Verdict
For a first effort , the Samsung Galaxy Ring is a strong start with some superb elements , in terminus of accuracy and coaching job . But it does less than rivals , and feels lightweight against a Galaxy Watch . It will suit those in the Samsung ecosystem looking for a smart ring , but for those with no attachment to the ecosystem , there are salutary pick from Ultrahuman and Oura right now .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
wise rings have been around for several yr , but the Samsung Galaxy Ring is the first smart ring by a expectant - name brand to come to shelves .
fittingness and health rings have caught the vision of wearable users thanks to their long electric battery life and discreet pattern – especially when compared to bulky smartwatches .
So what does the Samsung Galaxy Ring bring to the table ? What does it do ? And should you bribe it ? I ’ve spent the last few weeks putting it to the trial .
It ’s important to remember first that the Galaxy Ring is only compatible withAndroid smartphones . There ’s less emphasis on using a Samsung smartphone here , but if you do n’t couple it with aGalaxy S24or similar , you ’ll miss out on some Galaxy AI features .
Price and Competition
give Samsung ’s manufacturing big businessman , you might have guess the Galaxy Ring would be price more aggressively .
It costs $ 399/£399 to bribe , but there ’s no ongoing subscription fee to worry about . It ’s the same cost for black , silver , or gold .
How does that compare ? Well , theOura Ring 3 , which is the best overall impertinent ring uncommitted now , starts at $ 299/£299 for a basic designing and colourway , but you do involve to pay an on-going subscription of £ 5.99/$5.99 per month .
There ’s also theUltrahuman Ring Air . It stacks up to the Samsung Galaxy Ring favourably and costs $ 349/£329 , again , with no on-going subscriptions .
So the Galaxy Ring is a pricy choice – even against Oura , and you ’d have to wear one for 16 month before break even on price .
Design and Comfort
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is one of the most comfortable voguish rings I ’ve wear down . It has a slight and lightweight build that ’s scarce noticeable when it ’s on .
It ’s slenderly concave , which ostensibly a choice to guard off scratches . I did n’t beak up any in the examination period on the aerofoil of the halo itself , so the design clearly work . But I did drag the side using weighting in the gym , so it ’s not robust enough for that kind of physical exertion . It ’s slender , lighter , and more discreet than the Oura Ring 3 .
There ’s a little snick on the exterior , which enable you to ensure the sensor are placed under the finger where they do their best work . The halo will twist around , and it ’s not the conclusion of the world if you find the sensors misaligned – but it ’s a handy visual guide .
Overall , it ’s a well - designed and comfortable smart gang specially in comparing to what ’s out there .
Features and Sleep Tracking
Now we get into the nitty gritty of what the Galaxy Ring does . It ’s important to acknowledge that it does nothing that the Samsung Galaxy Watch ca n’t .
In fact , it does far less than theSamsung Galaxy Watch 7even though it cost more . That micturate it more or less more challenging to justify .
In short , the key features for health tracking are :
I had high hopes for Samsung ’s sopor trailing after the excellent public presentation on last year’sGalaxy Watch 6 , and my faith was rewarded . This is a good sleep tracker .
There ’s a curious design quirk where Samsung displays your time in layer as a main system of measurement , and actual sleep in the little print – an singular choice I ca n’t get on board with . But both number checked out within second of the Oura Ring andWhoop 4.0 , two of the secure sleep tracker on the market .
There ’s the usual array of eternal rest stage and other meaningless info that ’s out of your ascendancy , but Samsung ’s sleep coaching job feel better thought through than most rivals . It set apart you a ‘ sleep animal ’ to avail you understand your habits , and you’re able to prefer a goal to work towards , with the ever - important sleep consistency picture on the main Galaxy Ring dashboard .
The sleep coaching is packed with actionable suggestion and good habit - building techniques . It ’s a strong oblation .
Accurate sleep trailing is of import because it make the base of Samsung ’s newEnergy Score . This convalescence metric is now a wearable technical school staple and show you how rested and set up you are for the Clarence Day ahead .
I observe the Energy Score reactive and reflective of my own perceptions of my recovery . It was sensitive and nuanced , with helpful insights into what might be sham your vigour level .
Another key metric is the trailing of steps and activity , and you ’re propel to assign your goals during set up . The truth of these metrics also stood up , and a colossus solar day that determine around 20000 step tallied up within 1000 steps of myApple Watch Ultra 2 . A decent similarity ease up the huge number .
Heart Rate Data
warmheartedness charge per unit performance was something of a mixed bagful , with good overall accuracy accentuate by some problematic data .
In terms of overall stats , my rest heart rate was in dividing line with my established baseline , and trended with myWhoop 4.0and Oura Ring . Every gadget has nuances about when it establishes perch heart rate , so these data point point do n’t have to be on the dot the same but show a good trend .
Samsung and Whoop show my average resting inwardness rate the same at 46 bpm . alike , Samsung showed a good correlation with Oura on respiratory pace , which was both around 12.9 bpm .
After being out and drinking alcohol on Saturday dark , both showed a spike in resting heart pace , but the Galaxy Ring showed a orotund one . Again , it depends on what time of night and how this is sampled , so the trend is there , even if the information is n’t .
But there are problem . On more than one juncture I fuck off large outage in a nighttime ’s rest of warmheartedness rate tracking , one time even flatlining for the whole nighttime . SpO2data was also problematical , with night ’s data showing occasional drops into dangerously low blood atomic number 8 saturations .
So while the surface data was good , there were troubling truth sequence behind the scene .
One curious part of the Galaxy Ring is that it does n’t drop time establishing a service line for your body and stats – and that does make the data point a little less personalised and relevant than the competition from Oura and Whoop .
With Oura , you need to wear it for two week before it will protrude giving you any data point , and instal a baseline of what ’s normal for you is an important step . And it think most data is compared to what ’s normal for you . That stimulate it experience less personal to you .
Samsung starts offer you counsel and insights right aside , and this can skew some of the early advice . If you happen to be mad , ominous , or go out on a crazy weekend session just as you don the ring , it can skew how Samsung Health views your bedtime habit , resting heart rate , and other metric unit .
It ’s also missing novel feature such as Cardio Age , VO2 Max , or thing like circadian rhythm window and other psychoanalysis go through on Oura and Ultrahuman pick . It ’s more despoil back and less in - deepness — but this is a first gen product , and a very serious start .
Fitness Performance
Smart rings are unsound workout partners – and there ’s not been a physical fitness ring on the market that I would recommend for form out . The Samsung Galaxy Ring is much better than most , but it ’s still not a instinctive partner .
The deficiency of screen think of that it ’s not suitable for bouncy feedback , but if you ’re looking to get deferred payment for working out within your Energy Score and activeness metrics , the Galaxy Ring does a good problem .
I used it in the gymnasium and notably scuffed the side on weight in just one session , so it ’s best avoid for lifting .
you could track foot race if you take your smartphone with you to treat GPS information – and it ’s best to officially start and stop the academic session on the Samsung Health app . The workout was well recorded and actually , the carrying into action was good . Heart charge per unit can be given to be woebegone during run on sassy ring , but the Galaxy Ring stood up well , and displayed utile datum on the run .
Samsung has added automatic workout detection which worked far better than I expect . run were not tracked accurately – they ’re unlikely to be if you just run out wearing a ring with no Global Positioning System or smartphone – but some of them were n’t far out .
A 7.5 km tally was cross at 7 kilometer . Another 12 km discharge was tracked as 10 km . So this is n’t dependable information , but it ’s good enough to ensure that your Energy Score reflects the fact you worked out and offers an agreement of the loudness involved .
I also do n’t like how there ’s not a dedicated field of the app for ‘ proper ’ workouts , and now long - terminus analysis of physical fitness .
In chic halo terms , the Samsung Galaxy Ring does a estimable line of track workouts if you manually specify that you ’re working out . The automatic physical exercise detecting does a Book of Job , but only enough to ameliorate your Energy Score and recovery information . It ’s better than most rings out there , but not a serious exercising tracker for those serious about carrying out .
Battery Life
The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy Ring does n’t bankrupt fresh priming coat , but will in all likelihood be music to the spike of anyone who used the Galaxy Watch serial , let in theGalaxy Watch Ultra .
Samsung claim that it will last around 7 days , and you ’ll get 30 % extra battery life-time if it ’s paired with a Galaxy smartwatch .
Over the course of the review period I performed several battery cycles and notice that it would usually last five or six days , with an average drop - off of around 15 % per mean solar day , including a full nighttime of sleep tracking .
That stacks up similarly to Oura , which will also last seven daylight between guardianship .
What I do really wish about the Galaxy Ring is the charge case . This slap-up small ring box enable you to point on the move or plug it into the main . I discovered the Galaxy Ring was out of juice one morning , popped it in the charging casing , and feed myself around 40 % thrill in the hour it took me to travel to take on football game .
induce that flexibility is a huge fillip and congratulations to Samsung for getting that correct .
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Should you buy it?
Samsung smartwatch users take care for a smart ring for more discreet health trailing will love the way this integrates into Samsung Health .
If you ’re looking for the absolute best impudent ring and have no connection to Samsung , Oura and Ultrahuman winnings for the bold astuteness of insights.&bsp ;
Final Thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy Ring feel like a first - genesis production – and it offers a comparatively limited health and wellness tracking experience at a big , low-set price rag . It feel as if Samsung is actively testing the pee here , and while a good smart ring , there are lots of areas I would wish to see improved in the inevitable continuation .
If you need to buy a safe Android - compatible bright band , thenOura Ring 3andUltrahuman Ring Airboth just pack more features and more insight .
Users of Samsung Galaxy smartwatches will enjoy how the Galaxy Ring play into that ecosystem , but this is a in high spirits price rag to pay for a companion machine that does n’t do anything alone . It simply pop the question you a chance to get slumber data without bear to wear a watch to bed .
So Samsung has grow a solid smart ring and a good performer , but one that does n’t give notice the smart mob big boys , nor is it a must - have leverage for anyone other than fervent Sammy sports fan .
Trusted Score
How we test
We thoroughly test every smart ringing we review . We use industry - received examination to compare features properly and we use the ring as our main equipment over the review period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to survey a Cartesian product .
FAQs
No , Galaxy Ring is Android only – and some feature require
