Galaxy Ring: Expected Release Window, Price, and Features

Galaxy Unpacked 2024 wrapped up a few days ago. At this event, the highlight was the Galaxy S24 lineup and One UI 6.1 with all the new AI advancements to make your smartphone experience better. However, the Galaxy Ring is a new key product line that Samsung is entering, and the teaser for this was also at the event. We might see more information about this at MWC.

Smart rings are the next generation of wearable technology. They are worn like regular rings and perform fitness tracking like a smartwatch. They are supposed to replace smartwatches by performing similar tasks in a much smaller body. Since Samsung is the first major consumer-centric brand to announce this publicly, the company can disrupt this market and increase competition. If this ring is successful, it will mostly enter the mainstream markets.

Smart rings can also perform other smartwatch functions. NFC payments, health tracking, and notifications, to name a few. They are gaining popularity because they are comfortable, accurate, and stylish. Another reason for their popularity is the minimal distraction due to the screen-free design. We can guess some of the features Samsung will offer from their current wearables, like the Galaxy Watches.

We expect the Galaxy Ring to connect to your phone via Bluetooth. We’re unsure, but the Galaxy Ring might also have volume and playback control. Samsung did not confirm this, and we’re merely speculating here.

Samsung Galaxy Ring Teaser

Seeing the potential in Smart rings, Samsung is coming with one soon. In the January 17 Unpacked event, Samsung gave a teaser of their latest wearable gadget. The device’s patents were first found in 2022.

Although the event details were brief, this officially confirmed the previous leaks and rumors of the Galaxy ring. However, the brief presentation also left everyone questioning the gadget’s capabilities.

One question mark remains, and that’s the price. The mini-teaser at the event does not say anything at all about the pricing. If Samsung includes crazy health tracking features and connectivity to smart appliances and playback/ volume- all at a competitive price, they can completely take over this market. It’s fresh, and it doesn’t have any major competition at this point. Samsung will eventually put out more teasers for this product, and we’re looking forward to them. At this point, we know it’s a metallic band around your finger.

Surprise. Here comes the Galaxy Ring😲 pic.twitter.com/KqhKKQ9Asz

— SamMobile – Samsung news! (@SamMobiles) January 17, 2024

Samsung Galaxy Ring expected release window

The lack of information makes it impossible to predict an accurate release date. However, Samsung’s head of customer experience, Patrick Chomet, released details about the launch date to TechRadar. According to TechRadar, he said, “We need to do a lot [before it’s ready for release]. We have the hardware and some software – which we could have launched today, by the way; it’s ready – but having a complete package experience that people can use at scale [is different]. We are getting there. It will be a bit later in the year.”

Although “Later in the year” could mean anywhere from now till 12 months later, we can expect it around July and August. We can say this because Samsung holds two unpacked events every year. The first is around January, like we saw this year, and the second is usually around the months mentioned above. We expect Samsung to announce the Galaxy Ring fully around June 2024. It is usually at this time that they announce the next generation of foldable phones, and for 2024, that’s the Z Fold 6 and Flip 6.

Samsung is not yet confident about releasing it since plenty of software tuning is left.

Samsung Galaxy Ring expected price

• Most analysts expect the Galaxy Ring to be priced around $300, which aligns with the Oura Ring 3, the current market leader in smart rings.

Due to this category of products being brand new for Samsung and most other brands, we cannot come to an accurate conclusion. And as it’s a new category for the company, the first couple of generations are expected to be expensive.

However, it’s not the first one in the market as we already have Oura rings, the current gold standard for Smart Rings, and have been in this business for quite a while now. The Oura Ring 3 starts at $299 and has access to all its feature sets. With this, we can expect Galaxy Ring to be around a similar price.

If it takes off, Samsung might release a more budget-friendly option in the future, but people expect the initial pricing to remain rather high.

Samsung Galaxy Ring Expected Features

Like all the other info regarding the device, we also have limited knowledge of this. However, it’ll offer a health and fitness tracking feature similar to the Oura Ring 3. The images of the device show three identical internal sensors we have seen in the Oura ring. The sensors can monitor the user’s temperature, heart rate, and more.

People expect the ring to come in 4 shapes and sizes to fit most fingers. The Oura ring offers 8, and the Galaxy Ring is a lower option than that. But for a first-generation, they’re probably not aiming to please everyone. Samsung could create a separate sizing kit to ensure the ring is the right size. Once, a product called the Amazon Loop was discontinued and followed a similar strategy.

We expect some integration with the Galaxy ecosystem. Since Samsung’s products complement each other well, we can expect the Galaxy Ring to add to the experience. We could get some smart home controls with the ring. The photos show three sensors, and if integration with other Samsung products goes well, we could get an option to control TVs with it. The patents show that Samsung is working on it.

We don’t know whether the ring can work independently of your smartphone or needs a smartphone to function. Samsung might restrict it to Samsung-only or Android-only, similar to what they’re doing now with the Galaxy watches. We expect the Galaxy Ring to function somewhat independently.

Samsung has plenty of patents for wearables. We know that not all patents will always make it to consumer products. However, if all the patents about smart-home control make it to the ring, it’s a very good product. It has the potential to overtake every other smart ring in the market. Instead of just a portable health tracker, it’s good if it can also control appliances and do things like basic calling. It’s the next step after smartwatches.

We’re not sure of this yet, but the Galaxy Ring could potentially not just monitor your Blood Pressure and skin temperature and ovulation cycles, but it might go as advanced as their watches. There’s a chance it could detect irregularities in your heartbeat and warn you about atrial fibrillation. However, for this to happen, Samsung must get approval from various medical bodies, including the FDA. It also needs government approval, which takes time.

Samsung apparently got very feedback from the ring’s sleep-tracking capabilities. It also seamlessly syncs with the Samsung Health app. Much investment is going towards it, and Samsung is trying to develop it soon. Many people don’t feel comfortable sleeping with a smartwatch on. As a result, they miss out completely on the sleep tracking features.

Since many people are used to wearing a ring, they are much more comfortable sleeping with a ring on. It could also help with issues like sleep apnea, which might be life-threatening. It will also track sleep patterns and heart rate and give warnings when necessary. We know from the prototypes and interview statements that the Galaxy Ring is “ridiculously light,” but there isn’t much else about it.

Potential issues

The only major issue we might have with the Galaxy Ring is the battery life and charging. We have no idea how it’ll charge, and there are no figures from Samsung about battery life. It doesn’t have a sharp display or anything comparable to smartwatches, so the battery should be considerably better. However, it’s still using Bluetooth, and all the sensors are continuously up and running, so we have to find out how the battery on this ring is.