Ring does not require a monthly subscription. Oura's spot as the king of smart rings might be in trouble — the Galaxy Ring passed its first round of reviews with flying colors.
The Galaxy Ring could take a bite out of sales for Samsung's smartwatches, but likely not enough to pose a serious threat to that niche. Smartwatches boast a wider range of capabilities while smart rings are heavily focused on health tracking exclusively, particularly sleep tracking.
Samsung is clearly not worried about its smartwatch niche falling to the wayside since it also announced the new Galaxy Watch Ultra at the July 10 Galaxy Unpacked event. Along with the wearables, we also got new Z Fold and Z Flip phones and two new pairs of Galaxy Buds.
We'll be covering all the latest news from this summer's Galaxy Unpacked event and all things Samsung, so stay tuned for more details and updates.
