The Samsung Galaxy Ring has arrived after months of anticipation. First revealed at the January Galaxy Unpacked and fully unveiled in July, it has a predictable set of health features, a few unexpected tricks, and a surprising price tag.
If you already own a smart ring, the Galaxy Ring doesn't bring much new to the table. Samsung Health users will appreciate how it syncs directly with their favorite fitness app, but some people won't appreciate that certain features are exclusive to Galaxy phones.
You can check out our Galaxy Ring hands-on for a first-person perspective on Samsung's first smart ring. Otherwise, we'll share below all of the specs, features, pricing, colors, and legal drama with Oura that you'll want to know about.
Galaxy Ring price, availability, sizing, and colors
The Samsung Galaxy Ring was announced on July 10 and ships out to customers on July 24. It's available through Samsung.com, Amazon, Best Buy, and select carriers. If you buy from Samsung, it'll send you a sizing kit first before you select a size; with other carriers, you'll need to buy the sizing kit yourself before buying the Galaxy Ring directly.
Shipping in Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold, the Samsung Galaxy Ring costs $399 in all finishes. Other smart rings charge less for basic colors and more for fancier finishes like gold, while Samsung keeps things simple.
It's available in nine sizes from 5 through 13. Keep in mind that Samsung's sizes don't match exactly with traditional ring sizes, and you'll need to use Samsung's sizing kit to ensure it fits on your finger properly.
Samsung allegedly plans to make 400,000 Galaxy Rings in its initial production period. In theory, this could lead to shortages, but it depends entirely on how popular the Galaxy Ring is.
Samsung Galaxy Ring specs and sensors
| Category | Galaxy Ring |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 7.0mm (width) x 2.6mm (depth) |
| Weight | 2.3-3g |
| Materials | Titanium grade frame |
| Water resistance | 10ATM, IP68 |
| Colors | Titanium Black, Titanium Gold, Titanium Silver |
| Sizes | 5–13 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth LE 5.4 |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, PPG, skin temperature |
| Battery | 18mAh-23.5mAh, 40% in 30 minutes |
| Charging cradle | 361mAh |
The Galaxy Ring has two photodiodes, two LEDs, and two red/infrared lasers, built to track your heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen (SpO2), skin temperature, breathing rate, and other health and sleep data.
At night, it measures everything from resting heart rate and sleep stages to sleep latency and how often you move; then it converts all of your sleep and health data into an Energy Score at the beginning of each day, using Galaxy AI to interpret the results (if you're using a Galaxy phone).
While the Galaxy Ring lasts up to seven days per charge, this depends entirely on which ring size fits your hand. Samsung says that the smallest sizes (5–7) only last five days, and the middle sizes (8–11) last six days.
One cool perk is that you can charge the Galaxy Ring anywhere thanks to the portable 361mAh charging case, where most smart rings require a power brick. While Galaxy Ring charges relatively slowly, you should be able to get enough for a day or two of tracking in 30 minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Design
The Samsung Galaxy Ring measures 7mm by 2.6mm and weighs between 2.3g and 3g depending on which size you buy. Its 2.6mm thickness is quite close to competing smart rings, but its 7mm width makes it thinner than the competition, as does its light weight compared to the Oura Ring (4–6 grams) or RingConn smart ring (3–5g).
While most smart rings have a uniform, flat appearance, the Galaxy Ring distinguishes itself with a concave design, sinking inwards at the center and rising along the edges. That, along with the smaller size overall, makes it look more like "jewelry" instead of tech, even if it's still thicker than most rings.
Like most smart rings, it has a titanium exterior frame. Samsung doesn't specify what the interior is made of, but it's probably a non-metallic material designed to feel comfortable against your skin and house all of the tech components and health sensors.
Samsung says the Galaxy Ring is certified to last for up to 10 minutes at 100m depth or up to six feet of water for 30 minutes. You can swim with it, in other words, but you probably don't want to leave it submerged indefinitely. It's certainly not as rugged as the diving-certified Galaxy Watch Ultra.
We're not certain if its data is more accurate than what the Ultra (or any Android smartwatch) can deliver, but it's certainly lighter and more comfortable. That'll make it easier to wear for sleep tracking.
Samsung Galaxy Ring smarts and fitness
For the most part, the Galaxy Ring is a passive device. You wear it and it sends data to your Android phone, without the smarts of a Galaxy Watch 7. But it does have a few features you should know about.
First, the Samsung Galaxy Ring has an automatic workout detection mode. It recognizes when you're walking or running via its accelerometer, then starts a tracked activity. Surprisingly, those are the only two activities it can recognize; you'll have to trigger a manual workout through the app for anything else. It's a far cry from what the Oura Ring (with its 50+ auto-detected activities) offers.
If you have a Samsung phone, you can use a double-pinch "Gesture" to trigger specific actions on said phone. At the moment, you can snooze an alarm or take a picture while your Z Flip 6 is in tabletop mode. We assume Samsung will add other gesture functions over time.
Finally, the Galaxy Ring connects to the Samsung Find app to help you find it if you lose it. Samsung will save the location of wherever you took it off last, and if you put the Galaxy Ring in "Find My Ring" mode, its LEDs will flash to help you locate it.
The Samsung-Oura lawsuit
Oura has sued several smart ring makers like Ultrahuman, Circular, and RingConn for alleged patent infringement. When Samsung announced the Galaxy Ring earlier this year, Oura responded with a press tour where it frequently mentioned how many patents it had (100 granted and over 270 pending).
In light of this, Samsung chose to preemptively sue Oura, claiming that the company's patents are for "features common to virtually all smart rings, such as the inclusion of sensors, electronics, and batteries."
The lawsuit claims that Oura is an "actual, imminent risk to Samsung" and its chances of smart ring success, and asks the U.S. District Court to confirm that "the Galaxy Ring has not infringed, and does not infringe, directly or indirectly, any valid and enforceable claim."
Oura has yet to publicly respond to these claims. Oura's CEO told CNET in July that most of its customers are iPhone users, that they "welcome the additional members of the smart ring community," and that Samsung's marketing will bring more awareness to the category. He didn't mention the lawsuit.
We don't know what will happen with the lawsuit, but if the judge sides with Oura, it could bring the Galaxy Ring's sales to a screeching halt and make other companies leery about entering the category.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Ring?
Most smart rings cost between $250 and $350, putting the Samsung Galaxy Ring on the high end for the category. Plus, most smart rings work for either Android or iOS, with no features restricted to a specific phone category. The Samsung Galaxy Ring should work with most Android phones, but a few AI smart features will require a Galaxy phone.
Samsung won't charge a subscription fee for your health data, an upside compared to the Oura Ring. And compared to your typical smartwatch, it's much more comfortable to wear for sleep tracking.
On the other hand, its actual health data is redundant with what the Galaxy Watch 7 offers, and some people find wearing a smartwatch at night perfectly comfortable. So it really depends on how compelling you find the idea of a sleep-tracking comfort upgrade!
