I was one of the many people who were excited about the launch of the Galaxy Ring for the many features it boasted about. One thing I was excited about was getting the blood oxygen reading without wearing my bulky smartwatch.
For someone like me, who prefers minimal wearable devices, this was set to be a game changer. Alas, that was not the case.
When Does the Galaxy Ring Track SpO2?
The Galaxy Ring measures blood oxygen each minute during sleep. The same is then displayed as a part of my ‘Sleep Score’. It displays the lowest blood oxygen the ring recorded through the night.
I was disappointed to know that there is no on-demand blood oxygen sensing in the Galaxy Ring. After much fiddling with the app, I came to the consensus that the number displayed was the only one I was going to get.
Samsung is set to help you detect abnormal sleep patterns with the lowest reading of blood oxygen, such as sleep apnea. Although it won’t explicitly diagnose the condition, you will be able to judge if something is wrong by tracking the readings over time.
But would I trust these numbers?
On Point or Just a Fluke?
The Galaxy Ring has displayed my blood oxygen reading dropping as low as 83%. If I were to go by this number on the app, I would be at the doctor’s for the most part.
My personal experience, as well as what I’ve seen and heard people with the ring say about blood oxygen sensing, is far from accurate. So much so that a person who was testing the ring along with a finger pulse oximeter, claimed the reading to be off by 15-20%.
I’m not saying it’s constantly in the 70s range, but even then, the accuracy is highly questionable. There have also yet to be studies and research on the accuracy of the health metrics of the Galaxy Ring.
Wrap Up
When the Galaxy Ring entered into the market with a brand name as prestigious as Samsung’s, it was bound to make headlines, which it did. But did it stay true to the hype? I’m afraid not.
Samsung’s health metrics feel half-baked, especially for a product whose main focus is health and wellness. The blood oxygen sensing by the Galaxy Ring is far from perfect. But, I do believe since the Galaxy Ring is Samsung’s first product with its core focus on health metrics, it might push them to make it better.
Here’s hoping my opinions change with future updates of the Galaxy Ring.
