The Samsung Galaxy Ring has been long expected. Samsung is the first major tech company (as in, the really big players) to invest heavily in creating one of the best smart ringsa category previously dominated by startups like Oura, Ringconn and Ultrahuman, and one that all eyes are on.
As a wearable category in its infancy, I’m so excited to see where the technology goes. Wearable tech that’s discreet, comfortable, and stylish, rather than yet another screen on my wrist? You bet I am.
So after I finally got my hands on it, I loaded up the little engagement ring style box, put the ring on my hand and along with the Samsung Galaxy Watch UltraI have them both paired to my phone. For this experiment I am using my everyday phone (the Oppo Find X5 Pro) with Samsung Health installed instead of a Samsung phone, as I’d like to know if there are any barriers when it comes to using a competing device.
So, what’s it like to wear the ring? Is the information useful? Does it look good? Will a wizard appear and ask you to take it to Mordor?* Here’s everything I learned after my first 24 hours with the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
Comfort and style
The best thing about the Galaxy Ring is that it looks good and is comfortable to wear. There’s no other way to describe it: the sleek Titanium Black sample ring is simple, elegantly designed, and feels more liberating than wearing a watch, especially the chunky Ultra. The freedom to keep the powerful Ultra on for GPS workouts and everyday wear while taking it off for evening and night is exhilarating.
I feel like for formal occasions I could wear a more stylish analog watch with my Ring (you know, with real hands and no apps) and still track my health. No one would know I’m still, secretly, in cyborg mode.
I can also do it the other way around: I like to do multiple resistance training sessions per week with weights, bands, and calisthenics. If I don’t want the Ring to scratch the handle of a barbell, I can take it off and leave the Ultra on, still getting the benefits of tracking. Of course, I have to acknowledge that I have the privilege of having and wearing both, and most people (except power users) will probably buy either a Ring or a watch, not both.
It’s incredibly comfortable to wear at night. This ring is a bit narrower than my Oura Ring, and the protective concave design isn’t very prominent at all. I’m normally a size 10, but my sample size was an 11 due to limited availability. However, it fits well enough and isn’t loose enough that it’s likely to come loose or move around without me having to physically remove the ring, so I’m happy with it for now. Skin contact seems fine, and the Ring had no trouble monitoring my vitals during waking hours or overnight. After a night of sleep and a full day of work, the Ring’s battery life is down to 89%, down from just 11% after 24 hours.
Statistics and information
Every morning, the Ring sends information about your previous day to Samsung Health. This gives you an Energy Score, which is made up of the following factors: average sleep time, sleep time consistency, bed/wake time consistency, sleep timing, previous day’s activity, heart rate during sleep, and heart rate variability during sleep, or HRV.
The scores marked “consistency” were not collected because this was the first night and I didn’t put the Ring on until halfway through the day, so my previous workout wasn’t recorded. Because of this, I expected my energy score to be a little out of sync with how I was feeling.
After putting on the Ring and Watch Ultra, I went to a family barbecue around 5pm. During the barbecue, I played firefighter with my niece and nephew for a while. After that, I drank some wine and went to bed.
Looking back at my sleep data after I woke up, I was impressed: the Ring correctly identified when I woke up around 4am, and while my overall sleep score was 95 (excellent), my energy score was only 57 (time to wind down). This was due to an elevated average sleep heart rate (likely caused by the drink) of 68 beats per minute, which was above my average resting heart rate of 52 beats per minute.
It also told me that I should have moved more yesterday, which is understandable: it logged 45 minutes of active play pushing the kids around on their ride-on toy cars, but according to Samsung’s Energy Score, I didn’t get my required 33 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous structured exercise that day. Now, it can’t possibly know about my 8 a.m. workout if I’m not wearing the thing, but I do have to give Galaxy AI kudos for taking as much into account as possible to generate an accurate Energy Score.
So is it good?
Yes, is the answer. It’s very good. You don’t even necessarily need a Samsung phone: just an Android phone with Samsung Health downloaded. I found no barriers or walled-off features in this early test. There are a few things the Oura Ring app does that are missing here, like tagging sections of your timeline, but the personalized, AI-powered suggestions and seemingly accurate sleep staging mean the Galaxy Ring is going to do very well, especially given that insane pre-order sale.
Many wearable tech enthusiasts, and even those who still haven’t gotten the hang of it, will find themselves loving the idea of a smart ring. The only barrier I see is the expensive $400 buy-in, but clearly people will pay for it. Watch this space for a full review after a few more days of testing.
*Only if you found it under the Misty Mountains. If you pre-ordered it from the Samsung Store, it’s probably fine.
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*Only if you found it under the Misty Mountains. If you pre-ordered it from the Samsung Store, it’s probably fine.