The Samsung Galaxy Ring has been officially announced at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024, but virtually no other details have been revealed other than a glimpse at its design.
Samsung made the surprise teaser right at the end of Unpacked after talking about updates to Samsung Health and the Galaxy Watch 6. All we saw a short video of the Ring itself, but unfortunately that's it – for now.
The long-awaited wearable will offer health tracking and, naturally, use AI smarts in some form, but Samsung didn't reveal any pricing or a launch date. It now looks likely that this, and other official details, will come at Samsung's mid-year Unpacked event.
For now? All we have is the knowledge the Samsung Galaxy Ring is real and presumably heading for launch later this year to tie in with the updates announced for Samsung Health. That in itself is pretty exciting, as the battle for the title of best smart ring has now gone up several notches with Samsung's entry into the space.
One of the biggest tech trends of CES 2024 was that smart rings look likely to take the baton from the best smartwatches this year as the most exciting wearables you can buy. We saw the arrival of the Amazfit Helio Ring, which impressed with its health-tracking potential, and Lotus ring, which lets you control home appliances.
Given the way that Samsung introduced the Galaxy Ring at its first Unpacked 2024 event, it's going to be very much focused on health and sleep tracking. But how else might it compare to today's smart rings?
How will the Galaxy Ring compare?
The Samsung Galaxy Ring's most obvious rival is the Oura Ring, which currently tops our list of the best smart rings.
While we know virtually nothing about the Galaxy Ring (other than its existence), Samsung's wearable will undoubtedly be a serious health-tracking rival. Samsung called the Galaxy Ring "a powerful and accessible health and wellness device here to change the shape of future health".
With the mention of "AI technology" and integration with the soon-to-be-updated Samsung Health app, the Oura Ring has a battle on its hands. While the Oura has a nicely-designed app, Samsung Health is used by all of Samsung's wearable devices and will be updated "later this year" with several new features.
For example, in the update Samsung says that Health will have heart-rate alerts during sleep to help nudge you about sleep apnea problems or other health issues. Health and Galaxy AI will also give you tips on whether you should rest, workout less, meditate or take a breather due to poor sleep.
Samsung Health will also get a "My Vitality Score", which sounds a lot like Fitbit and Garmin's equivalent features for fitness trackers and smartwatches. The big question is whether the Galaxy Ring will need a subscription for its health and fitness features, or will go without one like the Evie Ring. We're sure to find out more later this year.
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