Samsung Announces Galaxy Ring: Everything You Need to Know

January 17, 2024 by |Sports Technology News and Reviews|Comments (27)

Samsung has just announced their Samsung Galaxy Ring, and with it, provided approximately zero details, except a pretty picture. But sometimes, a pretty picture speaks quite a bit.

To set the stage, literally, they had just finished talking about a handful of Samsung Health software updates that’ll be coming over the remainder of the year, including a daily readiness type score, as well as slightly more detailed sleep tracking. At that point, the screen went to black, and the announcer said:

“And today, we’re taking the possibilities of Samsung Health to the next level, by bringing Samsung’s Health cutting innovations to a brand new form factor.

We’ve created a powerful and accessible health and wellness device, here to change the shape of future health like only Samsung can. Meet the Galaxy Ring.”

We see a ring rotate briefly in a few directions over the course of about 8-10 seconds with no voice over or further information.

Then the ring disappears like a shooting star into the…well…stars, and then the entire presentation is over.

Still, there are a few minor clues in there, albeit, minor is the keyword. To begin, you’ll see it’s got three sensor bumps, just like the Oura ring has, you can see those three little bumps on the inside of the ring. These three bumps, seen towards the inside bottom/right portion of this (rotating) image:

In the case of Oura, these three bumps are the infrared sensors. These infrared sensors are primarily used for sending light in conjunction with red LEDs into the skin to determine blood oxygen levels. It’s extremely likely these do the same thing here for Samsung. However, Samsung’s bumps are more elongated than Oura’s are (which are more round). You can see this in the earlier photos up higher in the post. This leads me to believe it’s not just reselling Oura’s existing rings, as we’d likely see it identical for key sensor areas like this. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if they are licensing components of it protected by patents.

The next thing we see is four small copper-looking pins. Assuming I’ve counted my rotations correctly, we only see a single set of these on one side. This is similar to what we see for Oura and their 8-dots. These are not charging pins though, as Oura actually charges technically wirelessly (against the thicker main portion of the ring, something you can actually validate/test when you have a much smaller ring charger than the size you bought). Instead, these pins are likely used in the manufacturing process, typically for loading/updating software and other validation pieces.

What’s too hard to see in all the imagery, is any other bits on the inside of the ring. While these wouldn’t likely give much away, it’s not shown here. These would likely be additional LEDs for regular heart rate tracking, plus of course things mostly unseen like temperature sensing, and internal sensors for accelerometers and gyros. It’s highly unlikely there’s any GPS in this ring, as that’s far too big a battery burn for a small device like this.

Beyond that though, we’ve got virtually no details. Of course, Oura has been in the market a long time with multiple versions, and had success within their realm. We’ve also seen a few other companies enter the space, though none have really managed the sticking power of Oura. Likewise though, Oura hasn’t seemed to break out into becoming a household product/name (like a Fitbit did years ago).

Part of the challenge ring companies face is the sales/distribution process is cumbersome and fraught with sticking points. This is mainly because the rings must be sized appropriately, and more specifically, sized to which finger you want to put it on (since each finger on your hand sizes differently). Oura ‘solves’ that problem by first sending you a ring sizing kit like below, as part of the ring ordering process:

Then, once you receive the sizing kit, you go online to Oura’s portal and complete the process. They recommend you wear the sizing ring for at least 24hrs, to see how it feels, and ensure it doesn’t meander about (since that reduces accuracy of the data). Of course, none of these are hard or difficult things to do, but they are in effect massive barriers compared to the one-click purchase of most other watches and wearables (especially in a store setting).

Of course, the big difference between Oura and Samsung is that Samsung has tons of floor space already with retailers globally, and sticking a sizing kit somewhere is a relatively trivial thing. Likewise, Samsung has a long history of seeing their watches as effectively carrots to be given away at highly discounted prices (even before launch day), with the aim of selling their phones and other devices. I would fully expect Samsung to do the same here. To them, this is about getting you into the ecosystem, more than about selling you a standalone product.

In any case, it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. My assumption here is that this will launch this summer (in some capacity) alongside their usual slate of watches in the late July/early August timeframe (when they annually tend to release watches).

Thanks for reading!

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27 Comments

  1. Hassan
    January 17, 2024 at 3:53 pm #1

    What’s too hard to see in all the imagery, is any other bits on the inside of the watch.

    I presume that meant ring 😜

    Reply
  2. Rui Pereira
    January 17, 2024 at 4:01 pm #3

    Ultrahuman ring also have an app for you to size your fingers relative to a credit card (which has a known size), while using your phone sensors to make sure the photo is level. Not sure about accuracy, but in this way you can avoid the need for a physical sizing kit.

    Reply
  3. ian
    January 17, 2024 at 4:25 pm #5

    well if they price this right, thats the end of Oura isn’t it and I note very Oura like in shape, maybe thats the only shape possible.

    But is it any better than a standard watch will be a decided, Apple not interested in this market ?

    Reply
    • Rui Pereira
      January 17, 2024 at 4:34 pm #6

      Amazfit is also launching a ring in March. They can also be a contender in this space, especially in some markets.

      Reply
    • Rui Pereira
      January 17, 2024 at 4:36 pm #7

      I might even be so bold as to venture Samsung only showed “something” today, to avoid losing customer to others brands that will launch sooner.

      Reply
    • ian
      January 17, 2024 at 4:42 pm #8

      good point that but if you are a android watch user this wont exactly appeal. As you said Amazfit is different.

      Reply
    • Bruce Burkhalter
      January 17, 2024 at 8:28 pm #9

      Pretty hardware doesn’t mean much if the software isn’t good. And since Samsung only felt comfortable showing just a picture of it, it seems shipping is a bit far away.

      Oura has been at this a bit so they have a decent head start. And I would bet the Samsung ring probably doesn’t work (or work well) with the iPhone.

      Reply
    • Ismo
      January 18, 2024 at 12:35 pm #10

      Not all wearables are created equal. Even if Samsung may release a ring, it does not mean it would have any effect on Oura.

      Oura has proved to be a good product: see for example the professional comparison to Whoop.

      link to x.com

      Reply
  4. Heiki
    January 17, 2024 at 4:41 pm #11

    Maybe you have some info what can be little bit shared – does Garmin also working with Ring?

    Reply
  5. Lucian
    January 17, 2024 at 10:16 pm #12

    I am wearing a rolex, here comes the smart watch!?! I am wearing a wedding ring, here comes the smart ring…a smart bracelet would have been nice and not all the abysimal gadgets that no one serious about heritage would put on

    Reply
    • Eugene
      January 18, 2024 at 8:50 am #13

      And it goes on: you are wearing clothes, right? Here comes smart clothes…

      But I agree, the taste of smart watches and smart rings is such that, as you state it, “no one serious about heritage would put on”. This wasn’t a real issue until recently, as I just wore my sports watch during running, which fits well with my running clothes. But after running I change clothes and watch.

      Manufacturers try to change that, like this ring is meant to be worn always, and the upper edge sports watches are meant to be worn always to have stats for recovery and energy level. The problem here is that the esthetics don’t change to what I want to wear, so to say. For sports watches the issue even gets worse with the rise of AMOLED displays that seem to be designed to fit with fluo sneakers.

      There are however manufacturers that try to create smart watches that look like decent, nice watches, (but they failed in my opinion). Hopefully new smart ring manufactors step into the market with that same philosophy?

      Reply
    • DavZell
      January 21, 2024 at 8:16 pm #14

      If possible, they could also release this as an “inner ring” over which a thin (or thick!) outer ring could be worn. 3rd parties can add any type of design style they please.

      Reply
  6. Tim
    January 17, 2024 at 10:31 pm #15

    I would love to see DCR write a piece about blood oxygen saturation levels. It’s interesting to me that all these wearables incorporate these levels, when it has nothing to do with fitness.
    They could chronically be lower if you have COPD or other pulmonary diseases, and they may be low at first if you go to altitude. The idea that’s it’s something you should be tracking, though, is fairly ridiculous and misleading.

    Reply
  7. nigeldh
    January 17, 2024 at 11:49 pm #16

    1. Oura Ring tops out at: size 13. Which is too small for many larger hands.
    I don’t think my hands are that large – L or XL for gloves. But I can only wear a size 13 Oura Ring on my left pinky finger. I found with the ring sizing kit a size 12, or size 13 on any other finger, would need the wrapped string trick, or a ring cutter, to get off – when the sizing ring was past the last knuckle.
    2. For ski boot sizing there is the FISCHER Scan-Fit app.
    The FISCHER Scan-Fit® app was developed specifically to determine your correct, true size so you can choose the ideal alpine or Nordic ski boot specifically for you. Your smartphone camera generates a 3D scan of your foot, compares it with our data bank, and identifies the optimal match-up of boot and foo

    Reply
  8. Gabe
    January 18, 2024 at 5:49 am #20

    It would be nice if the ring could track glucose levels
    That would make it a better seller.

    Reply
    • ian
      January 18, 2024 at 5:52 am #21

      thats the dream for any wearable, the one who gets glucose monitoring right will open up such a large market for themselves

      Reply
    • nigeldh
      January 18, 2024 at 10:32 am #22

      This would be a science project. The non finger prick monitors read glucose from interstitial fluids just underneath the skin. link to healthline.com
      The FreeStyle Libre connects to a pad that you replace every 14 days. Other devices use an implanted sensor.
      So the ring would need to connect to an external sensor.

      Reply
  9. Ingo Knöll
    January 18, 2024 at 7:10 am #23

    There are lot rings already on the market. There is a Group on Redit where you can see the discussions and Tables with all the different names. Oura has the disadvantage, that you have to pay a monthly fee but is relatively accurate by what the quantified scientist is telling us on youtube.
    If this is usable for Apple users too, and its accurate and affordable, they might have a deal

    Reply
  10. maxfrance
    January 18, 2024 at 7:40 am #24

    Smart rings always intrigued me, although I’ve always avoided wearing any kind of ring mainly for (wrong ?) perceived safety reasons.

    Anyway, my question is: wearing gloves and doing activities such as XC ski or uphill running with poles is ring bothering you someway ? Are sensors reliability and accuracy affected by gloves/pressure/hands grip someway ?

    Please share your experiences if you already tested in these scenarios.
    TIA

    Reply
    • nigeldh
      January 18, 2024 at 10:45 am #25

      I have no issues wearing the ring under a glove, or wrapping medical tape around the ring – to keep it from coming off. Then having to use “Bluetooth Scanner” app to go on a Snipe Hunt for the missing ring.
      I wear my Oura Ring under a glove while Hiking, Running, Gardening, Nordic / X-C skiing, Bounding with poles, and a whole bunch more activities. The glove might actually help the accuracy by keeping the ring in place especially if your ring is slightly loose so it slips around a bit.
      In certain situations I don’t wear the Oura Ring. Google “ring avulsion” for what happens if your ring snags.

      Reply
  11. Doug
    January 18, 2024 at 12:40 pm #26

    Maybe it’s an illusion, but that ring looks really thick. Uncomfortably thick.

    Reply
  12. MangDang
    January 25, 2024 at 1:22 pm #27

    Can’t wait for it!
    I’m quite interested how the finance bit would be, if they will add a monthly or something similar to use it.

    Reply