Samsung has been teasing the Galaxy Ring since Unpacked earlier this year and showed it off at MWC, but I never had the chance to put it on. I got the brief opportunity to check out and try on the Galaxy Ring ahead of this Unpacked.
I thought the Ring felt nice; it was lighter than the Oura Ring, which is a smart move for Samsung, considering you should wear the Galaxy Ring while sleeping and working out. However, it felt less like a ring than I was expecting. Perhaps it was too light, and I had to get used to it, but I didn’t have that experience with the Oura Ring. However, the lighter experience is probably for the best. After several months, I got tired of wearing the Oura Ring. I don’t usually wear rings, and the more noticeable a ring, in terms of weight and feeling, the more I want to take it off. So, a lighter ring should make me notice it less, and I won’t mind wearing it for extended periods. Regarding specifications, the Galaxy Ring weighs 2.3 to 3.0g, compared to the 4-6g Oura Ring.
I’ll have to spend more time testing the Galaxy Ring before I can say whether it’s a better option than the Oura Ring.
During my hands-on opportunity, Samsung had a sizing kit that allowed us to try different ring sizes before picking a ring. This is similar to how Oura works: giving users a sizing kit before purchase ensures they get the perfect size wearable. There are nine sizes, ring sizes 5-13, which should fit most people.
The Galaxy Ring has three colour options: Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold. It also has 8MB of RAM, is 10ATM/IP68 waterproof, and has a cute charging cradle with a 361mAh battery to keep the watch chugging. The cradle is a better idea than the Oura Ring’s wired charger, but losing the Galaxy Ring’s cradle is probably easier.
Feature-wise, it’ll have a seven-day battery life, be able to access Samsung Health and track your sleep with a sleep AI algorithm and provide a sleep score, which will include metrics like your movement during sleep, sleep latency, heart and respiratory rate and analyze your sleep quality. The Galaxy Ring also checks your heart rate and will alert you if there’s anything irregular. Like the Galaxy Watch, an Auto Workout Detection will track your walking and running and an inactive alert if you haven’t moved.
What’s pretty cool about the Galaxy Ring is its Gestures. By letting people double-pinch (like the Apple Watch), they can turn off alarms or take pictures with their Galaxy phones.
The Galaxy Ring also works with your Galaxy smartphone with Find My Ring on Samsung Find.
The Galaxy Ring costs $399.99 in the U.S., but it’s available for pre-order today and launches on July 24th. I’m looking forward to checking out the Galaxy Ring and playing around with the device, but unfortunately, it won’t be available in Canada at launch. According to Samsung, the device will be available in the North later this year. The Galaxy Ring will also have a subscription, but right now, it’s free.
Keep an eye on MobileSyrup for Canadian pricing and availability.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.