Samsung Unveils First Smart Ring With Biometric Health Monitoring, How It Compares to the Oura Ring

Samsung is ushering in a new era of AI-powered wearable technology aimed at helping people meet their daily wellness needs through intelligent health experiences, with features ranging from sleep behavior monitoring to menstrual cycle tracking.

The South Korea-based tech company unveiled its expanded lineup of wearables at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris on Wednesday, including the much-hyped new Galaxy Ring, which can be worn 24/7 with end-to-end integration with its smartphones and smartwatches.

Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Ring

The Galaxy Ring is Samsung’s latest foray into the wearable space aimed at health enthusiasts and tech-savvy consumers.

The sleek and compact ring offers advanced health monitoring capabilities and seamless integration with the Samsung ecosystem.

Key features of the Samsung Galaxy Ring

Advanced Health Monitoring: The lightweight device features a suite of sensors that continuously monitor key health metrics including sleep patterns, heart rate variability and activity levels around the clock. This data is then analyzed using Samsung’s proprietary AI and algorithms to provide users with a new Energy Score, which details personalized insights into the user’s overall well-being.

Biofeedback and stress management: One of the most notable features of the Galaxy Ring is its real-time biofeedback capability, which rivals similar tech products from Apple. Using sensors built into the ring, it can detect stress levels and provide users with actionable insights and guided breathing exercises to help them manage stress effectively.

Sleep tracking: Building on Samsung’s expertise in sleep tracking, Galaxy Ring offers detailed sleep analysis including sleep stages (REM, deep, light) with insights to improve sleep quality over time.

Fitness and activity tracking: Whether you are a runner, a cyclist or a yoga enthusiast, the Galaxy Ring can track various activities accurately. It will provide users with real-time stats during their workouts as well as summaries afterwards to help the user stay motivated and achieve more fitness goals.

Integration with the Samsung Health ecosystem: The device can seamlessly sync with the Samsung Health app, allowing users to view all of their health and fitness data in one place. This integration also allows users to set goals, track their progress, and receive personalized recommendations based on their activity and health metrics.

Comparing the Samsung Galaxy Ring to the Oura Ring

Now let’s see how the Samsung Galaxy Ring compares to Oura Health’s Oura Ring, which comes in multiple versions, in terms of price and basic features.

Materials and colors:The Galaxy Ring is made from Grade 5 Titanium and is available in three finishes: Titanium Black, Titanium Silver and Titanium Gold.

The Oura Ring is made from aerospace-grade titanium and comes in two styles. The first is Horizon, “a sleek, circular design” that comes in six finish options, including brushed titanium, silver, black, stealth, gold, or rose gold. The Heritage, which is Oura Health’s “classic tray design,” comes in silver, black, stealth, or gold finishes.

Price:The Samsung Galaxy Ring is competitively positioned in the market with a starting price of $399.99, reflecting its advanced features and integration capabilities.

The Oura ring starts at $299 for the Heritage model and $349 for the Horizon model. But the main difference is that the Oura ring requires an additional subscription, which is free for the first month and then increases to $5.99 per month.

Water resistance:With a water resistance of 10 ATM for both devices, meaning they are safe up to 100 meters deep, the Galaxy Ring and Oura Ring are suitable for showering, surface swimming or snorkeling, but not for greater depths like scuba diving.

Height and weight:The Galaxy Ring comes in nine size options. The device measures 7mm wide and 2.6mm thick and weighs between 2.3 and 3 grams, depending on the band size. Customers are provided with a sizing kit upon purchase to ensure they find the size that fits them best.

The Oura ring weighs between 4 and 6 grams, depending on size, and has similar dimensions of 7.9mm wide and 2.55mm thick.

Battery life:Samsung said the Galaxy Ring’s battery can last up to seven days of continuous use. It comes with a portable charging case and Air wireless earbuds.

According to the Oura Ring’s FAQ page, a fully charged ring “can last up to seven days,” but the company notes that battery life can vary depending on the age of the ring and how often you use certain features, and that all rechargeable batteries “have a finite lifespan, so their capacity and performance will gradually decrease over time.”

User experience: Both rings are designed with comfort and aesthetics in mind, but the Samsung Galaxy Ring might appeal more to users looking for a multifunctional wearable that goes beyond simple sleep and activity tracking, as it offers a broader range of health metrics, including stress management, biofeedback, and full fitness tracking.

The Oura Ring focuses primarily on sleep tracking with detailed insights into sleep stages, recovery, and readiness. While it also offers some activity tracking, it’s less comprehensive than the Galaxy Ring in terms of overall health metrics.

Oura activity tracking can be integrated with Apple Health, Google Fit, and Strava.

The Galaxy Ring, along with the new Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Ultra, are now available for pre-order in select markets, with general availability starting July 24.