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Samsung Galaxy Ring: Features, price, availability, and everything else we know
Samsung's most recent Unpacked event delivered a lineup of new Galaxy S24 smartphones and plenty of AI features. But the biggest announcement was saved for the tiniest of products: a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Ring.
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We'd heard rumors about the company's smart ring for months, but nothing was official until the Samsung Unpacked event. As we learn more about Samsung's first dive into the smart ring market, we'll gather every tidbit of information about the Galaxy Ring here.
What is the Samsung Galaxy Ring?
According to Samsung mobile digital health chief Hon Pak, the Galaxy Ring is a smart ring set to be released before the end of 2024. It will have many health and sleep-tracking features, with more capabilities added down the line. The ring will be available in multiple colors and sizes and will not be compatible with the iPhone, like Samsung's Galaxy Watch.
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According to a patent filed by Samsung in February 2023, the Galaxy Ring is "intended to cover the categories of wearable smart devices in the nature of a smart ring for tracking, measuring, monitoring, and uploading health, fitness and sleep-related information."
When will the Galaxy Ring launch?
While we don't have an official launch date for the new Samsung Galaxy Ring, the latest reports say it is set to launch in the second half of July, during the company's summer Unpacked event.
Samsung hasn't announced an official date for its summer Unpacked, but it held its 2023 event on July 26.
What will the Galaxy Ring do?
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is rumored to support ECG functionality and blood flow measurement to monitor readings, such as the wearer's heart rate and blood oxygen levels. The Galaxy Ring is also rumored to support device control via Samsung SmartThings, and wireless payments via Samsung Pay.
We can only make guesses based on the health features presented during the keynote and Pak's recent interview. The Samsung Health app experience includes the ability to monitor for potential sleep apnea symptoms by tracking sleep patterns and blood oxygen changes and maintaining heart rate alerts during sleep.
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"The ring represents that community of people who want health tracking that is more comfortable and less obtrusive," Pak said during a recent interview. "It's meeting a need of a specific population of people who want to track and measure, but in a different way."
The new Samsung Health experience also offers medication reminders, with helpful insights about potential interactions with foods or other medications you take.
What is the Galaxy Ring's My Vitality Score?
When the Galaxy Ring was announced during the Samsung Unpacked event, the company also teased 'My Vitality Score', a way to intelligently track your physical and mental preparedness to tackle the day based on your sleep, activity, and heart rate data.
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According to ZDNET editor Kerry Wan's interview with Dr. Pak, this score is created by combining health-tracking data from your activity, heart rate variability, and sleep habits. Users are given a score to reflect their physical and mental readiness.
What is the expected price of the Samsung Galaxy Ring?
There is no official word yet on how much the Galaxy Ring will cost and when it will be available. Oura is the current market leader for smart rings, as the Oura Ring is the most popular device in the category. If Samsung enters the market to compete with other smart rings like the Oura Ring, you can expect the Galaxy Ring's retail price to fall between $260 and $450.
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What's certain is that Samsung will soon expand its wearables lineup to include one of the hottest product categories in tech today.
When will I be able to buy a Samsung Galaxy Ring?
While we expect the Galaxy Ring to be officially unveiled during the Samsung Unpacked summer event in late July, reports from ET News indicate the device is currently in its prototype stage and set to enter mass production in the second quarter.
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Samsung could make its smart ring available for purchase immediately after launch, in the third quarter, or delay order deliveries to the fourth quarter of 2024.
How many colors and sizes will the Galaxy Ring have?
The Samsung Galaxy Ring will be available in three colors (black, silver, and gold) and nine sizes ranging from 5 to 13.
According to recent reports, the smaller ring sizes from 5 to 7 will boast the smallest battery, at 17 mAh. Medium sizes, ranging from 8 to 11, will have an 18.5 mAh battery and sizes 12 and 13 will have the largest battery, at 22.5 mAh.
When was the Galaxy Ring announced?
The Galaxy Ring was announced by Matthew Wiggins, a clinical research scientist at Samsung Research, after a segment demonstrating a new Samsung health experience that Galaxy AI powers. The announcement was short and sweet, followed by closing statements at the end of the Samsung Unpacked 2024 event.
What are smart rings used for?
Smart rings are wearables that incorporate sensors and other types of technology to track health measurements, such as heart rate variability and blood oxygen levels. They give users a simple way to measure and track health and sleep-related information.
Smart rings are worn on a person's finger. The device has a series of sensors always in contact with the skin. The array of sensors on the Galaxy Ring is visible on the inner band when the ring is viewed from above.