Have you heard of the Ōura? If not, it was pegged as a revolutionary wearable introduced to the mass market in 2015, followed by two more iterations in 2018 and 2021, respectively. Presented as a ring, nobody would have guessed it was more than just a fashion accessory. At the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Samsung unveiled the aptly named Galaxy Ring.
Apple remains the undisputed leader when it comes to smartwatches. Meanwhile, its South Korean rival and other Wear OS OEMs are left to cater to a different subset of consumers. Particularly, those who are not interested in the Cupertino tech group’s closed software and hardware ecosystem.
The Galaxy Ring might not be a new concept, but it does give people a discrete alternative to smartwatches and fitness trackers. Its form factor matches the description and is a technical marvel that its battery, electronics, and sensors all fit into something this compact. As the official slogan says, “The future of wellness is at your fingers.”
From what we can gather, this smart-enabled device will connect to your smartwatch or smartphone via Bluetooth. It makes sense given there is no display to speak of on the Galaxy Ring. The goal is to give users insights into their overall health and provide steps on how they can maintain or improve their fitness.
During its Unpacked event earlier this year, Samsung discussed the integration of health-oriented features dubbed the Booster Card and My Vitality Score. These can be likened to Garmin’s Body Battery and Ōura’s Readiness Score. Among the metrics that are assessed are heart rate variability, sleep, activities, and others.
“The launch of Galaxy Ring is just one of Samsung’s many initiatives that exemplifies this and delivers on our vision of improving the health and wellness of billions, starting at home, with you, states Samsung executive Dr. Hon Pak. Pricing and availability are yet to be announced, but the three colors presented at MWC 2024 were silver, dark gray, and gold.
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Images courtesy of Samsung
