As a lead generation company, I’ve used a lot of smartwatches that seem to be able to do it all: track my fitness stats, help me set up my video recordings, monitor my music, and so much more. But the constant stream of notifications can seem annoying and can raise my blood pressure in addition to tracking it. Also, the battery occasionally dies in the middle of the day because I have to rate it. The Samsung Galaxy Ring, a first-generation foray into the South Korean tech giant sounds smart, removes all notifications, and increases battery life tenfold, so I can focus on my fitness tracking metrics.
During the month I tested it, I dropped off my Samsung Watch 5 Pro to see how the Ring performed as an individual device. This setup is rarely right for everyone, especially those who want smartwatch features like texting from your wrist and at-a-glance GPS tracking. But for those like me, who are looking for a simple and easy way to track their fitness stats, the Samsung Galaxy Ring is a game-changer. Read on for my review of the Samsung Galaxy Ring and my thoughts on its design, performance, and more.
I’m a tech journalist living and working in New York City. As a transplant from the Midwest, I worked at the English branch of the University of Iowa before diving headlong into generational journalism. I have spent over 4 years learning everything there is. to know about customer generation, with a specific wise home.
My signatures include ZDNET, PCMag, Decider, Lifewire, NBC, and many others. After hours, you can pack up my tech and pick up my boarding passes, read the latest nonfiction publications, or play on my MSI Stealth team.
For product reviews, giveaways, and the latest deals, sign up for the Forbes Finds newsletter.
Here at Forbes Vetted, I cover gear, technology, sleep, and parenting. I gained my experience in products and recommendations at Dotdash Meredith, where I coordinated practical home and DIY products for People, Real Simple, The Spruce, Better Homes.
As a music journalist, I interviewed The Cramps, Nekromantix, The Rev. Horton Heat, Dee Snider, Dave Brockie, Twin Temple, Kevin Haskins and Forbidden Dimension. As a podcast and video writer, I’ve produced content on David Bowie, Duran Duran, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen, as well as dozens of true crime podcast episodes.
My bylines also come with Fangoria, The New York Times, Marie Claire, ID’s CrimeFeed, Penthouse, BUST, Vice, and an appearance on The UnXplained with William Shatner.
Our score: 9/10 | Operating system: Android | Battery life: up to 7 days | Charging Time: 80 minutes | Available sizes: five to 13
Ideal for:
Ignore if:
The Samsung Galaxy Ring has a sophisticated and sublime build, so much so that members of my circle of relatives thought I was splurging on some new bling. I won a matte black scoring unit. Even if I’m not a hundred percent fan of the color (I hardly have black in my closet, because I personally prefer to be a human rainbow), those who prefer a neutral or dark tone adopt this shade in droves. And of course, if you don’t need matte black, it also comes in gold and silver.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring comes with a charging case.
During my briefings, Samsung has frequently highlighted the concave design, and for good reason. It’s slim and soft: compared to my Movano Evie ring, I wear it most of the time. This concave structure eliminates the maximum of the other rings, and I appreciate that when I play with my Meta Quest 3.
A small notch indicates the correct position of the ring on your finger to ensure the accuracy of the sensor. My Ring-owning friends find it hard to keep that notch where it needs to be. However, I didn’t have this challenge and it stayed firmly in place on my finger.
Just be sure to invest in Samsung’s sizing kit – it’s worth $10 to try other lengths. While purchasing this kit, I discovered that my previous same length would not be compatible if I had ordered it without double checking.
The Ring comes with two parts: the Ring itself and a square charging station. In my testing, it gave me about 50% power in a charge time of about 40 minutes. This is in line with Samsung’s claim that a consistent 100% interest rate is achieved in 80 minutes, but it’s the ring itself and the battery life that impresses me.
I can’t last time I charged my ring, but even with low battery, it can still last. . . [ ] hours.
Contextually, almost all existing Samsung and Google Pixel smartwatches can last a few days at a single pace with power saving features enabled. The existing exception to this rule is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, which Samsung says can last several days. (As we’re still testing this device, our initial tests showed around 60 hours, but we stay tuned for the review and its rating on our smartwatch list. )
Depending on the length of your ring, the ring can last up to a week on a single fee, lengths 12 and thirteen last longer than, say, my length 8, as they can hold a slightly larger battery. As someone who remembers a bit putting the Watch Five Pro on a tester, “using it and doing it” is very refreshing. This is perhaps my favorite feature of the Ring, as it’s one less thing I have to worry about most of the time. My ring at all times lasted six days before I was given a low battery notification, which indicates when it drops to 15% so you don’t rate it. And if you’re in a tough spot, the offer can give you a quick boost.
If you are a Samsung user, this Ring is designed for this ecosystem. I first used it with my Samsung watch, then switched to just using the Ring and still had access to the full list of fitness trackers. Instead of being able to see it on my watch, I simply opened the app on my phone, where I can see the knowledge charts, adding tension tracking, core frequency, and more. He also told me at a glance how much time I spent running each week, which I found to be a wonderful way to temporarily get fitness data during my busy day.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring also features the new AI-powered Energy Score, a new feature that analyzes your fitness metrics (including sleep) and generates a number out of 100. Depending on where you reach 100, the fitness app asks you to whether you face the global or the rest. The Samsung moniker is locked, so while you can still use the Ring as a Google Pixel user, for example, you don’t see your power score.
The power score is in practice, but it influenced my decisions too much for my comfort.
I love the concept. But when my Ring told me, “Rest is better,” I immediately grabbed my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and slumped down on the couch instead of putting on my Meta Quest 3. That demotivated me to continue with the educational program I was looking to maintain. But if my wise ring tells me that I feel like a hot garbage dump from lack of sleep or movement, it must be true, right?And therein lies my concern. This is wonderful for recommending movements like resting, but be careful. so as not to take it too seriously.
It is vital to use the ring as directed, as the chipsets and sensors are located on the back of the ring.
Speaking with Girish N. Nadkarni, MD, MPH, director of the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, it turns out that my considerations were somewhat validated, albeit somewhat from a clinical standpoint. sight. ” Many of those scores are not calibrated or validated compared to anything clinical,” Nadkarni warns. “Before clinical decisions can begin to be made, studies must be conducted on those wearable technologies, and they must be compared and calibrated against FDA technologies. “
However, all this is not just a warning. One day, my energy score read 78 and I earned a “Move” sign with the following advice: “You have been sedentary for more than 11 hours and generally less active than usual. Do not move for long periods of time can lead to Fitness disorders like obesity and core diseases. Get up, stretch and go for a short walk. It definitely helped me get up from my desk, stretch and start playing with my cats. “when you’re not using them to make vital clinical decisions, and as long as you’re using them to lead a more balanced and healthy lifestyle, I think they’re fine. “
I enjoyed being able to check my steps every day. I also appreciated being able to see my other paint metrics, although I had to jump into the app and launch them before my paints to record the information, as it should. I wouldn’t show up dressed in it at boxing or on the beach. , but it actually helped me get rid of my still after paints and improve my painting regimen. Another interesting thing I noticed: I had issues with other smart rings I tried to record my inputs, which wiped out my true daily movement stats. The ring doesn’t do that and it turns out that it keeps pretty accurate fitness metrics when I wear it, from my steps to my blood pressure and oxygen levels.
Once placed on the magazine, the ring notch and the red magazine mark are aligned.
Part of the reason I stopped wearing my watch is battery life, but the other reason is because of the exact measurements taken through the Ring. I felt like this made occasionally tracking my watch obsolete. Of course, the two charts are synchronized to provide you with more accurate fitness metrics by “talking to each other. ” But personally, and with a focus on my occasional fitness tracking business, I didn’t want it both ways. I didn’t want the strain of constant notifications, and the Samsung Galaxy Ring did. the task alone.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is the most productive first-generation fitness tracker and device I’ve tested all year. It is small, thin, delicate and elegant. Those who need a casual fitness tracker deserve to take advantage of it, as it lasts for several days before you want to recharge it without any further worries. There are no notifications, built-in apps, or other extras compared to its Wisewatch cousins. Just a smart fitness tracker that fits your finger.
What excites me about this device is that Samsung has put effort into getting this fitness tracker out of the park. It doesn’t look like a first-generation product. For me, I feel like Samsung has spent years designing this device to be the best. productive that can be from the beginning. At $400, it’s priced a bit higher than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 ($299), but particularly lower than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra ($649). And unlike its main competitor, the Oura Ring (Gen. 3), There are no more subscription fees to access all the features. You pay $400, and as of now, there are no features or paywall. I’m inspired and satisfied to have gone from dressing in my watch to dressing in the Samsung Galaxy Ring exclusively.
I used the Samsung Galaxy Ring daily for a month. I checked the Samsung Health app several times a day while checking my Samsung Galaxy Watch five Pro to see how the devices were communicating with each other to keep track of my fitness stats.
Finally, I ditched the Watch Five Pro and focused only on the Samsung Galaxy Ring as a daily fitness tracker. I reviewed my stats daily and monitored battery life to get an idea of how long the device would last without a charger. , I checked the charging case to see how much battery life it can provide in the blink of an eye and checked the charging times with Samsung’s claims.
I participated in panel discussions with Samsung executives, adding Dr. Hon Pak, Samsung’s vice president and leader of the digital health team, Mobile eXperience Business, on smart wearable technology, to learn about the nuances of Samsung’s wearable technology. I also spoke with Dr. Girish N. Nadkarni, director of the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine at Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, for a clinical analysis on the accuracy and fitness tracking features of the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
As the electronics and consumer technology editor at Forbes Vetted, I’ve been covering the generation for over five years. In addition to working with home entertainment, such as checking TVs for more productive gaming, I’ve also checked most of lacheck’s portable devices. Lately on the market, from the Ray-Ban Meta Wise glasses to Apollo Wearable and more. I also checked most of the available Samsung mobile devices, adding the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. , the latter of which the Samsung Galaxy Ring used to check.
My time testing wearables focuses on everyone from casual ones who need simple, straightforward fitness tracking to fitness enthusiasts preparing for the next marathon. For this story, I focused on the new Ring as a whole, adding its accuracy as a first-generation fitness tracker and Galaxy AI’s newest features, such as Energy Score.