Samsung has finally raised the curtain on the Galaxy Ring, the company’s latest health tech product, and revealed it to the public in person.
Samsung announced that the ring will be publicly displayed at MWC 2024, and over the past 24 hours, people have been going hands-on with the device at the Barcelona event. We only got a short glimpse of the ring at the end of Samsung Unpacked, and Samsung kept tight-lipped about the gadget in the leadup to its reveal, despite leaks.
Here is what we know so far about the very mysterious Samsung Galaxy Ring.
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Samsung Galaxy Ring: Price
Samsung hasn’t revealed any details about the price but if we bring out the crystal ball, the Samsung Galaxy Ring would have to compete with the Oura, so it could be between $450 to $840 if they bring out various models. But once, again Samsung is keeping mum.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Release Date
According to Forbes (which itself sources Korean publication The Elec), the ring is still in the prototyping phase, though it’s expected that production will kick off in the second quarter of 2024, and a projected launch beside the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 in July.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Features
At the same time that Samsung was letting people take a gander and even try on the ring, the company put up a post detailing what it’s trying to achieve with the ring.
According to the company, the ring will be comprised of Samsung’s “accumulated [health tech] innovations in the smallest form for comfortable 24/7 wear.”
But that’s all buzzwords – what can it actually do? Well, as pointed out by ZDNet… We still don’t know. Samsung hasn’t actually said much yet, beyond there being fertility tracking, heart health monitoring, vitality score tracking, and a claimed battery life of “more than a couple days” (per Wired). It will also supposedly only work with Android phones.
The Korean publication reported that the ring will be capable of blood flow measurements (for heart rate tracking) and electrocardiogram capabilities for heart-related issues.
The device is also rumoured to support wireless payments and have SmartThings functionality, but at this point, it’s all very much up in the air.
“The ring represents that community of people who want health tracking that is more comfortable and less obtrusive,” Samsung executive Hon Pak said in an interview with Bloomberg. “It’s meeting a need of a specific population of people who want to track and measure, but in a different way.”
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Design
From what has been posted online during MWC 2024, the ring looks very simple, we’ve seen a simple black, metal-based band with technical components on the inside. We’ve seen a gold, silver and black band so far. Android aficionado Parker Burton has tweeted out images of the upcoming smart rings.
First look at the Samsung Galaxy Ring pic.twitter.com/J6l3GtIxmP
— Parker Burton (@imparkerburton) February 26, 2024
In the meantime, Samsung last month revealed the Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24+, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra, along with a wide range of AI features coming to its devices.
Image: Zachariah Kelly/Gizmodo Australia
This article will be constantly updated.