Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Samsung Electronics Co.’s consumer business has two priorities heading into 2025.
Recommended Videos
One is adding more artificial intelligence, and the other is developing a product ecosystem to rival that of Apple Inc., with compelling devices beyond its bestselling smartphones. The new Galaxy Ring, an entry into a nascent category of smaller, less obtrusive health trackers, fits neatly into that.
The $399 device, which uses LED lights to peer under the skin, was teased in January and released over the summer. It offers an intriguing mix of features popularized by smartwatches and earbuds: It can track heart rate, sleep and steps, like a watch, and it can last as long as a week, like buds, with a case that doubles as a spare battery.
Samsung argues that the Galaxy Watch and Ring are complementary, however they duplicate many features and most consumers are likely to choose one or the other.
Pros:
- Sleek, light and well made
- Excels at sleep tracking
- Long battery life
- Works with a wide variety of smartphones (unlike the Apple Watch)
Cons:
- Inaccurate step and heart rate tracking
- Costs as much as smartwatches while offering fewer features
- Careful: It might scratch your phone!
- Bright LEDs are disruptive at night
Why now?
Smartwatch sales likely registered their first year of decline, though interest in health gadgets remains strong, according to industry watcher IDC. Rings have emerged as the logical next step toward making trackers simpler, smaller and lighter, with India — the market where watches are decelerating fastest — sprouting a handful of small companies building such gadgets. But no one with Samsung’s scale is in this race yet.
“There is the potential for a bigger upside scenario as Samsung enters the market, not just with its big marketing and channel reach, but also broader ecosystem of devices that can unlock use cases that small vendors can’t,” said IDC research director Bryan Ma.
Finland’s Oura Health Oy has turned this product category into a subscription-based business, marking a rare feat in a gadget market dominated by vanishingly thin profit margins. For Samsung, which is so far offering all its health software for free, the ecosystem effort is aimed at achieving enough synergy among its devices to eventually nudge users to pay for value-adding subscriptions.
What Works
The Galaxy Ring replicates some of the key attractions of smartwatches, and does it while offering significantly longer battery life and greater comfort. Because it has no screen, the ring can go for nearly a week on a single charge — a full day typically consumes about 15% of the battery. And because it’s made of titanium, it feels extremely light.
Unlike the Apple Watch, which requires an iPhone to set up and run, Samsung’s gadgets are compatible with any Android-powered handset, not just Galaxy devices. That opens the Galaxy Ring up to a much larger market and gives Samsung a chance to pitch its hardware to people who don’t yet own Samsung products — and potentially convince them to settle into its platform.
The first challenge for health gadgets is making sure they’re comfortable enough to wear consistently, as their effectiveness grows with the amount of data they gather and the habits they help users develop. The Galaxy Ring beats any smartwatch alternative on this front, even if its step counts are often too generous.
Sleep tracking, on the other hand, is accurate and reliable, as the gadget can distinguish between time spent in bed watching TikTok and actual restorative rest. And whereas many people might find a watch uncomfortable to wear overnight, the ring is far less intrusive.
The Catch(es)
While the Galaxy Ring takes a sophisticated approach to tracking sleep, it consistently inflates the step count with false positives when the user is seated. The heart rate monitoring feature also falls short of competing smartwatches — in one test run, the ring only measured a maximum of 140 beats per minute whereas a rival watch saw a peak of 170bpm. The watch was right.
The rest of the Galaxy Ring’s health features are a mixed bag. Its estimate of heart rate variability swings wildly, going from 154 milliseconds one night to less than 40ms the next. That may be an issue caused by the fit — which, unlike smartwatches with adjustable straps, cannot be altered after purchase.
The thickness of the Galaxy Ring also poses a threat to any smartphone without a case. Because it protrudes from the finger significantly more than regular jewelry, there’s a constant risk of scratching your phone when handling it, regardless of which finger it’s placed on. (Samsung recommends the index finger.)
Another downside: The LEDs used to detect heart rate are quite bright and can be distracting in an otherwise dark room.
The Takeaway
Samsung’s maiden effort in a new product category is commendable for its level of polish and design refinement. The battery life, unfussy looks and basic functions carry instant appeal. But the Galaxy Ring can’t quite justify its price — on par with an entry-level Apple Watch — when it falls short on a key selling point: the ability to accurately track health data. Smartwatches still have a huge lead in that regard.
Samsung is betting on a promising device segment and getting in relatively early, much as it did with foldable handsets. With time and further advancement, the Galaxy Ring may grow into an essential accessory and an effective ambassador for Samsung’s wider hardware and software ecosystem. It’s not there yet.