Samsung's Galaxy Ring: Who's This Mysterious Health Wearable For?

At the start of the yr throughout its January Unpacked occasion, Samsung teased the brand new Galaxy Ring wearable as the subsequent gadget in its cellular lineup. By midyear, we nonetheless have not heard way more concerning the gadget with no official launch date or value introduced. While we might hear extra on the subsequent Unpacked foldable showcase occasion that often occurs in July or August, we stay inquisitive about how its mysterious finger-worn product matches into Samsung’s plans to develop its well being and wellness ecosystem, main us to surprise — who’s the Galaxy Ring for?
This story is a part of Samsung Event, CNET’s assortment of stories, suggestions and recommendation round Samsung’s hottest merchandise.
To put it within the firm’s phrases, the Galaxy Ring is one other gadget in a community of wearables and telephones that feeds knowledge into the Samsung Health app. “I think you should look at the ring as one of many steps toward multi-device engagement,” Samsung VP and head of the digital well being group for the cellular enterprise Hon Pak informed CNET’s Lisa Eadicicco. Read extra: Best Phone of 2024So it is one other strategy to monitor the sorts of private knowledge that funnel into Samsung Health: sleep, vitamin, exercise and stress. Specifically, it is a product for somebody who won’t 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 ring can be less intrusive than a watch, and the finger provides a better physiological location for some health 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 customers might want each a hoop and a watch, whereas others will choose one or the opposite, Greengart mentioned. Some might even choose up a hoop as a result of they just like the look, which Eadicicco described as a modern minimalist band that resembled a groom’s solid-metal ring (the sensors line the within). Samsung’s reveal of the Galaxy Ring at its Galaxy Unpacked occasion. Samsung”Personally, I am very excited about this device because I’ve been looking at rings myself and I find that many are quite bulky and the Galaxy Ring might actually be perfect for me, especially since I already use a Galaxy Watch 6 classic,” mentioned Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.Given a smartwatch’s show and suite of sensors, Sag does not see folks outright changing them with health rings. Instead, they will fill the gaps to offer well being knowledge when watches aren’t worn, like once they’re charging in a single day. Even higher can be if the Galaxy Ring merely works with out loads of setup, and Sag thinks it most likely will not want a brand new app on Samsung telephones and can neatly combine with different well being knowledge.While followers of smartwatches clamor for sharper, brighter shows to enhance interactions, there’s one other contingent of tech customers who’re content material with units that do every little thing quietly within the background. The Galaxy Ring might enchantment to those that wish to monitor their well being knowledge however don’t desire one other mini-phone gadget clamoring for his or her consideration. Watch this: Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
02:46 “The idea behind such rings is not so much about being cheaper than smartwatches, but instead being a much smaller and discrete device for use cases like sleep tracking,” mentioned Bryan Ma, VP of units analysis at International Data Corporation.The Galaxy Ring is also for a extra restricted group of people that wish to monitor well being utilizing the corporate’s proprietary Samsung Health app however have an iPhone, and thus cannot hook up with extra fashionable Samsung wearables and watches. (The Galaxy Watch line has been Android-only for the reason that firm partnered with Google in 2021 to make use of Wear 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 provide in comparison with different well being wearables. Thus, it is laborious to foretell how the Galaxy Ring will distinguish itself and enchantment to its core person base — however given the market, we will speculate about who will most need to enroll in Samsung’s subsequent gadget.  The Oura ring on the fitting in comparison with a metallic band on the left. Olli KeskinenWhat the market has in retailer for the Galaxy RingThe 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 people. It will not be simple for Samsung to compete, however the firm has benefits of scale and an present ecosystem of different units that ought to lend it flexibility, Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Julie Ask informed CNET. “Oura started out as hardware. Now they bundle in a subscription to pay for more insights,” mentioned Ask. “Samsung could just sell the hardware… and at a lower price point than Oura is.”Like another gadget, value 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 match to a $400 Apple Watch 9 or $450 Garmin Venu 2, however much less simple to line up in opposition to the Oura ring, which begins at $300. So what value 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 just a few months. If it is over $300, they will have to know its worth earlier than buying.They be extra satisfied once 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. But past value and tech specs, Samsung should show that the Galaxy Ring is simple to make use of. Most folks rely on 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 Health app will get a brand new function referred to as Booster Cards, which give perception into your well being readings. If 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 customers who care about their health and desire a wearable that is intuitive and simple to make use of — and that can extra precisely ship well being information than the options we’ve got proper now.  Samsung/Screenshot by CNETFitting in AI and gaining a foothold within the marketSince present well being ring wearables funnel collected well being knowledge to telephones, and Samsung has been utilizing its Samsung Health 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 different 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 package deal referred to as Galaxy AI. With all of the gen AI options introduced within the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powers the S24 collection, it might make sense to have a few of that performance within the Samsung Health app and work with the info collected by the Galaxy Ring.Read extra: How Samsung’s Galaxy AI Features Stack Up Against Google and AppleOnce more, Samsung’s tease of the Galaxy Ring was so sparse that there isn’t any strategy to glean any affirmation of generative AI options, or what influence it might need on the beforehand introduced Galaxy AI options on the S24 collection. But given Samsung’s funding on this space, it might make sense to leverage that with extra knowledge gathered by the Galaxy Ring. “[The Galaxy Ring] should expand the market, whilst tying into the expanding AI device 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 units when it launches the Fitbit Labs function later this yr. AI might not simply be a distinguishing function for the Galaxy Ring, it is perhaps 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’ll want to teach folks and construct that market. That begins with convincing them of the usefulness of the Galaxy Ring.”They will need an outstanding digital experience that makes set up easy, offers amazing insights, and one that drives effective engagement with consumers,” Ask mentioned. “[That’s] hard to do.”
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