I am tired of wearing a smartwatch and getting an awful summer tan because of it. Smart rings can’t come soon enough. Samsung announced earlier this year that the Galaxy Ring is coming, and according to the rumor mill, it’s most likely launching alongside the sixth generation of Samsung’s folding smartphones.
What do we know about the Galaxy Ring so far? Not much beyond when we can expect it. Based on the current state of smart rings, here are a few things to consider that Samsung will pursue.
Smart Rings: Coming soon
In early February, a top Samsung executive revealed that a new wellness product would launch in the year’s second half. The first-generation Samsung Galaxy Ring, the “one more thing” at the last Galaxy Unpacked, will likely launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. Those aren’t the confirmed monikers of the folding devices, but we can assume that will be their names based on the last five years of Samsung foldables. Some sources also speculate that Samsung would launch the Galaxy Ring without integrating it into the fanfare of its folding smartphones.
Not the only Ring
This will be Samsung’s first-ever wearable ring to hit the market. But until now, there’s been plenty of gossip about whether Samsung would be the first to put a ring on it. (I know we’re all overusing that song lyric with this latest news. Hopefully, Beyonce doesn’t start charging royalties.) The company has been secretly working on something like this since at least 2015 when the first patents began circulating in gadget blogs.
There’s already a network of smart ring offerings; this is the year they will become a permanent category. Oura Ring has long been the standard for smart ring devices. Movano’s Evie Ring is so exciting to folks tired of wearing smartwatches that it seems like units are constantly back-ordered.
How much will the Galaxy Ring cost?
We don’t know how much the Galaxy Ring will cost, not even from the rumor mill. We know that the Oura Ring starts at $300, and the Evie Ring starts at around $180. Samsung may stay within that pricing range.
What will the Galaxy Ring look like?
From renders and a few faraway shots of the Galaxy Ring behind glass, we know it will come in various sizes and a silver finish. It’ll be interesting to see how Samsung manages stock of the varying ring sizes or if it will limit availability to online orders. I imagine this is the kind of device your carrier would want to have in stock to bundle when purchasing a new phone.
What will the Galaxy Ring do?
If it’s anything like the existing smart rings it will compete with, the Galaxy Ring will offer similar health tracking almost as expansive as its line of smartwatches. In a recent Wired piece, Samsung’s Hon Pak, vice president of the Digital Health Team, mentioned that users can wear the smart ring and smartwatch in tandem for “richer health data.” There are also musings that the smart ring will offer media playback controls.
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