The best feature of the Samsung Galaxy Ring would be not locking my data behind a paywall

Samsung will be the first of the big tech companies to launch a smart ring, on July 10 in Paris, with the official launch of the Galaxy Ring. Don’t be surprised if other tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon follow suit with their own wearables in the years to come.

Smart rings have some advantages over smartwatches when it comes to tracking health and wellness: They can generate advanced data to help you better understand your health and make better choices for your body. That said, there’s a bad trend in smart rings, led by market leader Oura. Companies are now locking some of your data behind a subscription wall. The biggest surprise Samsung could pull off by entering the smart ring market would be to buck this trend.

If Samsung doesn’t charge a subscription, it would be difficult for Apple, Google, Amazon and other tech leaders to charge one, if they enter the market.

Also: What to expect from Samsung Unpacked July 2024: Galaxy Z Fold 6, Watch Ultra, Smart Ring, and more

Smart rings share some of the same features as smartwatches, but they may have a few advantages, such as:

• They are often more accurate in tracking sleep data.
• They can provide a better overall picture of your well-being by tracking stress, body temperature and activity readiness.
• They don’t have a screen to distract you.
• There are times when people don’t want to wear a watch, but still want to track their activity and health data.

To be clear, there are smart rings that don’t charge you a subscription fee just to get the data perks. The Ultrahuman Ring Air is one example of a smart ring that ZDNET tester Nina Raemont recently tested and really liked — and it’s subscription-free.

Also: The Best Smart Rings You Can Buy

Over the past decade, I’ve tested a lot of wearable tech, from smart glasses to smartwatches to XR headsets. I’ve been trying smart rings since the original Motiv smart ring in 2018. I recently tried the Oura Horizon Stealth, the company’s third-generation product. While smart rings are getting smarter and more capable by leaps and bounds—and potentially have a bright future as companion devices to control XR headsets—there aren’t any smart rings that do enough to make me willing to pay a monthly or annual subscription fee to get a complete picture of my health.

I hope Samsung resets the smart ring market by giving us all our data by default with the Galaxy Ring.