Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is Big Tech’s first swing at the smart ring market

Samsung’s big item at Mobile World Congress is the odd little “Galaxy Ring,” a fitness and health-tracking device shrunk down into a tiny, finger-worn circle. There are fitness rings out there already, like the Oura Ring and a few others, but this is the first one from one of the world’s largest tech companies. Samsung already teased this device last month at the Galaxy S24 launch, and what we’re getting at MWC are renders, brief glimpses of prototypes, and a few scraps of information.

What can you say about the design of the Galaxy Ring? It’s a circle. Samsung’s primary color has a shiny metal outside (the colors are not finalized yet) and what looks like a black plastic interior for the ring, which is packed full of sensors. Fitting health-tracking sensors, a battery, CPU, and Bluetooth into a ring form factor is a huge challenge, so it’s no surprise that the whole contraption is thicker and wider than a jewelry ring would normally be.

We don’t have a comprehensive list of features, battery size, or other specs right now, but The Verge spoke to Samsung and says the ring can at least track “sleep, activity, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability” and includes period and fertility tracking. All of this data will be built into the Galaxy Health app. The Verge couldn’t get a battery-life estimate out of Samsung, but Korean site FNNews was told the ring would last “about 5 to 9 days” before needing to be charged.

Sizing a ring is a lot more complicated than most wearables since it has to perfectly fit your finger to not fall off, yet not cut off circulation to your finger. Samsung brought nine different sizes to the show, ranging from ring sizes 5 to 13. Figuring out what size ring you need remotely can be tough, so established players like Oura have a $10 “sizing kit” of plastic ring blanks that lets prospective buyers figure out what size ring they need.

Samsung says the ring will be out sometime “later this year.” A rumor from ETNews previously reported the full unveiling would be in July.