I’ve by no means been an individual who enjoys carrying a watch. Regardless that I’ve used dozens of smartwatches over time, 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 by day and finds it comfy, I had hoped a sensible ring would really feel like the perfect type issue when in comparison with cumbersome health straps or cumbersome watches.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is the most recent good ring to attempt to woo prospects with its idea, which began in 2015 with the discharge of the first-generation Oura Ring. However in case you had been hoping to exchange your smartwatch with the Galaxy Ring, you are going to have to mood your expectations.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is designed for twenty-four/7 well being monitoring and little else. It will routinely observe strolling, operating, and even sleeping, however whereas Samsung’s Well being software program offers you numerous knowledge, I am undecided I belief most of it. It lacks AFib detection, one thing the Ultrahuman Ring Air lately added, making it largely ineffective for twenty-four/7 coronary heart fee monitoring. Even the “discover my ring” function solely actually works on Samsung Galaxy telephones, a massively missed alternative for Samsung to one-up the competitors.
Samsung has a variety 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 type of significant coronary heart monitoring knowledge and no actual assist for figuring out with the ring, I am undecided what the purpose of carrying one is.
About this evaluation
I have been utilizing the Galaxy Ring for 5 weeks as of the publishing of the ultimate evaluation on August 30, 2024. My gold measurement 10 Galaxy Ring has been paired with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely operating One UI 6.1, in addition to quite a few non-Samsung units just like the OnePlus 12 and CMF Cellphone 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 as a result of reputation however Samsung ramped up manufacturing considerably to fulfill demand. The Galaxy Ring presently takes a couple of weeks to ship out as soon as ordered.
To buy a Galaxy Ring, you may first have to spend $10 on a sizing kit. That comes with a $10 credit score in the direction of the acquisition of a Galaxy Ring, so the sizing equipment is successfully free as soon as you purchase a Ring. It’s also possible to discover a sizing equipment accessible at some Finest Purchase places at no cost, so it’s possible you’ll need to name round first earlier than ordering a equipment. Samsung makes Galaxy Rings in customary ring sizes 5–13.
In contrast to its greatest 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 telephone. 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 telephone.
{Hardware} and design
If I might get true function parity, I might swap out a smartwatch for a sensible ring practically any day of the week. Aside from some sorts of exercises, a sensible ring is a considerably extra comfy machine to put on 24/7 than a smartwatch.
Samsung’s {hardware} design is basically glorious, stuffing a battery and tons of tech right into a svelte ~2.6mm thick ring. That is notably thicker than some customary rings — like my gold marriage 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. In contrast to that ring, although, the Galaxy Ring is an ideal circle, whereas RingConn opted for a extra distinctive squircle design.
After 5 weeks of use, the ring seems prefer it’s seen 20 years of damage and tear.
The Galaxy Ring contains a concave design that helps make the ring look thinner than it truly is, and the titanium building is impressively mild however I am not absolutely satisfied of its sturdiness. The concave design helps hold the middle from getting scratched however it would not achieve this a lot for the sides.
After 5 weeks of use, the ring seems prefer it’s seen 20 years of damage and tear. My 16-year-old gold marriage 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 wished 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 largest problem 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 probably the most optimum place. I might recurrently test to verify this indicator was in the appropriate 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 comfy, total, however it additionally would not get in the best way like it might once 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 function, so that is proper according to 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 telephone.
| 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 |
Other than being unique to newer Galaxy telephones, it is also price noting that there are solely two major gestures proper now: take a photograph, and cease an alarm in your telephone. To carry out both of those actions, you may double-tap your ring-wearing finger and thumb collectively within the air as in case you’re pinching one thing twice.
Whereas these are cool to make use of in very particular circumstances, they are not product-selling options by any means.
The Galaxy Ring’s two most original options are gesture assist 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” function 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 common neighborhood—together with a useful 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 assist notifications. That additionally implies that it is somewhat tough to search out, particularly if it fell between the sofa cushions or rolled underneath one thing like a fridge or range.
The app permits you to quickly blink the lights on the Galaxy Ring’s sensors however that is solely helpful at evening or in a darkish room. The lights merely aren’t vivid sufficient to be seen through the day or in any sort of vivid lighting.
Discover my Ring is usually ineffective until you could have a Samsung Galaxy telephone 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 System improve — many different Samsung units do — however it wakened and selected violence. The very best you can do with a non-Samsung telephone is blink the Ring’s lights which, as I identified, is usually ineffective.
Nonetheless, different good rings do not have a “discover my” function 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 major causes to decide on a sensible ring over a smartwatch is battery life. Many of the greatest smartwatches must 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 evaluation, I famous that the Ring had 10% left on the finish of the sixth day, which is a lot to nonetheless carry out sleep monitoring that evening.
The remaining battery proportion 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 will flash inexperienced indicating the battery proportion left in 25% increments. 4 flashes imply between 75%-100% battery is left, three flashes for 50%-75%, and many others.
While you put on a Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch on the similar 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 ought to be the opposite approach round.
Samsung highlights {that a} Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch can be utilized in conjunction for probably the most correct well being monitoring and higher total battery life. But it surely appears like Samsung obtained issues backwards with the battery portion of this equation.
While you put on a Galaxy Ring and a Galaxy Watch on the similar 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 ought to be the opposite approach round because you usually have to cost a smartwatch day by day, whereas the Galaxy Ring has week-long battery life with regular use.
Samsung significantly must rethink how this works, as it might make much more sense to save lots of battery life on the watch by utilizing the Ring’s well being monitoring sensors, as an alternative.
The Galaxy Ring has true week-long battery life, and the included charging case works like a wi-fi earbuds case for simple journey.
Like one of the best 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 fees. It additionally fees by way of USB-C, so it is handy to rapidly cost and tackle the go along with you in case 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 today, 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 doubt, Samsung makes the charging so painfully gradual in an effort to lengthen battery longevity however at the least you solely have to 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 once I thought I had correctly mounted it within the case. A part of the confusion comes within the case design. While you open it, the LED ring inside lights as much as offer you a view of the battery proportion of the case itself. However I usually mistook this for the Ring’s battery proportion 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 mounted the charging problem. I am undecided why charging the ring appears to work on one aspect however you may have to 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 isn’t one thing I do exterior of the occasional smartwatch evaluation, so the Galaxy Ring appeared like an excellent option to observe sleep. It is extremely comfy to put on to mattress.
If you happen to’ve worn a Galaxy Watch to sleep earlier than, anticipate the identical type of metrics from a Galaxy Ring. That, in and of itself, is a triumph. A smaller, extra comfy machine that may get the identical sorts of readings for sleep knowledge as a Galaxy Watch Extremely is really a incredible proposition.
The issue is that Samsung’s sleep knowledge is not thought-about one of the best within the business by any means, and bands just like the Whoop 4.0 or smaller smartwatches just like the Pixel Watch 2 ship way more correct knowledge.
After all, a lot of that is going to return all the way down to alignment and match. Smartwatches must be worn pretty tightly as a way to get an correct studying. Transfer round an excessive amount of at evening with a free wristband and also you may as nicely simply delete the monitoring knowledge. Likewise, a Ring that spins or wobbles quite a bit in your finger will not do you a lot good.
Because of this, I attempted to put on the Ring on a number of completely different finders however it did not appear to have an effect on total accuracy a lot. It additionally would not assist sleep apnea monitoring just like the RingConn Gen 2, which implies any knowledge it delivers is basically pedestrian in nature. In different phrases, whereas this can be a good sleep-tracking machine, I would not take its outcomes as Gospel.
Sleep monitoring was largely inaccurate in comparison with one of the best smartwatches, and the Galaxy Ring would not assist superior measurements like sleep apnea detection.
The Samsung Well being app is chock stuffed with nice little particulars and well-presented info, from the outstanding sleep rating to the person metrics and easy-to-read graph that break your sleep down into awake, mild, REM, and deep sleep patterns.
Beneath 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 mild sleeper by nature, and the Ring picked that up handily.
However whereas I initially felt good concerning 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 completely 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 must also be taken with a grain of salt. Pores and skin temperature readings from a finger will likely be completely different from a wrist or perhaps a torso band due to their location — some individuals like heavy, heat-trapping blankets, whereas others might put their fingers underneath a pillow, each of which might produce inaccurate readings.
Samsung offers numerous sleep monitoring knowledge however I am undecided I belief its accuracy.
Day by day vitality 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 gymnasium, which you may examine under. If I had been going to plan my day round that vitality rating quantity—which is the complete objective of such a rating—it is probably I might have a much less lively day than I ought to.
The Vitality Rating metric is not unique to Samsung telephones, fortunately, however you may solely get the Galaxy AI-powered abstract on the prime once you pair it with particular Samsung telephones.
One YouTuber confirmed how the Galaxy Ring traces up with different bands and watches, placing it according to the remainder of the Galaxy Watch line and proper in the course of most different sleep and fitness-tracking wearables. In brief, it is not dangerous, however it’s not nice, both.
Health monitoring
My greatest 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 figuring out to watch my coronary heart fee—however Samsung’s software program is significantly missing some needed health monitoring necessities and it makes it practically ineffective at a gymnasium.
In case your exercises contain extra than simply strolling or operating, do not even hassle utilizing the Galaxy Ring.
Whereas occurring a neighborhood stroll or a hike, coronary heart fee monitoring gave the impression to be correct in comparison with my Pixel Watch 2. I used to be pleasantly shocked 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 concerning the Pixel Watch 2.
First off, in case 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 computerized monitoring solely appeared to work once I walked or ran exterior. Even then, shorter 400m runs on the gymnasium—together with out of doors runs—had been hardly ever routinely detected.
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 not any option to manually observe with a Galaxy Ring, I solely have no matter it routinely 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 computerized monitoring comes 13 minutes wanting my precise motion time.
The second drawback is the gap 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 observe the complete race, the graph technically will get lower off roughly 4/5ths of the best way by way of, however we are able to at the least evaluate 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 better inspection exhibits come similarities.
However even with comparable peaks and lows, the numbers from the Galaxy Ring aren’t even near the 2 watches I wore.
A part of the issue is the polling fee. Coronary heart fee knowledge is just 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 gymnasium a mean of 4 instances per week—every go to is an hour-long exercise at a CrossFit-style gymnasium—however all I noticed from the Ring was a blip or two on the center fee graph displaying an elevated quantity. That was throughout one of the best of instances. On the worst of instances, 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 just isn’t exercise monitoring machine, however it positive counts steps extremely precisely.
After I requested Samsung about this, I used to be advised that beginning a handbook exercise from the Samsung Well being app ought to remedy 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 obtained was a generic calorie burn worth relative to the exercise I selected and the size of the exercise.
In different phrases, I would as nicely haven’t even bothered bringing the Galaxy Ring to the gymnasium.
Different good rings just like the Oura Ring Gen 3 do computerized exercise detection much better and can recurrently detect a exercise, then assist you to choose its sort after the exercise was accomplished. No good ring is a correct smartwatch substitute for gym-style exercises however Samsung might have carried out quite a bit higher with the Galaxy Ring’s exercise monitoring performance.
All in all, I am not inclined to advocate this Ring as a critical fitness-tracking software.
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 value. 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 vital in a 24/7 wearable. The draw back is that lively health monitoring is not any higher than the Galaxy Ring.
One other glorious various is the RingConn Good Ring Gen 2, which weighs in at $299 and contains a distinctive squircle design. Battery life is 3-4 days longer than the Galaxy Ring, it affords sleep apnea detection, and RingConn affords covers for its rings which might forestall harm whereas utilizing it throughout exercises or different instances it’s possible you’ll be anxious 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 evaluation could be full with out mentioning the Oura Ring Gen 3, a hoop that appears like a greater total purchase for people who’re extra critical about health monitoring with a sensible ring. Oura’s software program does a greater job of routinely detecting exercises and offers you way more choices for categorization and monitoring than Samsung. The large draw back is that you will want a $6/month subscription to entry that knowledge.
Must you purchase it?
You should 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 vital to you than targeted health or sleep monitoring.
You should not purchase it if…
- You need a critical fitness-tracking machine.
- Your exercises contain extra than simply strolling or operating.
- You are attempting to exchange a smartwatch with a sensible ring.
On the floor, the Samsung Galaxy Ring seems like a incredible first-generation effort. It offers numerous knowledge and options and not using a month-to-month subscription requirement. The {hardware} is smooth, and it is comfy to put on all day, which is very vital for sleep monitoring and computerized train detection.
However the well being monitoring options really feel newbie by practically each measure. Automated exercise monitoring is proscribed in scope to only strolling or operating and, even then, solely works nicely when doing these actions for lengthy durations and open air. Sleep monitoring is comfy however not practically as correct as smartwatch. Some knowledge is even restricted to customers who pair the ring with a Galaxy telephone 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. Know-how lovers will probably be thrilled with the tech packed within the ring, however anybody critical about high quality health or sleep monitoring ought to look elsewhere.
Good rings are the perfect type issue, however Samsung’s total execution leaves quite a bit 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 might have returned it already.
Samsung’s newest wearable
Samsung knocked it out of the park with a stunning {hardware} design that options tons of sensors, a week-long battery life, and a superb charging case. Samsung Well being is a strong app however it’s solely greatest when paired with a Galaxy telephone and, even then, solely nice for people who want informal health monitoring.