I’ve by no means been an individual who enjoys carrying a watch. Regardless that I’ve used dozens of smartwatches through the years, I seldom put on one all day lengthy. That is the place the concept of a sensible ring is available in for me. As somebody who already wears a marriage band day-after-day and finds it snug, I had hoped a sensible ring would really feel like the best kind issue when in comparison with cumbersome health straps or cumbersome watches.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is the newest good ring to attempt to woo prospects with its idea, which began in 2015 with the discharge of the first-generation Oura Ring. However should you had been hoping to exchange your smartwatch with the Galaxy Ring, you are going to must mood your expectations.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is designed for twenty-four/7 well being monitoring and little else. It’s going to robotically monitor strolling, operating, and even sleeping, however whereas Samsung’s Well being software program offers you plenty of knowledge, I am unsure I belief most of it. It lacks AFib detection, one thing the Ultrahuman Ring Air not too long ago added, making it largely ineffective for twenty-four/7 coronary heart fee monitoring. Even the “discover my ring” characteristic solely actually works on Samsung Galaxy telephones, a vastly missed alternative for Samsung to one-up the competitors.
Samsung has loads of enhancements to make however, fortunately, all of them are software-related and might be addressed sooner or later by way of updates. Samsung would not cost a month-to-month subscription like Oura, however with none sort of significant coronary heart monitoring knowledge and no actual help for understanding with the ring, I am unsure what the purpose of carrying one is.
About this evaluate
I have been utilizing the Galaxy Ring for 5 weeks as of the publishing of the ultimate evaluate on August 30, 2024. My gold dimension 10 Galaxy Ring has been paired with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely operating One UI 6.1, in addition to plenty of non-Samsung units just like the OnePlus 12 and CMF Telephone 1.
Value and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is out there for $399 and is available in three basic ring colours: silver, gold, and black. Preliminary orders had been again ordered attributable to recognition however Samsung ramped up manufacturing considerably to fulfill demand. The Galaxy Ring at present takes a couple of weeks to ship out as soon as ordered.
To buy a Galaxy Ring, you may first must spend $10 on a sizing equipment. That comes with a $10 credit score in direction of the acquisition of a Galaxy Ring, so the sizing equipment is successfully free as soon as you purchase a Ring. You may as well discover a sizing equipment accessible at some Finest Purchase areas without cost, so it’s possible you’ll wish to name round first earlier than ordering a equipment. Samsung makes Galaxy Rings in normal ring sizes 5–13.
Not like its largest competitor, the Oura Ring Gen 3, the Galaxy Ring would not require a month-to-month subscription to entry your knowledge. All that’s dealt with by way of the Samsung Well being app, which works with any Android cellphone. Samsung Galaxy telephones with Galaxy AI built-in, just like the Galaxy S24 Extremely, will get additional insights for his or her knowledge powered by Galaxy AI when paired with the Galaxy Ring. Moreover, you may solely get full ring monitoring performance and ring gestures when paired with a Samsung cellphone.
{Hardware} and design
If I might get true characteristic parity, I might swap out a smartwatch for a sensible ring almost any day of the week. Apart from some sorts of exercises, a sensible ring is a considerably extra snug gadget to put on 24/7 than a smartwatch.
Samsung’s {hardware} design is essentially glorious, stuffing a battery and tons of tech right into a svelte ~2.6mm thick ring. That is notably thicker than some normal rings — like my gold wedding ceremony band — however it’s not so thick as to really feel extra noticeable on my finger than a regular ring.
On launch, Samsung was the thinnest good ring till the RingConn Gen 2 got here out simply two weeks later. Not like that ring, although, the Galaxy Ring is an ideal circle, whereas RingConn opted for a extra distinctive squircle design.
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After 5 weeks of use, the ring seems prefer it’s seen 20 years of damage and tear.
The Galaxy Ring includes a concave design that helps make the ring look thinner than it really is, and the titanium development is impressively gentle however I am not totally satisfied of its sturdiness. The concave design helps hold the middle from getting scratched however it would not accomplish that a lot for the perimeters.
After 5 weeks of use, the ring seems prefer it’s seen 20 years of damage and tear. My 16-year-old gold wedding ceremony band seems in much better form, for reference.
I ran a Spartan Race with the ring in early August as a result of I needed to see the way it held up throughout an occasion that largely consisted of operating and strolling with obstacles thrown in each few hundred meters. The outcome was lower than glorious on all counts—which I am going to element additional within the well being monitoring part under.
The most important situation right here is not the questionable sturdiness. It is the truth that good rings aren’t repairable.
On the underside, you may discover an orientation indicator letting you know the way to put on the ring. This line ought to all the time line up with the center of the underside of your finger because it ensures the Ring’s sensors are in essentially the most optimum place. I’d frequently test to verify this indicator was in the precise place and located it normally wanted a couple of rotational fixes all through the day.
The Ring match properly on the center finger of my proper hand the place I discovered that specific finger form to be higher for carrying a hoop than my index finger. It is extra snug, total, however it additionally would not get in the way in which like it could after I tried to put on it on my index finger.
Samsung recommends carrying it both on the index or center fingers if you wish to use the gesture characteristic, so that is proper in keeping with expectations. Gestures are one thing distinctive to the Galaxy Ring and a bonus Samsung has over rivals, however they solely work when paired with a supported Samsung Galaxy cellphone.
| Class | Galaxy Ring |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 7.0mm (width) x 2.6mm (depth) |
| Weight | 2.3-3g |
| Supplies | Titanium grade body |
| Water resistance | 10ATM, IP68 |
| Colours | Titanium Black, Titanium Gold, Titanium Silver |
| Sizes | 5–13 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth LE 5.4 |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, PPG, pores and skin temperature |
| Battery | 18mAh-23.5mAh, 40% in half-hour |
| Charging cradle | 361mAh |
Apart from being unique to newer Galaxy telephones, it is also value noting that there are solely two fundamental gestures proper now: take a photograph, and cease an alarm in your cellphone. To carry out both of those actions, you may double-tap your ring-wearing finger and thumb collectively within the air as should you’re pinching one thing twice.
Whereas these are cool to make use of in very particular circumstances, they don’t seem to be product-selling options by any means.
The Galaxy Ring’s two most original options are gesture help and the flexibility to remotely discover a misplaced ring, however each solely work with sure Samsung Galaxy telephones.
Samsung additionally helps a “discover my ring” characteristic that works identically to different Samsung Galaxy units. Open the Galaxy Wearables app, then faucet discover on the primary menu. The app gives you a tough location of the place the Ring is—or the place it was final detected if it is not in your normal neighborhood—together with a helpful GPS map utilizing Bluetooth for native location, however this performance solely works on Samsung Galaxy telephones.
The Galaxy Ring would not vibrate or make noise, which implies that it would not help notifications. That additionally implies that it is slightly tough to search out, particularly if it fell between the sofa cushions or rolled below one thing like a fridge or range.
The app allows you to quickly blink the lights on the Galaxy Ring’s sensors however that is solely helpful at night time or in a darkish room. The lights merely aren’t brilliant sufficient to be seen in the course of the day or in any kind of brilliant lighting.
Discover my Ring is generally ineffective until you might have a Samsung Galaxy cellphone to pair the Ring with.
As I beforehand famous, this performance solely works on Samsung Galaxy telephones. The Samsung Discover app is unique to the Galaxy Retailer. Sideloading the APK would not work both because it requires hooks present in Samsung’s One UI to work.
Samsung might have made it work with Google’s newest Discover My Gadget improve — many different Samsung units do — however it awoke and selected violence. One of the best you’ll do with a non-Samsung cellphone is blink the Ring’s lights which, as I identified, is generally ineffective.
Nonetheless, different good rings haven’t got a “discover my” characteristic in any respect, so any option to discover your misplaced Ring is a bonus for Samsung, even with its limitations.
Battery and charging
One of many fundamental causes to decide on a sensible ring over a smartwatch is battery life. Many of the finest smartwatches should be charged each day, whereas some fitness-focused choices just like the Garmin Forerunner 965 can final 1-3 weeks relying on how usually you employ GPS monitoring.
My Galaxy Ring lasted 6-7 full days on any given cost. Within the preliminary evaluate, I famous that the Ring had 10% left on the finish of the sixth day, which is loads to nonetheless carry out sleep monitoring that night time.
The remaining battery share may be tracked each on the Galaxy Wearables app and with the Ring itself. Simply take off the ring and have a look at the indicator LEDs inside for a couple of seconds. They’re going to flash inexperienced indicating the battery share left in 25% increments. 4 flashes imply between 75%-100% battery is left, three flashes for 50%-75%, and many others.
Whenever you put on a Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch on the identical time, the Ring’s well being sensors fall asleep to save lots of battery life. To me, this is not sensible in any respect. It must be the opposite method round.
Samsung highlights {that a} Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch can be utilized in conjunction for essentially the most correct well being monitoring and higher total battery life. But it surely looks like Samsung bought issues backwards with the battery portion of this equation.
Whenever you put on a Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch on the identical time, the Ring’s well being sensors fall asleep to save lots of battery life. To me, this is not sensible in any respect. It must be the opposite method round because you usually must cost a smartwatch day-after-day, whereas the Galaxy Ring has week-long battery life with regular use.
Samsung critically must rethink how this works, as it could make much more sense to save lots of battery life on the watch through the use of the Ring’s well being monitoring sensors, as an alternative.
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The Galaxy Ring has true week-long battery life, and the included charging case works like a wi-fi earbuds case for straightforward journey.
Just like the finest earbuds, you may cost your Galaxy Ring utilizing the included charging case. This case has its personal battery with sufficient capability for a number of full Ring prices. It additionally prices through USB-C, so it is handy to rapidly cost and tackle the go together with you should you want it.
The case itself is a bit tech stylish, with a clear, flashy design together with a hoop of LEDs that illuminate when opening the hinge. This ring is used to show the case’s remaining battery life, and tapping the button can even provoke pairing.
Like many Samsung units nowadays, although, charging the Galaxy Ring is abysmally gradual. A 30-minute cost resulted in a measly 50% Ring cost, whereas it took a full hour to top-up the tiny ~20mAh battery. Little question, Samsung makes the charging so painfully gradual in an effort to delay battery longevity however no less than you solely must cost it as soon as per week.
I bumped into a number of conditions the place the case would not cost the Ring in any respect, solely to search out out I had it the other way up on the dock, which appears an odd design for a hoop.
Not solely that, however I bumped into a number of conditions the place the ring would not cost in any respect, even after I thought I had correctly mounted it within the case. A part of the confusion comes within the case design. Whenever you open it, the LED ring inside lights as much as offer you a view of the battery share of the case itself. However I usually mistook this for the Ring’s battery share because the LED stays illuminated after I dock the ring.
So as an alternative of charging the Ring, I might come again after an hour or two to search out that nothing in any respect occurred. In all occasions of this taking place, flipping the ring over fastened the charging situation. I am unsure why charging the ring appears to work on one facet however you may must pay additional shut consideration to the app to make sure your ring is definitely charging within the case, denoted by a standard charging lightning bolt icon within the Galaxy Wearables app.
Sleep monitoring
I hate carrying a watch to sleep. It is not one thing I do outdoors of the occasional smartwatch evaluate, so the Galaxy Ring appeared like a really perfect option to monitor sleep. It is extremely snug to put on to mattress.
Should you’ve worn a Galaxy Watch to sleep earlier than, anticipate the identical sort of metrics from a Galaxy Ring. That, in and of itself, is a triumph. A smaller, extra snug gadget that may get the identical sorts of readings for sleep knowledge as a Galaxy Watch Extremely is really a implausible proposition.
The issue is that Samsung’s sleep knowledge is not thought-about the very best within the trade by any means, and bands just like the Whoop 4.0 or smaller smartwatches just like the Pixel Watch 2 ship much more correct knowledge.
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After all, a lot of that is going to return all the way down to alignment and match. Smartwatches should be worn pretty tightly to be able to get an correct studying. Transfer round an excessive amount of at night time with a free wristband and also you may as properly simply delete the monitoring knowledge. Likewise, a Ring that spins or wobbles loads in your finger will not do you a lot good.
Because of this, I attempted to put on the Ring on a number of totally different finders however it did not appear to have an effect on total accuracy a lot. It additionally would not help sleep apnea monitoring just like the RingConn Gen 2, which implies any knowledge it delivers is essentially pedestrian in nature. In different phrases, whereas this can be a good sleep-tracking gadget, I would not take its outcomes as Gospel.
Sleep monitoring was largely inaccurate in comparison with the very best smartwatches, and the Galaxy Ring would not help superior measurements like sleep apnea detection.
The Samsung Well being app is chock filled with nice little particulars and well-presented info, from the distinguished sleep rating to the person metrics and easy-to-read graph that break your sleep down into awake, gentle, REM, and deep sleep patterns.
Under the sleep rating is the breakdown of what metrics fueled the rating, together with sleep time, bodily restoration, restfulness, psychological restoration, and sleep cycles. I am a really gentle sleeper by nature, and the Ring picked that up handily.
However whereas I initially felt good in regards to the total sleep rating, diving into the information made me really feel much less assured in it. I usually seen blips within the graph the place no knowledge was collected in any respect. I assume a few of that is down to suit however, like I stated beforehand, I attempted carrying it on a number of totally different fingers—lots of which had been an excellent tighter match than my center finger—and nonetheless discovered these bizarre lapses in knowledge.
Different knowledge factors like blood oxygen and pores and skin temperature whereas sleeping also needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Pores and skin temperature readings from a finger shall be totally different from a wrist or perhaps a torso band due to their location — some folks like heavy, heat-trapping blankets, whereas others might put their arms below a pillow, each of which might produce inaccurate readings.
Samsung supplies plenty of sleep monitoring knowledge however I am unsure I belief its accuracy.
Every day power rating is calculated by combining all of the accessible metrics, however my quantity was by no means fairly correct as a result of the Ring by no means efficiently detected any of my exercises on the fitness center, which you may examine under. If I had been going to plan my day round that power rating quantity—which is your entire function of such a rating—it is possible I might have a much less energetic day than I ought to.
The Power Rating metric is not unique to Samsung telephones, fortunately, however you may solely get the Galaxy AI-powered abstract on the high while you pair it with particular Samsung telephones.
One YouTuber confirmed how the Galaxy Ring traces up with different bands and watches, placing it in keeping with the remainder of the Galaxy Watch line and proper in the midst of most different sleep and fitness-tracking wearables. Briefly, it is not unhealthy, however it’s not nice, both.
Health monitoring
My largest disappointment with the Galaxy Ring revolves round health monitoring. I by no means anticipated this to exchange a smartwatch due to the shortage of a display—I primarily put on a smartwatch whereas understanding to observe my coronary heart fee—however Samsung’s software program is critically missing some vital health monitoring necessities and it makes it almost ineffective at a fitness center.
In case your exercises contain extra than simply strolling or operating, do not even hassle utilizing the Galaxy Ring.
Whereas happening a neighborhood stroll or a hike, coronary heart fee monitoring appeared to be correct in comparison with my Pixel Watch 2. I used to be pleasantly stunned at how easy and clear monitoring was. I additionally discovered that the Galaxy Ring was dead-on correct when utilizing it to trace steps, which is not one thing I can say in regards to the Pixel Watch 2.
First off, should you’re not a runner or do not plan to make use of the Ring to trace a stroll or a hike, do not hassle getting one. Automated exercises are solely supported for strolling or operating, and even then, I discovered that automated monitoring solely appeared to work after I walked or ran outdoors. Even then, shorter 400m runs on the fitness center—together with outside runs—had been not often robotically detected.
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Throughout a Spartan Race, the time, distance, and tracked coronary heart fee had been all flawed on the Galaxy Ring.
Let’s take a look at the outcomes from my Spartan Race above. Since there is no option to manually monitor with a Galaxy Ring, I solely have no matter it robotically tracked. Through the race, I wore the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Google Pixel Watch 2 on my proper hand, whereas the OnePlus Watch 2 was on my left hand.
The primary drawback with the Galaxy Ring is the exercise time tracked. My precise race time was one hour 22 minutes. Each watches tracked for an hour and a half as a result of I manually began them earlier than the race began whereas I used to be ready on the beginning line, however the Galaxy Ring’s automated monitoring comes 13 minutes in need of my precise motion time.
The second drawback is the space logged. This Spartan Race was the 5k model which equates to three.1 miles. The Galaxy Ring thought I ran 4.15 miles.
Third is the standard of the information itself. For the reason that Ring did not correctly monitor your entire race, the graph technically will get minimize off roughly 4/5ths of the way in which by way of, however we are able to no less than examine the remainder of it. At first, there seems to be no correlation in any respect between the Galaxy Ring and the 2 watches, nevertheless, a more in-depth inspection reveals come similarities.
However even with comparable peaks and lows, the numbers from the Galaxy Ring aren’t even near the 2 watches I wore.
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A part of the issue is the polling fee. Coronary heart fee knowledge is simply recorded each ten minutes — to save lots of battery — and this does not appear to be usually sufficient to detect a exercise efficiently. Samsung makes use of different sensors inside to assist with detection however they did not appear to do a lot good for me.
I am going to the fitness center a mean of 4 occasions per week—every go to is an hour-long exercise at a CrossFit-style fitness center—however all I noticed from the Ring was a blip or two on the guts fee graph exhibiting an elevated quantity. That was throughout the very best of occasions. On the worst of occasions, the Ring did not seize any coronary heart fee knowledge throughout my exercises in any respect.
There’s additionally no option to manually begin a exercise, which was unbelievable to me.
The Galaxy Ring shouldn’t be a very good exercise monitoring gadget, however it positive counts steps extremely precisely.
Once I requested Samsung about this, I used to be instructed that beginning a handbook exercise from the Samsung Well being app ought to clear up my issues. Sadly, this did not work. Any handbook exercise began from the Samsung Well being app by no means recorded any Ring knowledge. All I bought was a generic calorie burn worth relative to the exercise I selected and the size of the exercise.
In different phrases, I’d as properly haven’t even bothered bringing the Galaxy Ring to the fitness center.
Different good rings just like the Oura Ring Gen 3 do automated exercise detection much better and can frequently detect a exercise, then mean you can choose its kind after the exercise was accomplished. No good ring is a correct smartwatch substitute for gym-style exercises however Samsung might have executed loads higher with the Galaxy Ring’s exercise monitoring performance.
All in all, I am not inclined to suggest this Ring as a severe fitness-tracking instrument.
Competitors
The Ultrahuman Ring Air is a greater total purchase than the Galaxy Ring. It is $50 lower than the Galaxy Ring and, in contrast to Oura, has no subscription price. Our Wearables reviewer Michael Hicks discovered the sleep monitoring knowledge to be fairly correct — in contrast to my expertise with the Galaxy Ring. It even has AFib detection, one thing that is vitally essential in a 24/7 wearable. The draw back is that energetic health monitoring is not any higher than the Galaxy Ring.
One other glorious different is the RingConn Good Ring Gen 2, which weighs in at $299 and includes a distinctive squircle design. Battery life is 3-4 days longer than the Galaxy Ring, it gives sleep apnea detection, and RingConn gives covers for its rings which might stop injury whereas utilizing it throughout exercises or different occasions it’s possible you’ll be nervous about it getting scuffed up. It would not offer you a “readiness rating” like another rings however I discovered these sorts of scores to be largely ineffective, anyway.
After all, no good ring evaluate could be full with out mentioning the Oura Ring Gen 3, a hoop that looks like a greater total purchase for folk who’re extra severe about health monitoring with a sensible ring. Oura’s software program does a greater job of robotically detecting exercises and offers you much more choices for categorization and monitoring than Samsung. The large draw back is that you’re going to want a $6/month subscription to entry that knowledge.
Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase it if…
- You need a nice-looking ring that does greater than look fairly.
- You need a good ring with out the costly subscription.
- Informal 24/7 well being monitoring is extra essential to you than targeted health or sleep monitoring.
You should not purchase it if…
- You need a severe fitness-tracking gadget.
- Your exercises contain extra than simply strolling or operating.
- You are making an attempt to exchange a smartwatch with a sensible ring.
On the floor, the Samsung Galaxy Ring seems like a implausible first-generation effort. It supplies plenty of knowledge and options with no month-to-month subscription requirement. The {hardware} is glossy, and it is snug to put on all day, which is very essential for sleep monitoring and automated train detection.
However the well being monitoring options really feel newbie by almost each measure. Automated exercise monitoring is restricted in scope to simply strolling or operating and, even then, solely works properly when doing these actions for lengthy durations and open air. Sleep monitoring is snug however not almost as correct as a very good smartwatch. Some knowledge is even restricted to customers who pair the ring with a Galaxy cellphone that has Galaxy AI built-in.
Whereas the {hardware} is stellar, the health monitoring expertise merely is not prepared for primetime. The quantity of knowledge you get is excellent, however the high quality of that knowledge is questionable. Expertise lovers will possible be thrilled with the tech packed within the ring, however anybody severe about high quality health or sleep monitoring ought to look elsewhere.
Good rings are the best kind issue, however Samsung’s total execution leaves loads to be desired. Whilst a 24/7 well being tracker, different rings do it higher as a result of the Galaxy Ring is lacking options like AFib or sleep apnea detection. If I had spent $400 of my very own cash on this ring, I’d have returned it already.
Samsung’s newest wearable
Samsung knocked it out of the park with a beautiful {hardware} design that options tons of sensors, a week-long battery life, and an excellent charging case. Samsung Well being is a robust app however it’s solely finest when paired with a Galaxy cellphone and, even then, solely nice for folk who want informal health monitoring.
