Samsung Galaxy Ring: Will it be king of the smart rings?

There is some big news in the smart ring world so if you’ve been considering one of these ring-worn wearables, now is a good time to listen up. Smart rings have been around for a while with a range of options from the likes of Oura, Ultra Human and Evie. 

None of the big boys (Apple, Samsung, Google) have really got involved yet. Well, until now.

Samsung has used its summer Unpacked event to reveal the Galaxy Ring in full. The company has previewed it before but now we know all the details, including what it will do, how much it will cost and what it has to offer. 

What is the Galaxy Ring design like? 

When it comes to smart rings, there isn’t a huge amount of differentiation across the market. I mean there is only so much that can be done so you have to forgive the lack of variation. The Samsung Galaxy Ring will come in nine sizes, ranging from size 5 to size 13, with the index finger being the ideal finger to wear it on, though you can wear on whichever finger you choose. 

There are three colours: Titanium Gold, Titanium Silver and Titanium Black. My personal favourite is the Titanium Gold, but very closely followed by the Titanium Black. Gold is glitzy but the black has a nice serious feel. If you hadn’t figured it out already, the main material is titanium, delivering what should be a strong and durable build. 

The first thing I noticed about the Galaxy Ring was how incredibly light it was when I picked it up. In some ways it’s a little disconcerting as you expect it to be much heavier than it is – it weighs a maximum of 3g, which is 50 per cent lighter than the Oura Ring Gen 3. Still, light is good when it comes to sleeping, so I’ll take it. It’s comfortable too based on my first impressions.

In terms of physical size, the Samsung Galaxy Ring measures 7mm wide, which is narrower than the Oura, and it’s 2.6mm thick. That’s thicker than most wedding rings, but those sensors have to go somewhere! 

What features does the Galaxy Ring offer?

From the surface, the Galaxy Ring looks like a thick ring, but under that titanium finish are a number of sensors – it wouldn’t be a very smart, smart ring without those after all. There’s heart rate monitoring, including alerts for irregularities, and you’ll also find a skin temperature sensor for helping with cycle tracking. 

The Galaxy Ring will measure your sleep, offering advanced sleep insights with a little bit of artificial intelligence to help, and it will offer a Sleep Score too. Apple Watch doesn’t offer Sleep Score and it is something I really missed after reviewing the Garmin Lily 2, which does have a score on board. 

Samsung is also offering something called Energy Score on the Galaxy Ring, which is something I was desperately hoping Apple would add to Watch with watchOS 11. Similar to Garmin’s Body Battery, Energy Score analyses a range of factors in order to determine your readiness for the day. You’ll also get wellness tips from the Galaxy Ring throughout the day, inactive alerts and automatic workout tracking when you go for a walk or run.

It’s designed for those who have bought into the Galaxy ecosystem really, and there are apparently 23 million of you according to Samsung. The Galaxy Ring data can be found in Samsung Health, which may be the one place it lets itself down a little, but I will need to wait to see how the data is translated and how the Samsung Health app presents everything once I’ve spent more time with it.

If you have a Galaxy phone, or you buy one, like the new Galaxy Z Flip 6 or Galaxy Z Fold 6 – both of which were also announced during Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event – the Galaxy Ring has a couple of extra tricks. It will appear on Samsung Find if you lose it, and you can also take a photo and snooze an alarm on your Galaxy phone by pinching your thumb and the finger you have the Galaxy Ring on together.

Galaxy Ring specs

I’m not going to talk about specs too much because these things are about what they are like to use in real life rather than the numbers on a sheet, but I’ll give you a quick break down of some of the key aspects. 

There’s a 7 day battery life promised for the Galaxy Ring, which if you pair it up with the Galaxy Watch 7 or Galaxy Watch Ultra – also announced during Samsung’s event – you will get an extra 30 per cent on top of that.

It is charged via a box that looks a little like one you could propose with, and that box is charged via USB-C, a little like most wireless headphones including Apple’s AirPods. Samsung says it takes 80 minutes to charge the Galaxy Ring to full.

When it comes to water resistance, the Galaxy Ring is water resistant up to 10ATM with an official rating of IP68. That means you can swim with it no problem.

How much is the Galaxy Ring and when is it available?

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is available to pre-order from 10 July, and it will go on sale on 24 July. It will cost £399, but there is no monthly subscription here so while that seems like a big initial outlay and more expensive than the likes of Oura (from £299), but no monthly subscription is as real benefit – as Oura charges £5.99 a month on an ongoing basis.