Samsung’s Shock Galaxy Ring: Who’s This Wearable Really For?

On the finish of its Unpacked occasion again in January, Samsung launched its Galaxy Ring wearable as the subsequent gadget in its cell lineup. With no launch date or worth, the debut was little greater than a tease that hints at Samsung’s plans for a brand new well being and wellness product, main us to marvel — who’s the Galaxy Ring for?

To place it within the firm’s phrases, the Galaxy Ring is one other gadget in a community of wearables and telephones that feeds information into the Samsung Well being app. “I feel you must have a look at the ring as considered one of many steps towards multi-device engagement,” Samsung VP and head of the digital well being workforce for the cell enterprise Hon Pak informed CNET’s Lisa Eadicicco. 

So it is one other approach to observe the sorts of private information that funnel into Samsung Well being: sleep, vitamin, exercise and stress. Particularly, it is a product for somebody who may not desire a Galaxy Watch or different wrist-bound wearable however nonetheless wish to monitor their very own well being, and will discover a ring much less cumbersome to put on. 

“A hoop will be much less intrusive than a watch, and the finger offers a greater physiological location for some well being metrics than the wrist,” Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst at Techsponential, who additionally obtained a preview with Samsung’s Pak, informed CNET.

Samsung expects that some shoppers might want each a hoop and a watch, whereas others will decide one or the opposite, Greengart mentioned. Some could even decide up a hoop as a result of they just like the look, which Eadicicco described as a glossy minimalist band that resembled a groom’s solid-metal ring (the sensors line the within).

“Personally, I’m very enthusiastic about this gadget as a result of I have been taking a look at rings myself and I discover that many are fairly cumbersome and the Galaxy Ring would possibly truly be excellent for me, particularly since I already use a Galaxy Watch 6 basic,” mentioned Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Technique.

Given a smartwatch’s show and suite of sensors, Sag would not see individuals outright changing them with health rings. As an alternative, they’re going to fill the gaps to offer well being information when watches aren’t worn, like after they’re charging in a single day. Even higher could be if the Galaxy Ring merely works with out loads of setup, and Sag thinks it in all probability will not want a brand new app on Samsung telephones and can neatly combine with different well being information.

Whereas followers of smartwatches clamor for sharper, brighter shows to enhance interactions, there’s one other contingent of tech customers who’re content material with gadgets that do every part quietly within the background. The Galaxy Ring may attraction to those that wish to observe their well being information however don’t need one other mini-phone gadget clamoring for his or her consideration.

Watch this: Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

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“The concept behind such rings will not be a lot about being cheaper than smartwatches, however as an alternative being a a lot smaller and discrete gadget to be used circumstances like sleep monitoring,” mentioned Bryan Ma, VP of gadgets analysis at Worldwide Knowledge Company.

The Galaxy Ring may be for a extra restricted group of people that wish to observe well being utilizing the corporate’s proprietary Samsung Well being app however have an iPhone, and thus cannot connect with extra trendy Samsung wearables and watches. (The Galaxy Watch line has been Android-only because the firm partnered with Google in 2021 to make use of Put on OS 3 software program.) 

Samsung hasn’t launched pricing or given any indication how a lot the Galaxy Ring will value, nor what sorts of well being options it will supply in comparison with different well being wearables. Thus, it is exhausting to foretell how the Galaxy Ring will distinguish itself and attraction to its core consumer base — however given the market, we are able to speculate about who will most need to enroll in Samsung’s subsequent gadget. 

What the market has in retailer for the Galaxy Ring

The elephant within the room is that different health-tracking rings exist, most notably the Oura and Monavo’s Evie, which have been adopted by celebrities and athletes — however up to now have not gone widespread with most of the people. It will not be straightforward for Samsung to compete, however the firm has benefits of scale and an current ecosystem of different gadgets that ought to lend it flexibility, Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Julie Ask informed CNET. 

“Oura began out as {hardware}. Now they bundle in a subscription to pay for extra insights,” mentioned Ask. “Samsung may simply promote the {hardware}… and at a lower cost level than Oura is.”

Like another gadget, worth dictates adoption and folks want extra convincing to purchase costly merchandise — particularly these in a class that is comparatively new out there. A Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 that begins at $300 is simple to check to a $400 Apple Watch 9 or $450 Garmin Venu 2, however much less straightforward to line up towards the Oura ring, which begins at $300. 

So what worth Samsung units for the Galaxy Ring issues, Ask mentioned. If it is $100 to $200, tech followers could also be extra prepared to buy-and-try even when it leads to a sock drawer after a couple of months. If it is over $300, they’re going to must know its worth earlier than buying.

They be extra satisfied after they see it in motion, and we count on to listen to much more concerning the Galaxy Ring when Samsung gears as much as launch it. However past worth and tech specs, Samsung must show that the Galaxy Ring is simple to make use of. Most individuals rely upon an engagement technique — consider these annoying however efficient reminders to face — that makes use of various motivations like gamification, competitors, teaching, help and so forth, Ask mentioned.

Samsung confirmed that its Samsung Well being app will get a brand new function referred to as Booster Playing cards, which give perception into your well being readings. In case your sleep rating is low, a card would possibly let you know it is since you’re tossing and turning, for instance. 

Therein lies a chance for Samsung to seize a phase of shoppers who care about their health and desire a wearable that is intuitive and simple to make use of — and that may extra precisely ship well being information than the options now we have proper now. 

Becoming in AI and gaining a foothold out there

Since current well being ring wearables funnel collected well being information to telephones, and Samsung has been utilizing its Samsung Well being app on telephones as a nexus for health and well being metrics, it is smart to count on the Galaxy Ring to do the identical. The opposite query with Samsung’s new gadget is the way it will profit from advances in paired telephones — which, in 2024, means generative AI.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 telephones that launched in mid-January all function generative AI capabilities, like Circle to Search and Generative Edit, all bundled right into a bundle referred to as Galaxy AI. With all of the gen AI options introduced within the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powers the S24 sequence, it will make sense to have a few of that performance within the Samsung Well being app and work with the information collected by the Galaxy Ring.

Once more, Samsung’s tease of the Galaxy Ring was so sparse that there is not any approach to glean any affirmation of generative AI options, or what impression it might need on the beforehand introduced Galaxy AI options on the S24 sequence. However given Samsung’s funding on this space, it will make sense to leverage that with extra information gathered by the Galaxy Ring. 

“[The Galaxy Ring] ought to broaden the market, while tying into the increasing AI gadget ecosystem,” Gartner analyst Ranjit Atwai informed CNET.

And whereas Apple hasn’t introduced AI health-tracking options but, Google is gearing up to make use of AI-provided well being insights in its Fitbit gadgets when it launches the Fitbit Labs function later this yr. AI could not simply be a distinguishing function for the Galaxy Ring, it may be the naked minimal it must sustain with the options coming on this yr’s well being wearables.

Samsung will want greater than a smartwatch and ring to get a robust foothold within the health wearable class, Forrester’s Ask famous. They will want to teach individuals and construct that market. That begins with convincing them of the usefulness of the Galaxy Ring.

“They may want an impressive digital expertise that makes arrange straightforward, affords superb insights, and one which drives efficient engagement with shoppers,” Ask mentioned. “[That’s] exhausting to do.”