Wearables have recently gotten a new form factor, as a few different companies have already released a smart ring. However, Samsung is by far the largest company to enter the market and as such, its entry has the most potential of them all. The company first teased the Galaxy Ring during MWC 2024 in February, but it took nearly four months before the product became official.
The Galaxy Ring officially launched on July 10, launching in select markets and coming in US ring sizes 5-13. The different sizes also come with one of three different battery capacities – the larger rings take advantage of their extra space to last longer. We tested a size 11 in black and kept it running long enough for the Galaxy AI to kick in, and here’s what we found.
Dismantling and operation
Every Galaxy Ring purchase comes with a free sizing kit. Samsung sends you a kit with the plastic models in different sizes and recommends wearing them for at least 24 hours to ensure they are comfortable before choosing a size.
Our review unit was a size 11 and weighed in at just under 3 grams with its 18mAh battery. It’s extremely light, so you’ll barely notice it at all, but it’s not a small ring, so you’ll notice it if you use that hand.
Because it is so light, it doesn’t really feel like a regular ring. But its unobtrusiveness is definitely a plus when you consider that this health tracker is aimed at a much wider audience.
Samsung Galaxy Ring in all three colors
The concave design is striking, and Samsung has added a small notch to indicate which side should face down. It houses three crucial sensors: an optical bio-signal sensor for heart rate monitoring, a skin temperature sensor for sleep tracking, and an accelerometer for movement tracking.
The Galaxy Ring does not vibrate, move or light up, except for the HR sensor. The sensors do glow when taking measurements, but with their position between the shell and your finger, you are unlikely to notice them.
Samsung has made it seem like you need a Galaxy phone to make the most of the Galaxy Ring, but the truth is it pairs seamlessly with any Android phone running Samsung’s Wearable and Health apps. We tested it with an Honor phone and the only thing we lost were gesture controls for muting the alarm or acting as a remote shutter. Still, we conducted our main review using a Galaxy phone within the Samsung ecosystem.
Health registration
The Wearable app handles setup, updates and battery management, while the Health app provides daily feedback. This is where Galaxy AI should flex its muscles, using biometric data to provide you with valuable insights.
The most interesting feature is probably the energy score, which is supposed to reflect your current physical and mental state. Factors such as sleep quality, heart rate and activity levels are all factored into this score.
It took a week of continuous wear before the AI began to recognize patterns, flagging days of above-average activity and suggesting possible reasons for restless nights. It even recognized things like alcohol consumption or external disturbances with impressive accuracy.
Samsung Health
The other major feature, made possible by the Galaxy Ring’s barely noticeable presence, is sleep tracking. Unlike those larger watches, the Ring is far less obtrusive to wear at night, meaning far more people would be inclined to wear it at night.
Samsung Health delivered what we found to be very accurate sleep tracking and then used that to provide sleep insights. We found it to be excellent at identifying areas for improvement.
Sleep analysis on Samsung Health
There is also an attempt at gamification: each score range corresponds to an animal, which motivates you to reach the next category. The ring even registers snoring (using the phone’s microphone) and warns you about it.
Sleep analysis on Samsung Health
The final arrow in the Galaxy Ring’s quiver is controlling your phone with a squeeze gesture. It currently only does two things: you can use it as a remote shutter release or simply silence an alarm without reaching for your phone. It currently only works on phones running OneUI 6.1. 1, and Samsung recommends wearing the ring on your index finger for the most accurate gesture detection.
The Galaxy Ring isn’t afraid of getting wet, with 10ATM water resistance and an IP68 rating. Since it’s on your finger, it will constantly get wet if you wash your hands, but we’re happy to report that this doesn’t affect its performance in any way.
The titanium it’s made from is also pretty durable, although it did pick up a few minor scratches when we did some barbell work with it. Obviously it’s smart not to wear rings in the gym, but we used this more as a durability test. We think the ring will still hold up well after a year or two of wear, and it’ll take a while before it starts to show its age depending on how often your hand bumps into harder materials than titanium.
When it comes to fitness tracking, Samsung touts automatic activity detection. In practice, the ring recognizes movements quickly and accurately, but the overall running experience is lackluster. Without GPS, it relies solely on the accelerometer, which provides less accurate speed and distance data.
We compared it to a Huawei Watch and the Strava app on the Galaxy phone, and the Ring consistently delivered the least reliable metrics. It struggled to distinguish between running and walking, and it’s not ideal for anyone who takes running seriously, let alone other sports.
Finally, let’s talk battery life. Samsung claims up to six days of endurance for the size 11 Galaxy Ring, but in our tests it lasted about five days. The ring fully charges in under 60 minutes, and the case, which supports wireless charging, can recharge the Ring’s battery twice before needing a recharge.
Samsung claims you’ll get a 30% increase in endurance if you wear the Ring with a Galaxy Watch, presumably offloading some of the measurements to the watch with its bigger battery. However, we don’t see much point in buying both unless you really need the sleep tracking data but can’t sleep with a watch on.
Pronunciation
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring aims to be a groundbreaking health tracker that will create a whole new product category. While there are other smart rings out there, Samsung’s massive distribution network and marketing budget means it will have no trouble catching up with its predecessors. But the company’s ambitions certainly don’t stop there.
The Galaxy Ring should convince a lot of people that they need a new tech accessory in their lives. Does it have what it claims?
It looks good and we really think it’s much more comfortable to sleep with, making it a better sleep tracker. The AI suggestions are useful and the user-friendly app interface means tech lovers will definitely have it on their shortlist.
There’s also the matter of battery life, where the Galaxy Ring has an edge over the Galaxy Watch series. It doesn’t last as long as proprietary OS watches from other makers, though, so this isn’t a direct selling point.
The biggest hurdle on the road to widespread adoption remains the price. The Galaxy Ring costs $399/£399/€449, which isn’t a huge sum in itself, but it does make it more expensive than the Galaxy Watch 7, which is undeniably a more versatile device.
Even with the promise that the excellent Health app will never require a paid subscription (as some competing rings do), it’s hard to justify a miniature smartband without a display at a price point higher than that of a full-featured WearOS watch.
But maybe we’re just looking at it wrong – jewelry isn’t meant to be the most rational purchase, and the Galaxy Ring does a great job of beautifying your finger. The whole tracking thing is just a nice touch.