Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy Ring at some point this year and when it launches it’ll push Samsung into a segment of wearables that still feels fairly brand-new. When you think of wearables, you most likely think about fitness trackers and smartwatches. Maybe the occasional pair of true wireless earbuds or the offbeat health tracking devices you clip to things or wear around your neck. Smart rings aren’t unheard of but they are uncommon. Having become a little more familiar to people thanks to brands like Oura.
That being said, there are a few more companies that have been working to roll out their own smart rings for tracking health and fitness. And Samsung entering into this market is sure to popularize it even more. Samsung initially announced the Galaxy Ring back during CES 2024. At that time the ring was just a teaser and there was only a brief glimpse of the product on the big screen.
Fast forward to Mobile World Congress 2024 a month later, and Samsung officially revealed the Galaxy Ring to the world. Simultaneously, attendees at the convention were able to get hands-on time with it. Samsung revealed more details about it too. In this post, we’ll go over everything we know so far about Samsung’s upcoming smart ring. We’ll also be updating this post with new information as it comes out. So you can stay up to date on Samsung’s latest wearable.
This article will be regularly updated with new information on the Samsung Galaxy Ring (this is a preview article) — both official teasers and credible leaks, rumors, and insider claims — as it becomes available in the run-up to the release of the upcoming wearable.
When will the Samsung Galaxy Ring be released?
Samsung hasn’t given a definitive date for the time of release quite yet, but it has officially announced the ring. So there is some speculation that can be drawn from that. Without a firm date, it’s tough to say when exactly you can buy the Galaxy Ring. However, it’s expected to be released sometime in the second half of 2024. If this timing is accurate, then it’s very possible that we could see Samsung show it off again at its Unpacked event that happens in the second half of the year. Followed by a launch containing pre-orders and shipments heading out to buyers a couple of weeks later.
Last year Samsung held a big Unpacked event on July 26. Unpacked won’t necessarily be held at the same time this year. However, it probably won’t be far off. In 2022, Samsung held the late Summer Unpacked on August 10, which was just a couple of weeks away from last year’s event. In short, expect the event to be somewhat close to last year’s timing. This doesn’t mean we’ll get the Galaxy Ring around that time. But if Samsung is looking to launch the ring this year, the upcoming Unpacked is probably when it would do so.
What models will be available?
At the moment, we can assume Samsung is only going to be making one model of the Galaxy Ring. At this time it hasn’t given out a ton of details about the device. And what it showed off at MWC 2024 was just one model. However, it did come in multiple colors and sizes. This doesn’t mean Samsung won’t make additional models down the line. Or that it doesn’t already plan to release more than one model of the ring at some point. Being that the company has shared so little about it, there’s always the chance that it has something hiding up its sleeve.
For now though, bank on one model of the Galaxy Ring with varying sizes and colors. Don’t expect there to be different models that offer different features, though. It’s also worth noting that Samsung’s initial run of the Galaxy Ring is slated to be small. The company said back in March that it will do a smaller production run to kick things off, and plans to only make around 400,000 for the launch period. That probably means you’re going to want to place an order for one as soon as possible once these become available.
If you’re not one to be an early adopter, then you should have no trouble waiting until Samsung manufactures more, assuming it does so if the ring sells well.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy Ring cost?
At this time it’s unclear how much the Galaxy Ring will officially cost. There have been no hints from Samsung and so far there haven’t been any leaks regarding the price anywhere around the world. With that said, there are smart rings from other companies available. So we can use those as a baseline to guess what Samsung might charge. Samsung is usually pretty competitive with its pricing in the wearables market.
With that said, let’s look at some smart ring alternatives to the Galaxy Ring that you can currently buy. There’s the Oura Ring which is sort of the benchmark. It was the first smart ring on the market and it’s thought of as the premiere option. The Oura Ring starts at a base price of $299. Now Oura also offers two models – the Horizon and Heritage. They vary in style and price just a little but all the features appear to be the same. But, the baseline price is $299.
There’s also the Ultrahuman Air that’s $349, and the Motiv Ring which is $199 although the Motiv Ring is now currently out of stock. Looking at these prices, Samsung may look to place the Galax Ring somewhere in between the Motiv Ring and the Oura Ring costs. It’s a Galaxy device so it can easily pull in some more money based on the brand alone. But we would expect it to be competitive with the other options to grab the attention of the consumer.
Will it work with Android and iOS?
It will most certainly work with Android. It’s unclear if it will work with iOS though. A report from March suggests that iOS compatibility may not be in the cards for Samsung’s upcoming smart ring. The Galaxy Watch series smartwatches aren’t compatible with iOS, so this is a good indicator that the ring might not be either. For iOS users, the Oura Ring is likely a better bet. Because it will offer similar features and it does have iOS compatibility.
Android users will have no issue being able to use the ring. And if you use it in conjunction with a Galaxy Watch Samsung suggests you should have even more accurate health data insights with the two devices working together.
What will the Galaxy Ring look like?
Well, like a ring. Like any standard basic ring with a smooth surface and no extra designs or detail work. It seems boring, but the ring actually looks quite nice and very sleek. It’ll be available in three different colors and all are available in a glossy finish. Unlike the Oura Heritage ring, the Galaxy Ring will be completely round without a flat-ish top. Which you’ll see on some rings. However, Samsung’s Galaxy Ring does have a sort of concave surface all the way around which puts a nice spin on the design to differentiate it from other smart rings on the market.
What colors does the ring come in?
As noted above, Samsung will offer three colors of the Galaxy Ring. At least, there are three that are official so far. Samsung hasn’t announced any more color options beyond these three. But that doesn’t mean it won’t ever make any more colors. When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring prototypes at MWC 2024, it showed off the ring in black, silver, and gold. It wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung ended up making one in rose gold as it’s done with some of its past watches.
That said, there’s nothing to suggest right now that Samsung will offer the Galaxy Ring in any colors outside of the three mentioned here, which have already been confirmed.
How many sizes will Samsung offer?
Samsung will no doubt want to capture as much of the market as possible. And to do that it’ll need to offer a wide variety of size options. There are lots of different finger sizes out there. So to make sure the most amount of people possible can wear its ring, Samsung is covering a pretty wide range of sizes. The Galaxy Ring will come in sizes as small as 5 and go all the way up to 13. If you aren’t sure what your ring size is, you’ll want to measure your ring finger prior to buying one of these.
Luckily the ring isn’t expected to launch for at least a few more months. So you have some time to figure out what size you’ll need for your Galaxy Ring. Should you choose to pick one up, of course.
What features will the Galaxy Ring have?
The obvious features include things like sleep tracking. This is especially exciting since this will be more comfortable to wear to sleep than a watch or wrist-worn tracker. It’ll also be able to track steps, other exercise activities, stress, and at least a few other things.
For those wondering whether or not it’ll track blood oxygen and heart rate, yes, it will be able to do those things too. It’ll also feature sleep apnea detection using the blood oxygen sensors and you can get a ‘Vitality Score’ that’s based on data of your resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and overall sleep. The ring doesn’t feature GPS so it won’t do some things that you’d get from a smartwatch. And you may still want a smartwatch for those GPS-based features.
But for the more basic health and wellness stuff, heart rate, sleep, and step tracking chief among them, the Galaxy Ring should be capable of delivering on those. Samsung has also confirmed that the ring will integrate compatibility with Samsung Food. Using the health data collected, the ring may be able to suggest the best food to order on a menu when eating out.
What are the specs?
There’s unfortunately not a whole lot to tell here. Samsung has kept most if not all of the specs close to the chest and unsurprisingly so. The rings that were shown off at MWC 2024 were prototypes, so not finished products that would be sold to consumers. And as such, may end up having some changes by the time they reach the shelves for people to buy.
The main spec that people are probably worried about is battery life. The company hasn’t shared what the exact battery life would be, however, it did eventually give a range. It did initially tease that it would be “remarkable” and stated that larger sizes would have long battery life. Again, unsurprisingly as there will be more space in there. The company later confirmed that battery life would be somewhere between five and nine days. But it hasn’t given a definitive answer just yet. Still, five days of battery life as a baseline is pretty good since it’s more than what the Oura Ring offers. And that’s already a good sign.
Should you wait to buy the Galaxy Ring or go for something else?
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring isn’t yet available and there’s no official release date. So it might not even launch this year. If you want something now, then you do have options. That being said, the Galaxy Ring will most certainly be more dialed in when it comes to Samsung’s own health products, like the Samsung Health app. And if you’re already using that, the Galaxy Ring will surely play nicer with it than non-Samsung products.
There’s also the question of cost. Without knowing how much the ring will cost, or what its full feature set is, it’s hard to nail down if it’ll be a better fit for you than something you can buy right now. As with our Galaxy Watch 7 preview, it might be best to simply wait to buy any sort of smart ring until you can find out more about Samsung’s upcoming offering. That is if you’re interested in it.