It may be a spring of smart rings. A top Samsung executive revealed on social media that a new wearable health and wellness product would be coming in the “2nd half” of the year. The executive is referring to the Galaxy Ring, which Samsung teased at the last Galaxy Unpacked.
Daniel Seung Lee, the global head of B2B wearable/IoT/accessories at Samsung Electronics, was likely referring to the second half of the year rather than the second quarter. That would place the launch of the Galaxy Ring alongside Samsung’s Galaxy foldables, which are refreshed like clockwork every summer, right before the Apple iPhone launches.
But it’s also possible that Samsung could opt for a spring release in the U.S. if this product is boxed up and waiting, ready to ship—it’s already showing up within Samsung’s own apps.
We don’t have any concrete details on the Galaxy Ring besides a mention from Samsung Research America’s Matthew Wiggins, who teased the ring as the “one more thing” at Unpacked. Samsung has filed multiple patents over the years for a smart ring that could measure health and sleep. Based on what Samsung Health can do now, we can surmise it’ll be tuned for measuring heart rate, body temperature, sleep, and stress levels.
The Galaxy Ring would be Samsung’s contribution to a burgeoning category of wearables. Smart rings have previously been devices that catered to folks who either didn’t want to wear a smartwatch or couldn’t for accessibility reasons. For many, sleeping with a ring on your finger is also more comfortable than it is with a wristwatch when you’re trying to accumulate anecdotal data.
Brands like Oura Ring currently rule the wearable ring market, though there are more contenders on the way. At CES, we saw Movano’s Evie, a smart ring meant for and catered to those who’ve been clamouring for this form factor for years.