Samsung revealed the Galaxy Ring during Galaxy Unpacked and it looks…really cool, actually. While we don’t know a lot about the device, what we do know has me interested—but I'm still skeptical about this kind of tech. As such, there are some things I would like to see the Ring do to convince me.
While I said we don’t know much about the Galaxy Ring, we can make some educated guesses about what it could do. Samsung's Ring, like the Oura Ring, appears to use sensors on the inside of the band to measure certain things. The ring will likely be able to measure heart rate, which is a staple for most fitness trackers, but it could also be used to measure blood pressure and atrial fibrillation detection.
As I said, I am something of a skeptic when it comes to peripherals and it often takes a lot to convince me of their worth. For instance, I have never owned an Apple Watch despite its many benefits. So there must be something about the Galaxy Ring that grabs my attention and won't let go.
First things first, the look of the ring itself is nuanced. One of the issues I have with things like the Apple Watch is that I find them to be a bit cluttered visually. I will note that you can get different versions of the watch and some can pass as a normal watch, but therein lies the other issue. I don’t wear a watch, but I do wear rings and they are far less in-your-face, which fits my style better and would make me more inclined to wear it.
In my mind, the ring has plenty of visual potential, especially when it comes to customization. The base model is a simple band that will likely come in a variety of colors. However, it would be nice to see Samsung offer engraving options or varied color palettes to help the rings feel more personalized.
However, looks aren’t everything, especially not for something that could retail at around $200 at least. I need the ring to do more than just fit my style, otherwise it ends up as little more than an afterthought. As I said, there isn't a huge amount of information about what the ring will be able to do, but I have some ideas that would help it to really keep my interest.
One thing that I would like to see, but is quite unlikely, would be the ability to track the ring on a phone. My reasoning for this is twofold. First, it is very easy to lose rings but a nightmare to find them (just ask Sauron). The option to track it just makes life a little easier and settles the panic if it falls down the back of a cushion.
Second has to do with who we might give the ring to. For instance, there might be an inclination to give the ring to elderly family members as the lack of buttons and simple design could be ideal for them. For those with elderly family members who sometimes wander off, the ring could offer us some peace of mind by being able to track where they are at any time.
This leads to a larger point, which would be connecting the ring to other phones and letting us keep an eye on our family members' health at a glance. I know this sounds a bit Illuminati-like, but I do honestly think that being able to see a simple readout of each family member's health would bring peace of mind to a lot of people.
I would also like to see the option to add health data to the rings, something that would allow emergency services to easily find out certain details about a patient. For instance, have the ring act like a medical bracelet with information about allergies that can be the difference between life and death.
Finally, another feature that I would like to see would be a vibration function to alert the user that something requires their attention. The reality is that many people tend to forget to check health apps. Having a vibration function that alerts you to an issue would be harder to ignore, and is probably another possible addition that would benefit people who don’t always get the best use out of a watch due to a variety of factors.
There’s a lot to look forward to regarding the Galaxy Ring, but there are still some limitations. The size of the ring will, naturally, make some additions more difficult and limit the amount of technology that can be placed inside it. However, we don't have a complete picture of what is possible with this tech or what Samsung has managed to develop for the product.
We'll have to wait until Samsung reveals what the ring can do to know for sure, but I am quietly hopeful that the Galaxy Ring will deliver on its promise.
