Samsung this week officially unveiled the long-awaited Samsung Galaxy Ring, a finger-worn health and activity tracker similar to the Oura Ring.
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The launch, of course, brings the South Korean tech giant into deeper competition with market dominator Oura. But, it also represents an opening volley in a potential head-to-head matchup against Apple’s health tech ecosystem — especially its rumored “Apple Ring.”
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Inside the Samsung Galaxy Ring
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a smart ring that offers a full suite of health and fitness monitoring technology. Made of titanium and weighing between 2.3 and 3 grams, the ring can unobtrusively track a user’s sleep, heart rate, activity and workouts, and even menstrual cycles.
All the data that the smart ring monitors is seamlessly sent to the Samsung Health app, making it similar to the company’s current lineup of Galaxy smartwatches. It also brings deep integration with other Galaxy devices, including the ability to use gesture motions to control Galaxy smartphones.
Samsung says that the Galaxy Smart Ring has an estimated battery life of about seven days, which may make it more useful for passive activity and sleep tracking than something like an Apple Watch.
Early reviews indicate that the Samsung Galaxy Ring is comfortable to wear, and that the gesture controls work well enough in practice. A CNET reviewer proclaimed that the device is “so light” that she keeps forgetting that she’s wearing it. That’s just as well, since Trusted Reviews notes that the Galaxy Ring may work better as a complement, and not a replacement, to a smartwatch.
TechRadar, however, points out that the ring may have an uphill battle in dominating the market simply because it is only compatible with Samsung Galaxy phones. Whether the Galaxy ecosystem now has enough sway to tempt iPhone users or aficionados of other brands remains to be seen.
How the Galaxy Ring Compares to Oura Ring
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is not launching into a crowded market, but it does have one main competitor: the Oura Ring. A market pioneer, Oura has sold 2.5 million units over the last nine years that it has been in business, according to a CNBC analyst.
When it comes to how the two smart rings stack up, they’re actually fairly evenly matched in terms of feature set. Both devices can continuously activity levels, sleep, and other health metrics in the background.
They are both titanium with an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating, and both sport a purported 7-day battery life.
However, there are a few key differences. The Oura Ring is notably heavier than the Galaxy Ring on paper, though it isn’t clear how this translates to real-world comfort. The Oura Ring also has more RAM built-in and is compatible with a range of smartphones. The Galaxy Ring is only compatible with Android devices, so iPhone users are out of luck.
The biggest difference, however, comes down to price point.
Oura Ring starts at $299, but it requires a $5.99 a month subscription to access all of its features.
Samsung has gone the opposite direction with the Galaxy Ring, which costs $399 but doesn’t need any subscription to function.
The CNBC analyst mentioned earlier points out that Samsung’s market dominance in smartphones will likely make it a market leader in ring-based devices.
Oura, although a long-standing company, doesn’t have the same kind of name recognition that Samsung does. How that shakes out in the market is unclear.
What does an ‘Apple Ring’ need to be successful?
Apple, for its part, doesn’t have a finger-worn wearable in its lineup yet. The company does have a wealth of patent applications and patents related to smart rings and smart ring technology, so it’s likely that it’s researching and developing a so-called “Apple Ring.”
Earlier this year, well-connected reporter Mark Gurman said that Apple was working on a smart ring with a full suite of health monitoring technologies.
However, at the time, he cautioned that the Apple Ring was “just an idea.” He also added that Apple may drop it in favor of hear-worn wearables like Apple Vision Pro.
Given the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Ring only works with Android devices, an Apple Ring would be launching into a relatively untapped market. Although the Oura Ring is ecosystem-agnostic, it doesn’t integrate as seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem as an Apple Ring obviously would.
If an Apple Ring does come to market, it could provide a useful alternative to an Apple Watch, especially for iPhone users who prefer traditional watches.
Given Apple’s existing health ecosystem, which includes Apple Fitness+ and a plethora of third-party apps, an Apple Ring could give health-conscious users another option for continuous sleep, activity and health tracking. It could also spur an Apple alternative to Oura’s Readiness Score or Garmin’s Body Battery.
In this author’s opinion, Apple would need to take an approach more similar to Samsung than Oura. The Galaxy Ring’s biggest strengths are its tight integration with the Galaxy ecosystem, and its lack of subscription price. Apple’s ring would obviously have the former point, but it would behoove Apple to make the Apple Ring subscription-free, as well.
