Anika Begay
Like most fitness tracking rings, Samsung’s Galaxy Ring has been positioned as a minimalist health wearable for people who don’t want the pings and buzzes of a smartwatch or wrist-based fitness tracker. But that’s only part of its appeal. Its real appeal is that it’s a supplemental wearable if Already I have a Galaxy Watch and a Galaxy phone.
When I received my tester, I immediately charged it and added it to the Samsung Health app, where it paired with my Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. You can choose to send battery-hungry activities to the watch or the ring to save battery life for either. I delegated heart rate monitoring to the watch, and after two days, the ring still had 97 percent battery life.
I can’t think of any other device that works together so seamlessly for such an immediate and measurable improvement. I compared the Ring’s measurements to an Apple Watch Ultra, which I’ll discuss later, but after a few days I switched back to the Galaxy Watch. That’s what the Ring was designed to do, so that’s the most appropriate test scenario.
Put it out of the box
Even from the initial unboxing, the Galaxy Ring has been favorably compared to the Oura Ring. It comes in a cool clear charging case with a USB-C connector that snaps on with a cover. I love that cover. You wouldn’t believe how many times I knock the Oura Ring off its charger when it’s sitting on my desk. You can also check the battery level by placing the ring on the charger. An LED around the perimeter shows the ring’s battery level, unlike the Oura, which only shows whether the battery is charged or not.
Photography: Adrienne So
The Ring is made of titanium and comes in three finishes; I tried the silver titanium. Samsung has a sizing guide consistent with other fitness tracker rings, as I fit into my usual size 8. Like most other rings of this type, it has a series of sensors inside; a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor with three LEDs to track changes in blood volume, an accelerometer, and a skin temperature sensor.
I can’t feel any of these sensors when I wear the ring. No mind wearing the Oura Ring, but the Galaxy Ring is over a gram lighter and is noticeably thinner and lighter. As a bonus, you can go into the Health app on your Samsung phone and tap Find My Ring and the LEDs will start flickering! You can’t see them in daylight, but at least the company has acknowledged that one of the biggest problems with smart rings is how often the damn things get lost. I still thoughtlessly take mine off to wash dishes, lift something heavy, or play the violin. It’s also rated 10 ATM and IP68, and I’ve kept it on while swimming and paddling with my kids.
Battery life depends on how much activity you want to outsource to your watch. With my Galaxy Watch on, the Galaxy Ring lasts over a week. Without it, it lasted a standard three to five days of continuous tracking.
In the period
The Galaxy Ring measures a fairly similar set of metrics to the Oura Ring. For example, it offers an energy score, which is similar to the Oura’s readiness score in that it takes into account several factors, like sleep duration and consistency and the previous day’s activity, and spits out an easy-to-understand number to show you how ready you are to tackle the day.
To do that, it tracks your sleep. You can tap into the Samsung Health app to check your sleep stages, including how long you’ve been awake, your blood oxygen level, and whether you’re snoring. It typically tracks more sleep than my Apple Watch Ultra; I guess it’s easier for the watch to figure out that I’m reading in bed rather than sleeping when my arm is holding my Kindle close to my face.
