The Samsung Galaxy Ring is now official, after its surprising (and brief) teaser appearance at the end of Unpacked 2024 and its subsequent unveiling at MWC 2024.
The long-rumored rival to the Oura Ring was the encore at the Samsung Galaxy S24 launch, where we got our first glimpse at the smart ring and... not a lot else. The announcement effectively confirmed the Galaxy Ring's existence, with no details on price or the exact release date.
That said, we've heard more since then, and we can also make some educated guesses about the Samsung Galaxy Ring's potential health and sleep tracking talents, based on the announcements the tech giant made about a big update to Samsung Health that's coming "in the second half" of this year.
Given the growing number of challengers for the title of best smart ring – and some rumors last year from The Elec that Samsung had "started developing" some prototypes of the Galaxy Ring – the wearable had been expected to land sometime in 2024.
But now it's official, what do we know about its design, and what features can we expect from it? We've rounded up all of the latest Samsung Galaxy Ring details here, so you can decide if it's going to be your next wearable or fitness tracker.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Cut to the chase
- What is it? Samsung's first-ever smart ring
- When is it out? Unknown, but said to be released in the second half of 2024
- How much will it cost? No details yet, but probably more than the Galaxy Watch
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Price
The Samsung Galaxy Ring may have been officially teased at Unpacked 2024 and unveiled at, but we didn't hear a jot about pricing. Now it's been officially unveiled (and TechRadar was one of the first publications to get a hands-on look at the ring), we still don't know. That means we can only speculate based on its existing rivals.
Our benchmark is the Oura ring. In our Oura (Generation 3) review we noted that the device was impressive but relatively expensive compared to a traditional smartwatch coming in at $299 (about £230 / AU$440).
On top of that, you have to pay $5.99 (about £4.50 / AU$8) per month for an Oura membership to keep access to premium features (you do get six months free with your smart ring purchase though).
Another reference point should be Samsung's best smartwatch. In our Galaxy Watch 6 review we found that the gadget offered comprehensive support for apps and fitness features, and at launch, prices started at $299.99 / £289 / AU$549.
Based on these gadgets we wouldn’t be surprised if the Galaxy Ring came in somewhere around $300 / £300 / $550. Will it be worth that price tag?
On the one hand, the Galaxy Ring is set to offer a whole lot of advanced health metrics, especially in terms of sleep, and will work to do this alongside a major update to the Samsung Health app that's coming "later this year". The Ring could also potentially offer more accurate readings than a smartwatch in some areas, and has been confirmed to work with the Samsung Galaxy Watch to improve sleep tracking accuracy.
But on the other hand, the Ring won’t offer much support for the non-health apps found on a Galaxy Watch. There's no way to actually interact with the Ring like a wrist-worn wearable: there are no buttons, screen, or haptic elements. It's very much a passive thing.
Still, if you care about health and prefer minimalist accessories, then the Ring is an exciting prospect, even if those looking for more of a smartphone companion will be happier with a smartwatch.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Release date
While the Samsung Galaxy Ring is now official, we don't yet have a confirmed release date.
But a Samsung exec has said that the Galaxy Ring will arrive "a bit later in the year", and that's been followed up by another saying to expect the Samsung Galaxy Ring in the second half of 2024. This is no longer a rumor: during our roundtable interview with Samsung's Chief Medical Officer VP Hon Pak, it was confirmed we can expect the ring in the second half of the year.
Samsung is tipped to hold an Unpacked event in July, where the Galaxy Ring could be shown off alongside the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 6. Perhaps there we'll know more concrete information about pricing and battery life, as Samsung's development process reaches its end.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: News and features
Right now, the main things we know for certain is that the Samsung Galaxy Ring exists, will be excellent at sleep tracking, will track activity in some capacities, and will arrive later this year to take on the Oura Ring and others. During our interview at MWC 2024 in Barcelona, the Ring's main focus (or at least, the main focus of our roundtable) was on its sleep capabilities.
The Ring will track four new metrics that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 doesn't: continuous heart rate during sleep, sleep latency, respiratory rate and night movement. As we'll see in more detail below, the Ring will use sleep metrics to create a Vitality score and offer sleep apnoea detection.
Away from sleep, the Ring will offer menstrual cycle tracking in partnership with the Natural Cycles app, using a skin temperature sensor. It will collect heart rate information throughout the day. The Ring will track movement, including step count, but does not have GPS. This is in line with the cryptic statements from another Samsung exec who claimed the Galaxy Ring will also offer activity tracking, with "more health features" planned for the future.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring prototypes we've handled came in three finishes: Ceramic Black, Gold, and Platinum Silver (its not yet clear whether this is colored plastic or metal plate). The Ring's inside is black, which is where the sensors and three nodules for increased skin contact are placed.
The prototypes we saw weighed 2.3-29g depending on size, and we saw sizes ranging from US 5 up to US 13. All of this confirms the rumor from an industry insider who said the Samsung Galaxy Ring is "ridiculously light" and that it's coming in "three finishes" and "sizes up to 13".
The battery life is unknown, but the battery size ranges from 14.5mAh (smallest) to 21.5mAh (biggest). The Ring
Before its official unveiling, we'd seen reports about a trademark filing and some Samsung patents, which showed a smart ring with sensors that included an electrocardiogram (ECG), for measuring resting heart rate and heart-rate variability.
It seems likely, then, that the Galaxy Ring will be equipped with ECG and PPG (Photoplethysmography) sensors, so it can detect if your heartbeat has any irregular rhythms. The RIng will house an SpO2 monitoring sensor to detect your blood oxygen saturation.
This would all see it play nicely with an incoming Samsung Health app update that the tech giant announced at Unpacked 2024. Samsung said that "later this year" Health will be getting several new features, including "new smart sleep analysis" which informs that sleep apnoea detection mentioned earlier.
Another feature that Samsung has revealed is coming to its Health app later this year is 'My Vitality Score' (below), and the Ring will play a part here.
It will also use heart rate variability, overall sleep, activity and resting heart rate to generate a single "Vitality score" which collects data about "physical and mental readiness". This score has been developed with machine learning in collaboration with the University of Georgia. The Ring will also offer Sleep apnoea detection, done by monitoring blood oxygen levels while you sleep, while also picking up on any disruptions in your breathing.
This sounds very much like Fitbit's 'Daily Readiness Score' and similar features like 'Training Readiness' on Garmin watches, as it crunches together data from your sleep, activity, resting heart rate and heart-rate variability to give you an overall health score alongside tips and advice.
Given that the wearable was announced right after Samsung had crowed about its Health app updates at Unpacked 2024, these previews (like the one above) give a good idea of the kind of features you can likely expect from the Galaxy Ring when it does eventually arrive for health-tracking duty.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: early thoughts
Smart rings are typically more discreet versions of smartwatches – like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 – with a greater focus on being a fitness tracker rather than a second screen for your smartphone.
Smart rings are typically less noticeable, more lightweight, and – because they fit more tightly than a watch – sometimes more accurate at measuring data. If you find yourself getting distracted by your smartwatch while swimming, running, or sleeping, a smart ring could be the solution.
We don't yet know much officially about the Galaxy Ring's specs and features, only these early subject-to-change ones. However, if that all turns out to be the final design, and the Galaxy Ring plays nicely with the big update to Samsung Health coming "later this year", then it could be one of the best sleep trackers and best fitness trackers around. We'll update this page with more official info as soon as we get it.
