It was only a matter of time before Samsung entered the smart rings market.
Over the last few years, smart rings have become the next big thing in health and fitness tracking devices, with the Oura Ring leading the way.
Jamie LewisI tested the black colourway, but it’s also available in silver and gold[/caption]Samsung Galaxy Ring, Titanium Black – £299.00
BUY HEREThe Galaxy Ring is Samsung’s latest device to rival major competitors in the market.
It’s a compact tracker to suit those who don’t favour a smart watch but still want to keep an eye on their overall health.
Designed to be both functional and fashionable, we got our hands on one (or rather, we got one on our hand) to run through its features and see how it fared.
Read on to find out what we thought.
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How we tested Quickfire Q&A Full Review The Verdict FAQsHow I tested the Samsung Galaxy Ring
In order to use the Galaxy Ring, you’ll need to download the Samsung Health App from the Google Play Store.
This is where you can see all your tracked stats. I have included screenshots of the app in this review.
I wore the ring more or less constantly over a few weeks while going about my day-to-day life so I could get a good idea of the features included, and feed enough data in to get a picture of my health.
Initially, I considered how the ring looked and felt on my hand. As I’m not someone who ordinarily wears a ring, it was important to get a feel for this.
The main areas tracked by the ring are your heart rate, sleep, exercise and diet, with the latter relying on you consistently inputting information about what food and drink you’ve consumed.
In this review, I address the above points to determine how useful the above information was, and also assess the advice offered by the app to improve your overall health.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Quickfire Q&A
How much is it? – Currently priced at £299.99 at Currys.
Who is it best for? – Android smartphone users who want an unobtrusive device to track their exercise, sleep and other health info such as heart rate and stress levels.
What we loved – The ring looks good and is comfortable to wear, the app is easy to use and not overly complicated, and it will almost certainly give users more information on their health and fitness to make better decisions.
What we didn’t – The app takes a bit of time to sync on occasion, and it doesn’t have as many inbuilt exercise recording options as smartwatch-style fitness trackers.
What do you need to get set up? – You will need an Android smartphone with the Samsung Health app installed, and you will need a sizing kit in advance of buying the ring to make sure you get the size that is comfortable for you.
Samsung Galaxy Ring: Full Review
SamsungThe ring comes with an attractive, clear charging case[/caption]Samsung Galaxy Ring, Titanium Black – £299.00
BUY HERE Pros: Looks cool, app is straightforward to use, the app prompts are genuinely helpful in making you consider your health Cons: Takes a while to for the app to sync with the ring, could use more activity logging options Rating: 4.5 / 5First impressions
Before you can get going with the Samsung Galaxy Ring, there is a little bit of admin that needs to be done.
You’ll be sent a sizing kit so you can try the different options, and it’s advised that you wear your preferred size for a day to get used to how it feels.
After making this decision, you can then be sent the ring itself, which comes with a neat-looking charging case which can be powered up with a USB-C cable.
After making sure the ring is fully charged, the other thing you’ll need to do is download the Samsung Health app, through which you’ll be able to see all your recorded data.
Once you’re all set with this, you can start wearing the ring.
As someone who doesn’t ordinarily wear rings, it took a while for me to get used to it.
But I can say it’s comfortable if you’ve got your correct size sorted, albeit it’s a bit chunkier than most ordinary rings, so Samsung can fit their tracking tech in.
I favoured the titanium black colour, which I felt looked good in a low-key way.
There are also silver and gold versions available, which will perhaps match better for someone who wears existing jewellery.
Sleep tracking
As I wore the watch consistently over days and then weeks, I got to grips with the various auto-tracking features that the ring has.
One of the main areas of concern in my health is whether I’m getting the quantity and quality of sleep to keep my energy levels up, and if you wear it overnight, the Galaxy Ring will certainly give you more information on this.
Jamie LewisYou can see the different phases of sleep tracked by the ring in the app[/caption]The ring uses factors such as heart rate and blood oxygen level during sleep to show you the length of your sleep session and give you an idea of the quality of sleep.
It breaks the stages down into light, REM, and deep sleep and then gives you an overall rating for the previous night, such as “excellent” or “fair”.
Once you’ve worn the ring while sleeping consistently for a week, you can choose to be assigned a “sleep animal” based on the patterns recorded (I was assigned a rather cuddly-looking lion).
The app will also offer sleep coaching tips such as not eating too close to bedtime, and keeping to consistent bedtimes and wake-up times.
The majority of these tips are well known, but having them in the app does keep them at the forefront of your mind, and having a “sleep score” that you see every morning adds motivation to improve this over time.
The sleep rating also has a big influence on the “energy score” out of 100 that the app gives you, which, over time, may help you put together how sleep and other factors are affecting your general energy levels.
Exercise and wellness
Aside from sleep, the ring also helps you to track your exercise and monitor your state of mind.
Your steps are tracked in the same way your smartphone would do, and a feature I liked is that when you are walking for a more lengthy period, this is logged as an activity session in the app, for example, as “30 minute walk”.
The fact that this is done automatically is nice and highlights where you may be getting exercise without really thinking about it.
You can also log other types of exercise activity, such as cycling, running or hiking, which require you to input information manually in the app.
This feature isn’t as detailed as some you might find on dedicated fitness tracking smartwatches, but if you’re just looking to log workouts and get a rough idea of calories burned, it works fine.
Jamie LewisThe Galaxy Ring logs longer periods of walking as activities automatically[/caption]In addition to this, there is a mindfulness section of the Samsung Health app, which, while not strictly related to the ring itself, does feature a mood log, breathing exercises and guided meditations.
This adds to the overall package for those wanting to improve both their physical and mental health.
Other features
There are a few other features on the Samsung Health App that require manual input from the user, but they add to the overall experience.
The ring doesn’t have the capabilities to track blood pressure or blood glucose levels.
If this is something you are particularly concerned about, there is the option to input this information so that your health data is all kept in one place on the app.
There is an option to record water intake and meals, so this could be very helpful for dieters.
Once you’ve entered the food on the app, a breakdown of protein/fats/carbs percentages from today’s meals appears, along with suggested ratios to compare it to.
Jamie LewisYou can view a pie chart breakdown of nutrition info from meals[/caption]Although I’m not currently dieting, I can definitely see how this meal recording function could help keep things on track if you were.
A word on charging: I found that after a full charge, the ring will last about seven days before the battery is drained, so you will need to be charging it once a week.
The Verdict
Overall, I think the Samsung Galaxy Ring is an excellent choice for any Android phone users looking to start using a smart ring.
The ring looks and feels of high quality and is comfortable enough to wear, so I got used to it very quickly and didn’t find it distracting.
The way that the collected data is displayed in the Samsung Health app is very intuitive, and it’s always easy to find what you’re looking for.
For tracking your basic health and wellbeing, and especially sleep, the ring and app work really well together and will be a big help for anyone looking to keep a closer eye on their stats.
The app also offers tips and, for those who want them, prompts to engage with aspects such as stress levels and mood, which have a significant impact on health but aren’t as easily measurable.
In terms of downsides, the app sometimes takes a while to sync with the ring, and the exercise tracking options aren’t as extensive as some smartwatches, but these are fairly minor issues.
Samsung have done a great job with their first entry into the smart rings market.
FAQs
Can you use the Samsung Galaxy Ring with an iPhone?
This will be a dealbreaker for many people.
Sadly, no, the Galaxy Ring is only compatible with Android smartphones, and as far as we’re aware, there are no plans for this to change.
Is the Galaxy Ring waterproof?
The Galaxy Ring has a high level of water-resistance, and Samsung say you can safely keep the ring on whether you’re washing your hands, taking a shower or jumping in the pool.
How long does the battery last?
The Samsung Galaxy Ring battery will last approximately seven days before needing to be charged up again.
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