The Galaxy Ring keeps you in Samsung’s orbit

Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is not, technically speaking, revolutionary. Smart rings of each sorts person been offering discreet wellness search since 2015. Your smartwatch tracks everything a smart ringing tin and, successful astir cases, more. Even so, there’s nary denying that nan $399.99 Galaxy Ring is nan astir breathtaking point to hap to smart rings successful nan past 5 years. Why?

Because it’s Samsung.

Until now, smart rings person beautiful overmuch been synonymous pinch nan Oura Ring. That’s nan 1 you might’ve seen connected Kim Kardashian, Jack Dorsey, Jennifer Aniston, and Prince Harry. It’s nan 1 that sewage each nan attraction astatine nan tallness of nan covid-19 pandemic acknowledgment to collaborations pinch nan NBA and scientific researchers. People for illustration smart rings for illustration nan Oura Ring because, successful immoderate ways, they are nan much convenient 24/7 wellness and fittingness trackers. But contempt that success, Oura isn’t a family name. 

Samsung’s determination to make a smart ringing gives legitimacy to a niche wearable — and if nan request is there, that opens nan doorway for Apple and Google to perchance jump connected nan bandwagon. But aft spending immoderate clip pinch nan Galaxy Ring, I wouldn’t opportunity that Samsung’s wholly upended nan smart ringing category. Rather, I’d opportunity it’s proposing that it’s nan perfect accessory for your different gadgets. 

Slim, comfy, and discreet

There’s 1 point nan Galaxy Ring shares pinch each different smart ringing I’ve tested: nary 1 will announcement you’re wearing it. I opportunity that pinch afloat assurance because, these days, I’m decked retired for illustration a mafia don wearing six smart rings and 5 regular rings. I’ve gone to family events, parties, nan market store, and nan office. Only 1 personification has ever asked if any of my rings were smart rings. Even colleagues who cognize I’m actively testing nan Galaxy Ring were incapable to separate it from nan rest. 

You tin return that arsenic a bully aliases bad thing. Good, because it intends nan Galaxy Ring is discreet and versatile. The nondescript creation fits immoderate wardrobe and is due for immoderate occasion. Bad, because, for $400, you conscionable bought a portion of high-tech jewelry that doesn’t needfully consciousness rather truthful luxe.

While I’d emotion much ocular flair, comfortableness is simply a must pinch wearables. And of each nan smart rings I’ve worn, nan Galaxy Ring is nan thinnest and astir comfortable. Its dimensions are smaller than astir smart rings astatine 7mm wide and 2.6mm thick, but nan concave style besides visually creates a slimming effect. The ring’s concavity besides intends nan sides don’t protrude into your neighboring fingers — a problem I’ve had pinch different smart rings. It’s a subtle tweak, but I announcement it’s overmuch much comfortable whenever I make a fist aliases drawback a dumbbell. 

While nan Galaxy Ring is noticeably bigger than my regular rings, nan bigger size doesn’t construe to a heavier ring. The Galaxy Ring weighs betwixt 2.3 and 3g, depending connected nan size. My size 9 ringing weighs 2.7g, which is astir connected par pinch my engagement ring.

Apart from nan ringing itself, Samsung cleverly opted for a charging case, which I overmuch for illustration to nan puck-shaped dock Oura and Ultrahuman use. For one, it keeps nan ringing unafraid while charging. I can’t show you nan number of times my cats person knocked nan Oura Ring charger disconnected my nightstand, sending maine connected a hunt nether nan furniture for nan ringing itself. Even if you don’t person demon cats, a lawsuit is overmuch easier to stash successful a bag, and you tin complaint connected nan go. The only point I dislike is that nan lawsuit only holds 1.5 times nan charge. Most different charging cases clasp astatine slightest 2 charges.

Judging by hardware alone, I’d opportunity nan Galaxy Ring is nan champion smart ringing I’ve tested. Unfortunately for Samsung, hardware is only half of nan equation. 

Health search is simply a mixed bag

Like nan Oura Ring, nan Galaxy Ring is chiefly a wellness tracker. You tin way your sleep, humor oxygen, tegument temperature, bosom complaint metrics, and activities. Based connected that data, you tin get a regular slumber score, entree to slumber coaching, and a caller Energy Score that parses really good you’ve recovered overnight and whether you should push yourself aliases return it easy. As acold arsenic much precocious wellness search goes, you’re constricted to precocious and debased bosom complaint notifications. FDA-cleared slumber apnea discovery and irregular bosom hit notifications are exclusive to nan Galaxy Watches.

As a slumber tracker, nan Galaxy Ring is decent. The information I sewage astir my slumber stages was astir akin to nan Oura Ring, which studies person shown is about 79 percent arsenic accurate arsenic nan golden modular polysomnography laboratory test. However, arsenic successful nan past, Samsung’s humor oxygen information is wonky. My nightly averages ranged from nan debased 80s to nan precocious 90s. Anything successful nan debased 80s is simply a logic to spell to nan ER, truthful I chalk this up to maine being a broadside sleeper — a known obstacle for meticulous humor oxygen readings connected wearables.

The caller Energy Score is besides broadly accurate, though nan AI-powered insights for it are deed aliases miss. After a punishing agelong tally successful 90-degree heat, my Energy Score dipped 18 points nan adjacent day. I was told I needed to rest. That night, I went to furniture astatine 8:30PM for a blessed 9 hours of sleep, and voila — my people jumped 16 points. Except I was besides told my slumber was compromised and to extremity drinking intoxicant aliases late-night eating to guarantee value sleep. I don’t portion and my past repast was astatine 6:45PM. 

Activity search is besides a mixed bag. My regular wide measurement count was fine, if a spot inflated by a mates 100 steps compared to my Apple Watch Ultra 2. That’s to beryllium expected pinch smart rings, however. Heart complaint information besides astir correlated for slumber and walks. Running is wherever nan Ring fumbled. The different day, I went connected a two-mile run. The Galaxy Ring, which autorecorded nan workout, reported a 30-minute duration, 2.37-mile distance, a 15-minute, 16-second pace, and an mean bosom complaint of 125 thumps per minute. The Galaxy Watch Ultra recorded a much meticulous long of 24 minutes, a 2.05-mile distance, an 11-minute, 54-second pace, and an mean bosom complaint of 162bpm. 

That was nan astir egregious example, but each of my Galaxy Ring-recorded runs were wildly disconnected for gait and mean bosom rate. This is apt because I relied connected autorecording for runs and walks alternatively of manually starting a workout connected my phone. However, nan full constituent of a smart ringing for wellness search is to beryllium arsenic unobtrusive arsenic possible. If I wanted to manually commencement each exercise, a smartwatch is simply a overmuch amended option. For instance, I return play Pilates classes wherever phones are banned wrong nan studio. If each I had was nan Galaxy Ring, I’d person to manually commencement nan workout connected my telephone earlier entering nan studio. With a smartwatch, I tin commencement signaling wrong nan workplace erstwhile people really begins.

All of this tin beryllium overlooked if each you want is simply a big-picture thought of your activity and sleep. But if you want much granular workout data, you’re going to request a smartwatch, too.

Better successful Samsung’s galaxy

There’s nary constituent successful beating astir nan bush. The Galaxy Ring is made pinch Samsung users successful mind. You can usage it pinch a non-Samsung Android phone, provided it supports nan Samsung Health app. You conscionable won’t get everything nan ringing is tin of.

For example, if you person a Galaxy phone, you tin usage Samsung Find to make nan ring’s LED lights flash while you excavation betwixt sofa cushions. Tough noogies if you person immoderate different phone. Likewise, insights for nan caller Energy Score characteristic aren’t disposable connected non-Galaxy phones. The cool double pinch gesture, wherever you tin usage nan Galaxy Ring to power your phone’s camera aliases disregard alarms? That’s a Z Flip 6 aliases Z Fold 6 exclusive correct now. (I was told astatine a hands-on arena that it’ll beryllium coming soon to nan S24, but it’s not disposable arsenic of this writing.)

You tin really spot this ecosystem bias successful action pinch artillery life. When you usage nan ringing connected its own, you get betwixt six and 7 days of artillery life. (Six days for ringing sizes 5–11 and 7 for sizes 12–13.) When you usage it pinch a Galaxy Watch, you tin agelong that retired by an other 30 percent. 

This is because nan Samsung Health app tin prioritize which device’s sensors to propulsion information from. If your Galaxy Watch artillery is debased and you plop it connected nan charger, it’ll propulsion information from nan Galaxy Ring. Conversely, if your Galaxy Watch is amended suited toward capturing workout data, nan Galaxy Ring’s sensors return a backmost seat. That helps optimize artillery life. 

That other 30 percent makes a large difference. Most of nan different smart rings I’ve tested request to beryllium charged each 2 to 4 days. In nan 12 days I’ve been testing nan Galaxy Ring, I’ve had to complaint it erstwhile astatine nan 7.5-day people — astir 36-ish hours longer than my ring’s six-day estimate. For example, I near nan Galaxy Watch disconnected 1 nighttime and nan 24-hour drain amounted to 22 percent. With nan Galaxy Watch on, I mean astir 15 percent per day. I’ll person to do further testing to spot really nan artillery degrades complete time. But truthful far, colour maine impressed.

A pricey accessory for your Galaxy Watch

All of this perfectly captures why nan Galaxy Ring isn’t really a instrumentality made to beryllium utilized connected its own. Its afloat imaginable requires other Samsung products. You’ll person an easier, much meticulous wellness search acquisition erstwhile you usage it pinch a Galaxy Watch. You’ll get amended artillery life if you usage it pinch a Galaxy Watch. You’ll get much features if you usage it pinch a Galaxy phone. 

In different words, it’s little of a Galaxy Watch replacement — it’s an accessory for it. 

If nan Galaxy Ring costs $250, I’d opportunity Samsung was a diabolical brilliant company. But astatine $400, it’s asking a batch for what amounts to a secondary instrumentality for your smartwatch. It’d beryllium smart if Samsung offered Galaxy Watch and Ring bundles to bring nan wide costs down, but truthful far, that’s not nan case. At slightest there’s nary further monthly subscription, arsenic pinch nan Oura Ring. But correct now, there’s nary existent logic to prime nan Galaxy Ring complete nan cheaper Ultrahuman Ring Air unless you’re already ensconced successful nan Galaxy ecosystem. 

Ultimately, I don’t deliberation Samsung ever intended connected making a smart ringing that’s bully for everyone. Rather, I deliberation nan Galaxy Ring is simply a trial to spot whether there’s an appetite for this benignant of multiwearable ecosystem — and whether its astir loyal customers will bargain in. That remains to beryllium seen, but if successful? I deliberation we’re successful for a full caller wearable era.

Photography by Victoria Song / The Verge