The unveiling of Samsung’s Galaxy Ring means that smart rings have finally gone mainstream – which could be bad for Oura
Last year I wore an Oura smart ring to a Christmas party. When people commented on it and I explained what it was, I was surprised to learn that none of them had even heard of smart rings. I suppose I live in a little tech-journalism bubble, assuming everyone else has a passing knowledge of the emerging wearables categories.
It may be that the best smart rings are produced by brands that the average person on the street doesn’t recognize. Oura Generation 3, the circular smart ring powered by AI, Ultrahuman Ring Air, Evie, RingConn, McClear… all from companies that focus exclusively on a category that has so far been overshadowed by the best smartwatches on the market. The average consumer knows what an Apple Watch is, but probably doesn’t know the Oura ring.
That’s all about to change, thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Ring. During the final moments of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, TM Roh, president of Samsung’s mobile division, teased the long-rumored wearable with some cool video clips and promises of a “powerful and accessible” health and wellness device here “to to change the shape of the future.”
It’s suggested that the Galaxy Ring will launch later this year, as Ny Breaking discovered in an exclusive interview with Samsung’s Head of Customer Experience, Patrick Chomet, who said that “the hardware is ready.”
The Samsung Galaxy Ring marks a key moment in the story of smart rings: so far, most smart rings, as we said above, have been made by relatively nameless or niche companies. Lotus has flirted with the idea of a smart ring to incorporate gesture control into its smart home devices, but Samsung’s name carries weight in almost every aspect of the technology, from TVs to phones to wearables.
As Samsung invests in smart rings, the company sees that this category has the potential to become popular and pave a way for others to follow suit.
Apple has already filed several patents on the smart ring technology, which means that the Cupertino communications giant is at least thinking about wearables, but filing patents does not guarantee a serious intention to deliver a product. Nevertheless, the concept of an Apple Ring, which would deliver all the health information you can get from the best Apple Watch in a small form factor, is suddenly a lot closer to reality.
Other major players will likely invest in their own smart rings or acquire some smaller companies that produce low-cost rings. I imagine conversations are happening at Google as I write this: if the Galaxy Ring is generating a lot of money and buzz, why wouldn’t Google follow suit with a Pixel Ring? The smart ring format seems like the perfect fit for its massive Fitbit health ecosystem and massive data collection infrastructure, especially if it can squeeze some of its pre-existing AI features into the ring’s companion software.
Oura has been the undisputed lord of the smart ring for years. Despite the high price tag and expensive premium subscription model, it’s a fantastic device for general health and the best sleep tracker we’ve ever tried. Until recently, it was more or less the only game in town. However, after a long and secret journey, Samsung has found its way to the land of Oura-dor, and suddenly the most popular smart ring manufacturer is in danger of being overshadowed by better-known contemporaries.
Oura’s CEO, Tom Hale, commented on the launch. In a statement, Hale said; “New players entering the space are a validation for the category and drive us to aim higher to serve our members and community.
“Since our founding over a decade ago, we have invested relentlessly in creating the best smart ring that gives everyone a voice… We regularly release new features and have the strongest IP portfolio – both in hardware and software – for the smart ring form factor, with hundreds of issued patents, pending patent applications and registered trademarks.”
Hale’s statement goes on the attack, and he has a point. Oura and its contemporaries like Ultrahuman have been playing the smart ring game for a long time and will likely be better than Samsung’s early efforts – especially since the current crop of trackers are handset-agnostic and can be used by iPhone and Android owners alike. However, we’re certainly at a tipping point in smart rings, and Oura Generation 4 will have to be very attractive to keep people away from better-known smart ring upstarts like Samsung.