Samsung: What the new Galaxy Ring can do - and where it has weaknesses

Since January, Samsung has been releasing information about the Galaxy Ring. Now the time has come and Samsung is the first major manufacturer to enter the booming smart ring market. Until now, small start-ups have dominated this market. Although the Koreans are not revolutionising the finger tracker, they are equipping it with exciting innovations. However, this also comes at a cost.

The charging case is an eye-catcher

In the first hands-on, the charging case stands out in particular. It looks like a modern jewellery box: elegant, transparent and really chic.

The ring itself is lightweight and has a high-quality finish. However, it differs only slightly from other smart rings that are already available. It is not smooth on the outside, but concave. But you can only see this if you look very closely.

Another striking detail is that the sensors must be positioned at the bottom of the finger to ensure good measurement. You can easily feel this when you put it on. Samsung has now also labelled this area with a small notch, which is very clever.

The battery lasts up to seven days

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is available in ring sizes 5 to 13, and although it weighs 2.3 to 3.0 grams, it is no lighter than the Ultrahuman Ring, which I have already tested. Samsung provides a free sizing kit to measure the size. The ring is available in three colours: Black, silver and gold.

The manufacturer promises a robust design with the titanium grade 5 alloy used in medical technology and aerospace and a water resistance of 10 ATM. In other words, you can keep the ring on your finger for swimming and snorkelling, but not for diving. The ring has also been tested in salt water.

According to Samsung, the battery should last up to seven days. In contrast to many other models with a normal charger, the Galaxy Ring comes with a charging case, as you would expect from in-ear headphones. The case has a 361 mAh battery, which should be enough for ten or more charges of the ring, which has a battery capacity of 18 to 23.5 mAh depending on the size.

The ring also records your snoring

The ring is connected to the Samsung Health app. Various functions with the support of artificial intelligence are available there. The Koreans mainly advertise sleep tracking, which provides suggestions for improving sleep. Snoring is also recorded and displayed. The integrated temperature sensor enables cycle tracking.

The app also provides you with a daily health report, including an energy score. This is calculated from four factors: Sleep, exercise, heart rate during sleep and heart rate variability (HRV). This is the time interval between two consecutive heartbeats, which is higher when you are relaxed than when you are stressed.

If the ring detects that your heart rate is too high or too low, you will receive a notification. The wearable automatically recognises walking or jogging and records it.

By the way: If you wear a watch and the ring at the same time, the data from the watch is used during the day and the ring is set to energy-saving mode. At night, however, the software combines both sources.

Gesture control and high price without a plan

As a new feature, the Galaxy Ring also recognises gestures. So far, however, only one, namely a tap of the finger on the thumb. Two commands can be executed with it. Firstly: You can switch off an alarm. This is handy in bed early in the morning so you don't have to search for your smartphone on the bedside table. Secondly, you can take photos with a tap of your finger like a remote shutter release when the camera app is activated.

The ring costs €449 in Germany, but there is no Swiss price yet. Unfortunately, the wearable will not be launched in this country until later. So there is still some time to look at the initial tests and consider whether the gadget is worth the investment.

After some initial confusion, it is also clear that the ring works with all phones running Android 11 or newer. The Samsung Health app is also mandatory and can be downloaded for free from the Google Playstore. However, the ring cannot be paired with the iPhone.

With its charging case, snore detection and gesture control, the Galaxy Ring offers features that not everyone has. But the Galaxy Ring is also at least 100 euros or francs more expensive than its main competitors, i.e. the Oura Ring or the Ultrahuman Ring.

At least Samsung doesn't charge an additional plan for health tracking. At least not for the time being. All AI features of the Ring, smartwatch and smartphone are free of charge until the end of 2025. What happens after that, however, remains to be seen.

Here you can find more news from the Samsung keynote: