Samsung’s new ‘luxe’ tech product surprises in how it divides and delivers
Samsung has entered the health and fitness space with its long-awaited Galaxy Ring, and some buyers have been left divided.
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After months of anticipation, Samsung has launched its own fitness wearable in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Its designers have definitely packed it with some great features.
Boosted by A-I, users are given daily wellness insights on factors like energy and exercise performance, which the device generates through tracking your sleep and heart rate, while also automatically detecting your workouts.
Knowledge is power, and the insights provided could go a long way to helping people reach their health and fitness goals.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is also very easy to use and set-up, in our case it took just minutes from opening the box to receiving real-time data.
However, to be completely honest, the eye-watering price of $699 will definitely price a lot of people out, and have buyers wondering if this piece of tech is worth it.
That’s where we’ve done some heavy lifting (pun half-intended). Here’s our honest, no-holds-barred review of the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
1-MINUTE REVIEW: SAMSUNG GALAXY RING
What You Need To Know
The much-anticipated Galaxy Ring from Samsung is finally in Australia, with high hopes the gadget will claim its own space among other fitness and health wearables on the market.
This stylish health tracker comes in nine sizes (ring sizes 5 to 13) and three colours (Black, Silver, and Gold). Retailing for $699, the Galaxy Ring isn’t the most affordable option out there, but unlike the Oura Ring Gen 3, it doesn’t come with a subscription fee so there’s some justification for the high price point.
Beyond looking good, the Samsung Galaxy Ring packs some serious features, tracking things like your energy and sleep quality, and you can even use a finger-tap gesture with a Galaxy Watch or phone to snap photos or silence alarms.
Plus, it’s water resistant, allowing you to wear this one while swimming. Also impressive is its extended battery life, which lasts up to seven days on a single charge.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS REVIEW
Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito, news.com.au checkout Shopping Writer
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a really nice alternative to the smart watch, especially if you’re someone like me who prefers something more subtle or doesn’t interact with the watch face often.
I absolutely love how the app has a wide curated range of at-home exercises (including four-week programs) to choose from, as well as a mindfulness section with meditation, sleep stories and more.
You can also customise your workouts and change setting according to body parts you want to focus on (legs, abs etc), workout duration, difficulty and goals.
I also like being able to see my energy score, and of course it’s incredibly satisfying to close the rings.
There’s also a menstrual cycle tracker where you can log symptoms, flow level, mood changes and other notes all in one app.
Apparently, the Ring can even predict your next period based on your sleep temperature, so I’ll be interested to see how accurate this becomes over time. I found the sleep stats pretty cool to check, but definitely took everything with a grain of salt.
There have been times where it listed my wake up time as two hours later than when I actually woke up, and also times when it failed to detect periods of wakefulness when I got out of bed, too.
Troy Nankervis, news.com.au checkout Shopping Writer
I was pretty excited to try the Samsung Galaxy Ring and see how it compares to other fitness wearables I’ve already used, including the Whoop Fitness tracker, the Apple Watch and also more basic heart rate monitors, which I’ve previously used during my workouts.
The Galaxy Ring is very lightweight (it’s under three grams) and after a few days of wear, it feels like just another piece of jewellery I’d normally wear.
It’s worth mentioning that during some of my workouts (mainly weight training and boxing) it’s less comfortable to wear, and I feel more inclined to train without wearing it, which is obviously counter to Samsung’s key selling point of using the Galaxy Ring as a fitness tracker.
Nonetheless, the automated aspects of the Samsung Galaxy Ring are impressive, and the product handles updating health data in real time without major delays or issues. I really like that the device can understand when I’m sleeping or exercising without having to click a button on the app first – it’s something that you can essentially set and forget, and then check in later for data insights when you need them.
My workout metrics got the majority of my attention during testing.
All of this information is also quite easy to access and understand. It’s sent directly to the Samsung Health App, where I’ve been able to track my heart rate, energy score, daily step count and the amount of calories I am burning, both while working out and also just going about my normal day-to-day activities.
The high price point will turn off some buyers, at $699 it’s not cheap, and I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much on a device or piece of tech other than something like a computer or a television. However, the advantage of the Galaxy Ring is that once you but it you don’t need to pay any ongoing subscription fees like other similar products.
HOW WE TESTED SAMSUNG GALAXY RING
At news.com.au checkout, we want to help you make informed shopping decisions, and we understand how important it is to find the right product at the best price, so we try to handle all of the hard work for you.
Our team sifts through customer reviews, product manuals, and conducts extensive research. We also put each product through rigorous hands-on testing to deliver honest insights on performance and value.
We recently spent a week testing the Samsung Galaxy Ring, using it as an everyday device to assess its data insights and overall performance as a health and fitness wearable.
FULL REVIEW OF SAMSUNG GALAXY RING
- Receiving and setting up the ring
- Design
- Key Features
- Charging Port & Battery Life
- Price
- Verdict: Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Ring?
RECEIVING AND SETTING UP THE RING
In the weeks leading up to getting the Galaxy Ring, I was first sent a sizing kit from Samsung, which helps you pick from a range of different ring sizes.
The wearable is designed to be worn on your index finger, and I went for the size 11, in the Titanium Silver finish.
Next, I received a black box with a charging case, charging cable and the Samsung Galaxy Ring. The user experience of opening up the product is nice, and very comparable to opening Apple products, with lots of thought put into the look and feel of the packaging, and the way the products are presented.
When you open the Samsung Galaxy Ring for the first time there’s a white glowing light that appears around the ring, indicating how much battery power is left on the right.
This all feels very futuristic and like you’re about to start using something quite special.
Once it’s out of the box, you hit the centre button on the case for it to pair with your Samsung smart phone, in my case I’ve been also trying out the Samsung Galaxy Fold and paired it with the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
You’ll also need to download the Samsung Wearable and Samsung Health app in order to get going.
There’s a little bit of set-up here, but it honestly didn’t take too long at all, and once all this was finalised, it was sending back real time data pretty much straight away.
DESIGN
Weighing under three grams, the Samsung Galaxy Ring is lightweight and pretty comfortable to wear during day to day activities. Over the past week, I’ve worn it to work, at home, while sleeping, and during most of my gym workouts.
It’s a little cumbersome during activities like boxing or weight training, and some of the time I’ve had to remove it, but overall it’s non-invasive and after a while you forget you’re wearing it.
The Galaxy Ring’s concave design and Titanium Silver finish is quite nice and it looks very luxe. It’s also scratch resistant. The other colours in the range (Gold and Black) are attractive too, so you can pick a tone that suits your personal taste, something I like.
Earlier I touched on the charging case, the design of Samsung Galaxy Ring casing is also aesthetically pleasing.
Samsung has put a lot of effort into the user experience of the apps the Galaxy Ring pairs with. The Samsung Health app is very intuitive and it’s very easy to see real time health and fitness stats in it.
KEY FEATURES
Designed and optimised for use 24/7, the Samsung Galaxy Ring promises to deliver key health and fitness insights, including information on your sleep quality, energy levels and how hard you can train during your workouts. Like other wearables, the longer you wear the ring, the deeper and more comprehensive the insights.
The Energy Score data is presented as a graph and solid number, and takes into account factors like your average sleep time, the consistency of your sleep patterns (for example. whether you’re getting enough sleep and getting to sleep at the same time each night), night wakes, your resting heart rate and if this varies.
This data is then interpreted and given as feedback from the app, such as suggestions on how to improve your sleep quality. For example, I received a sleep score of 92 out of 100, which was considered “Excellent” by the app and in comparison to other nights right across the week.
I was then able to use this data to decide whether to train at the gym later in the day. If, for example, I’d had more disrupted sleep and the score was lower, I’d have likely chosen to rest or reduce the intensity of the workout on that particular day.
Speaking of which, the Samsung Galaxy Ring can also automatically detect your workouts and if you’re on the move, such as on a commute. For me, that’s usually around 25 minutes of cycling or walking.
This detail is then integrated with your heart rate to track the number of calories burned and added to your overall activity. I can see great value here if you’ve set some health and wellbeing goals, such as weight loss or a commitment to being more active. Having this level of detail is a great way to get on top of your overall fitness, and work towards being the best version of yourself.
You can even set-up inactivity alerts, wherein the Samsung Galaxy Ring will prompt the Wellness app to let you know if you’ve been immobile for too long - quite the nifty little feature.
Samsung has also rolled out a Gesture Function within the Galaxy Ring, which lets you take photos on your phone camera or dismiss your alarm with a double pinch of your thumb and ring-wearing finger. Although this arguably a fun little feature, it feels a little gimmicky, and not something I’d really use or plan to use in the future.
If you lose or misplace the Galaxy Ring, Samsung also has a “Find My Ring” feature which shows the location of the ring on a map, much like Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature.
It’s a great addition, but could be better if it had a little speaker on the device to help locate it through sound and also some greater accuracy on the map itself.
CHARGING PORT & BATTERY LIFE
You charge up the Samsung Galaxy Ring with the included charging case.
A full charge of the device (which only takes around 90 minutes) will last around seven days or so, and I really like how all the ports use USB-C, which is becoming the universal port size for all things tech.
PRICE
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is currently retailing for $699.
This is a one-off price and you don’t have to worry about ongoing subscription fees.
You will also receive a free sizing kit when you purchase this product online.
VERDICT: SHOULD YOU BUY THE SAMSUNG GALAXY RING?
Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito, news.com.au checkout Shopping Writer
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Ring is a nice ‘treat yourself’ item. The app has plenty of videos and stats to help keep your body and mind healthy.
It’s lightweight and comfortable to wear, and the sizing kit gives a pretty good indication of how the actual Ring feels. Its small and fairly thin design means it won’t get annoying doing mat work during Pilates or yoga, unlike with some bulkier wearables.
But while using smaller weights (like those in barre or reformer classes) is usually fine, the Ring is just big enough to feel too clunky for some exercises and when doing skincare.
I’m a fan of the Samsung Galaxy Ring and I’m excited to see how the brand will continue to level it up in the future. The hefty price tag is definitely a downside though, and keep in mind the Samsung Health has integrations for apps like Calm, full access to which costs a subscription fee. But, the Galaxy Ring is still more affordable compared to other smart rings like the Oura Ring and it includes plenty of free features to enjoy.
Troy Nankervis, news.com.au checkout Shopping Writer
Samsung has put a lot of thought into the Galaxy Ring, and I’m pretty impressed with the integrity and quality of the data and insights which have been generated from using it, albeit a reasonably short amount of time. I’m sure with continued use I’d receive more tailored data that I could integrate and incorporate into my overall fitness routine.
Essentially, the Galaxy Ring is a competitive product that will deliver in the same way as the Whoop, the Apple Watch and Oura Ring, and is worthy of its own place among these wearables on the market.
It will also no doubt be a very popular gift for Christmas this year, and based on the buzz in the lead up, another popular tech product from the Samsung family.
But one barrier for me is the price, which I touched on earlier in this review.
Personally, I probably wouldn’t be prepared to spend $699 for a tech product of this kind, especially when there’s comparable products available that won’t burn such a big hole in your budget.
If however, you’re a Samsung faithful, and you’re prepared to make the big investment, this could be a great product to supercharge your health and fitness.
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*These products were loaned by Samsung for a 100 per cent independent, honest review.
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