Smriti is a true tech aficionado and WearableXP’s resident review specialist. Her approach to technology is anything but ordinary. After years of research and expertise...Read more
As a smart ring user, I am keen to know which future smart rings will join the race. Good for me, Samsung has launched its first-ever smart ring—the Samsung Galaxy Ring. I was eager to learn more about its features and luckily got my hands on one for review.
While I feel it’s too early to comment upon its success, that doesn’t mean I can’t talk about its features. I have explored the Samsung Galaxy Ring and can surely say it’s Oura’s biggest competitor right now. To know what it is like to be a top contentendor in the smart ring arena, stick with me for a while here.
Sensors
| Sensors | Availability |
|---|---|
| PPG sensors |  |
| Red LEDs |  |
| Green LEDs | |
| Infrared LEDs | |
| Skin Temperature sensors | |
| Photodiodes | |
| 3D Accelerometer | |
Samsung Galaxy Ring has one accelerometer, PPG modules, two photodiodes, and 1 infrared LED, 1 Red LED, and 2 Green LEDs. It has an NTC-Temperature sensor to track skin temperature. The accelerometer tracks movements like running, walking, distance, steps, and movement in our body while sleeping.
Health Features
Like other smart rings, the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring has advanced sensors that track major health data from the finger and send it to the Samsung Health app. Some of the major health-related features that I found in the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring are:
- It tracks heart rate 24/7 and HRV by using the optical heart sensor. It also provides high and low-rate HR notifications along with detailed HR graphs.
- It tracks sleep quality, sleep score, sleep stages, and snoring.
- It automatically tracks workouts, distance, and steps.
- It measures the skin temperature and blood oxygen level at night.
- It can track and predict the menstrual cycle.
- It gives an Energy score based on measured sleep, daily activities, and heart rate data.
However, the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring does not claim that it has medical-approved metrics, and thus, one cannot use its readings for clinical purposes. Another shortcoming that I noticed is that while the Natural Cycles app has an FDA-approved contraception feature, the Samsung Health app is using Natural Cycles to predict periods only.
Fitness Features
I am still exploring the fitness metrics of the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring, such as workout tracking. I like its feature of automatically tracking exercise. I don’t have to worry about selecting the kind of workout I am doing. Whenever I hop on the treadmill, it starts tracking my activity.
I had to enable the Auto Workout Detection mode manually in the settings, and it is working pretty well. I get insights on how I can improve myself physically through its insights on the Samsung Health app.
I have enabled automatic tracking activities like walking and running in Samsung Health settings in the Galaxy Wearable app to get real-time data.
By far, I have observed that the Auto Workout Detection can track running, steps, and walking only. It also gives information on how many calories I have burned, average heart rate, average speed, average pace, and average cadence. I guess I have a long road to go to explore the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring’s each and every fitness feature.
Sleep Features
I must say, the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring has done a pretty good job in its sleep-tracking feature. It tracks and analyzes sleep throughout the night and provides data on:
- Sleep time average
- Sleep time consistency
- Bed/wake time consistency
- Sleep timing
- Sleeping HR
- Sleeping HRV
- Sleep Score
- Sleep Stages
- Heart Rate Graph
- Snoring Time
- SpO2 & Skin Temperature (in the night)
The Samsung Galaxy Ring analyzes and records my sleep patterns and their quality by measuring my other important metrics like heart rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen.
One of the unique features of the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring is that it can detect snoring. I had to manually enable the snore detection feature to track whether I was really snoring or how loud I was. Yeah, it’s kind of embarrassing! However, I have to place my phone within two feet to detect it.
I am personally not a fan of keeping any gadget near me as I sleep because, hello, radiation. So, that’s kind of a bummer for me.
Samsung Galaxy AI Insights
Samsung has ensured not just to promote its smart ring but also its smartphones. That’s why it has made AI insights exclusive to Galaxy phones. Fortunately, I have Galaxy A33 5G and hadn’t any trouble accessing Galaxy AI insights.
The AI-powered insights suggest ways to improve sleep quality. Sleep data, along with workout and recovery data, also affects the Energy Score. The Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring calculates physical readiness based on how much I slept yesterday, how my heart rate was, and how much I have recovered.
The Energy Score tells me how much I need to take rest to recover from stress. I find Galaxy AI input feature quite helpful and am looking forward to it.
Other Smart Features
The Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring also has a few smart features like gesture control to click pictures from the phone’s camera and dismiss alarms. You just have to double-pinch your fingers. Though I don’t find these features quite useful or essential, the efforts to include diverse features are appreciable.
In case the ring gets misplaced, Find My Ring can be used to find it. It tracks the last location of the missing Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring and shows it on a map. I installed the SmartThings app on my smartphone and set it up using the Wi-Fi connection (you can use Bluetooth as well!) to enable this feature.
Though it is a common feature, I am glad that it has it. Otherwise, losing this expensive ring is no less than a disaster!
How Much Does Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring Cost?
The Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring costs $399.99. Yes, you read it right! It is surely the costliest smart ring available in the market now.
Though experts were guessing it to be as high as $350, the price has come as a surprise. The only good thing is that it doesn’t require a subscription plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrap Up
Since the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring is a newbie in the market, we have to wait for a few months to fully explore its features and functionalities. While I am doing my best to analyze each of these features to get a first-hand experience, it would take more than a month to fully sync it with the body metrics.
The Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring is undoubtedly one of the most expensive smart rings in the current market. Only time will tell whether it is worth the price or just charging for being a renowned brand name.
Smriti is a true tech aficionado and WearableXP’s resident review specialist. Her approach to technology is anything but ordinary. After years of research and expertise in cutting-edge consumer technology, she is now exploring the world of smart wearables only to evaluate and bring her unique insights.
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