The smart ring market has been dou youtaight hold by the Oura Ring, but samsung galaxy ring hultrot will change that. Introduced at samsung's Unpacked event in January, it was then teased again at Mobile World Congress (MWCTM) in February.
With four health sensors on board to monitor heart rate and various aspects of your physical activity, as well as Samsung Health, you can be sure you're covered with this phone detector. Could this be the most hotly anticipated tech device of 2021? Here's what we know so far.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: release date
Samsung is slated to introduce the Galaxy Ring at its next Unpacked event, which is to be held on July 10, 2023, in Paris, France. The gadget is likely to be launched alongside the forthcoming Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 smartphones.
Since Samsung's pre-announced the Galaxy Ring enough times that we're certain it will debut at - or very shortly after - this 10 July Unpacked.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: price
As for the pricing of the Galaxy Ring, little information is available. At least one rumour from The Elec, however, suggests that Samsung won't be undercutting the prices of its two main competitors, indicating that the Galaxy Ring will cost somewhere around $300 in the US - the same as Oura's ring. Competing systems such as Ultrahuman's Ring Air costs $349 while RingConn's Smart Ring costs $279.
One way Samsung could trump Oura is that it might not come with a subscription fee attached. That $6-per-month subscription, you'll recall, is something the Oura Ring isn't without. Currently Samsung has no subscription tied to its Galaxy Watches, but rumours say those could change with the Galaxy Ring and, next time, hopefully not.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: design
Quite a bit more is known about Galaxy Ring's design, since some of those samples were put on display at MWC. Samsung is poised to offer it with models in at least three colours: black, silver and gold, each with a glossy, reflective sheen. Previously leaked reports on Galaxy Ring indicated that Samsung would offer rings as large as size 13.
Writing on Digital Trends, the site's editor Joe Maring hoped that 'we'll see some more designs for the Galaxy Ring', and 'maybe extra finishes and colour options will be produced to sell'. He especially wished that the ring had a display on its outside to help wearers tell the difference between its noon and its midnight sides. At MWC, one couldn't see whether the Galaxy Ring had that feature.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: health-tracking features
According to the latest news, the next Samsung Galaxy Ring will provide several features to promote health and well-being. As Wareable just noticed, it seems like the next Galaxy Ring might come with support for health and wellness monitoring, thanks to Samsung's ongoing patent for using a generative AI system to implement continuous monitoring of heart rate data and signs for atrial fibrillation (AFib). Heart rate data is currently tracked by most smartwatches using electrocardiogram scans (ECG), although they do not implement continuous monitoring, and the user still needs to actively initiate the scan him/herself.
All it takes is a glance at the new Samsung patent to 'translate PPG signals to corresponding ECG waveforms' for this to change. In other words, the data already being collected on a continuous basis is about to be fed into an AI programme to translate it into ECG data. It could well appear on the Galaxy Ring in due course, but it is just as likely to turn up in Samsung's earlier offerings, those wearables that can already measure an ECG (the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 and the Galaxy Watch 3, to name only two).
Also included in the list of features we can expect are 'My Vitality Score' (which is described as a 'guiding number allowing you to assess your overall health and well-being based on nine key health metrics', including 'sleep, activity, heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV)') that reminds us of Oura's breakdown of your 'Readiness' score. Users say it's 'spot-on' and 'helpful'.
The Galaxy Ring will also report back on what its creators call the My Vitality Score, which should help people track the effects of sleep - how long and how well they slept the night before. This should be particularly handy for people struggling with sleep issues or who like to optimise their habits in the name of health.
Other features of the Galaxy Ring include cycle tracking, a component Samsung partners with Natural Cycles on. It helps you monitor your menstrual cycle and fertility, so you know what's going on with your body and when best to time it.
All this sounds like what we'd expect out of a smart ring in 2024. We may hear more about the health/wellness features Samsung has to offer, but for now it sounds like the essentials are all there.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: battery life
It's notable that Samsung has already promised that the Galaxy Ring will have exceptional battery life. Sizes above half a finger will reportedly offer 'long' battery life, although it's worth noting that the Oura Ring already has exceptional battery life.
Then, in late February, Samsung confirmed to Engadget that the Galaxy Ring will get between five and nine days of endurance. Which, for very real reasons, translates into: very good. The Oura Ring, by comparison, is good for up to four days between charges. If Samsung can endure a week on the Galaxy Ring's battery life, we will applaud.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: What's the killer feature?
As we wait to hear about what makes the Galaxy Ring unique - another smart ring that looks like any other connected device out there - we hope that Samsung has something up its sleeve to set it apart from the slew of other smart rings on the market. Latest rumours suggest that the new Oura Ring will allow users to see measurements for their cardiovascular age and cardio capacity, which might put Samsung in danger of getting lost in the noise of growing smart ring competition.
Samsung can do this several ways: it can make standby time the most important specification to consider; plus, Samsung has the potential to offer the Galaxy Ring at a decent price point, whether by keeping the MSRP low, and/or by avoiding a subscription fee.
