I Put The Galaxy Ring To The Test - And It's Better Than My Apple Watch In One Critical Area

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Samsung Galaxy Ring is simply a smart ringing that excels astatine wellness tracking, particularly for delivering actionable insights to thief you amended areas of your wellness that could usage immoderate attention.
• People willing successful integer wellness search will admit nan Galaxy Ring's minimalism, comfort, agelong artillery life, and minimal notifications.
• At $399, nan Galaxy Ring is much costly than immoderate of its competitors, but it does not require a $5.99-per-month subscription for illustration its biggest rival, Oura.

Wearable technologies made 2024 their infinitesimal to shine, pinch nan astonishing fame of nan Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, nan long-awaited presence of nan Apple Vision Pro, and nan then-runaway deed of nan Samsung Galaxy Ring.

Also: This subscription-free smart ringing gave my Oura a tally for its money (and it's cheaper too)

For nan past decade, nan smart ringing marketplace has been dominated by startups like Oura and erstwhile pioneer Motiv, but Samsung was 1 of nan first large tech companies to motorboat a ringing of its own, taking nan smart ringing to caller heights.

I've utilized a matte achromatic size 10 Galaxy Ring ($399) connected my scale digit for astir 2 weeks successful 2024 -- aft testing nan matte achromatic Oura Horizon Stealth ($449) for astir a period and nan Motiv ring for astir six months backmost successful 2018. I've besides been a perennial Apple Watch personification since it launched successful 2015 and a Fitbit personification for respective years earlier that.

I've been very amazed astatine really polished and useful nan Galaxy Ring is. It doesn't consciousness astatine each for illustration a 1.0 product. Samsung has intelligibly taken nan lessons from different smart rings and smartwatches and delivered a instrumentality that is beautifully designed, easy to use, and communicates wellness accusation successful ways that are arsenic useful arsenic immoderate fittingness locator connected nan market.

In fact, I thought nan Galaxy AI stamp connected nan Galaxy Ring was mostly Samsung marketing, but erstwhile it comes to nan wide "Energy" people that nan ringing gives you -- arsenic good arsenic nan slumber and accent reporting successful nan Samsung Health app -- it delivers overmuch much actionable insights than I've ever gotten from nan Apple Watch.

Wearables are having a moment: Apple Watch Ultra, Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, and nan Samsung Galaxy Ring.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

For example, 1 time I looked astatine my Energy people of 78 successful nan app, and it was "Good" but connected nan little extremity of good, which was accordant pinch my cognition of really I felt that morning. When I clicked into nan Energy score, I recovered various metrics that contributed to it. Most of them were related to sleep, but my lowest 1 was "Previous time activity." It noted that my "moderate-to-vigorous workout time" was only six minutes and recommended that I summation that to 33 to 87 minutes. So I sewage much disciplined astir consistently expanding my cardio, which had nan intended effect of giving maine an power boost -- albeit for nan short play I tested nan product.

Also: Why I deterioration this $150 smartwatch moreover aft testing competing Samsung and Garmin models

I besides recovered that nan Galaxy Ring tracks accent accurately. It uses bosom complaint variability (HRV) from its optical bio-signal sensor -- a very fancy sanction for its bosom sensor. When I spot my accent level spiking successful nan app, I tin unfastened a guided heavy breathing convention straight wrong nan app. In that "Breathe" conception of nan app, you tin besides group nan number of breathing cycles and nan clip per cycle, which lets you customize really agelong you want to do nan exercises and really overmuch you want to slow down your bosom complaint to hack your accent level. 

The Apple Watch tin besides way HRV and has a useful guided breathing workout successful its Mindfulness app. In fact, I've written astir really these Apple Watch devices helped maine uncover my toxic accent level and amended it. Apple, however, has ne'er built these features into its smartwatch software, does not specifically telephone retired stress, and doesn't necktie its information into useful wellness insights aliases coaching tips. 

For nan astir optimal scanning, nan sensors connected nan Galaxy Ring should ever beryllium positioned nether your finger.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

The creation and build value of nan Samsung Galaxy Ring besides impressed me. It's a small spot thinner and lighter than nan Oura ringing and astir of nan different smart rings. The Ultrahuman Ring Air is nan astir comparable successful size and weight.

The different unsocial creation characteristic of nan Galaxy Ring is that it's somewhat concave, which should thief protect it against semipermanent scuffs and scratches. The Galaxy Ring besides comes pinch a unsocial lawsuit and charging solution. The lawsuit is clear, has a battery, and charges independently of nan ringing truthful that you tin recharge wirelessly connected nan spell -- compared to different ringing chargers that are each docks that request to beryllium charged via a wired cable.

Also: I spent a play pinch Meta's caller Oakley smart glasses - they hit my Ray-Bans successful each way

Like astir different smart rings, nan Galaxy Ring is some a analyzable portion of exertion miniaturized into an impossibly mini package while besides being a comparatively elemental instrumentality that features 3 sensors that person been astir for a agelong time: an accelerometer, a tegument somesthesia sensor, and a bosom complaint sensor. As mentioned above, Samsung's bosom sensor is called an optical bio-signal sensor and is 1 of nan astir precocious bosom sensors connected nan market, arsenic Samsung has been investing successful wellness tech for years successful its various smartwatches.

The Samsung Health app provides adjuvant insights and coaching tips based connected your data.

Screenshot by Jason Hiner/ZDNET

That besides brings america to 1 of nan Galaxy Ring's biggest drawbacks: nan truth that its activity sensor tends to overestimate steps by astir 10%, successful my testing. It was disconnected by moreover much successful nan first fewer days I tried nan ring, overestimating steps by 20% compared to what was tracked by nan Apple Watch Ultra 2 and nan Oura Ring I wore astatine nan aforesaid clip to gut-check it. The Galaxy Ring seemed to set complete time, and location were days erstwhile it was only astir 5% higher, but it was still ever supra nan measurement count of nan Apple Watch and nan Oura Ring. An activity locator that overestimates your activity mightiness make you consciousness amended and much confident, but could negatively effect your advancement toward your wide wellness and fittingness goals. 

The different large drawback of nan Galaxy Ring is that it is Android-only and astir integrated pinch Samsung smartphones and smartwatches. Android users connected non-Samsung phones will still use from nan champion features of nan Galaxy Ring, but iOS users will request to spell successful a different direction. Thankfully, we've sewage a mates of recommendations successful that realm.

ZDNET's buying advice

The package connected nan Galaxy Ring is smarter than my Apple Watch -- and I ne'er expected that would beryllium 1 of my conclusions from this review. The AI-powered insights successful nan Samsung Health app supply much straight actionable accusation from nan Galaxy Ring than I've ever gotten from Apple. So, if you'd for illustration much actionable wellness and wellness insights than you get from nan astir celebrated smartwatch -- and you person an Android telephone -- past nan Galaxy Ring could beryllium nan merchandise you've been waiting for. It besides doesn't person a show to distract you and only needs to beryllium charged each 4 to 7 days. 

If you're reference astir a smart ring, past there's a bully chance that you're willing because 1.) you'd alternatively deterioration a ringing than a smartwatch, aliases 2.) you'd for illustration to way your slumber (and smart rings thin to beryllium amended slumber trackers than smartwatches), aliases 3.) you're a female who would for illustration to usage a smart ringing for rhythm search to optimize your health. The Galaxy Ring is an fantabulous prime for nan first 2 options. While nan Galaxy Ring does supply rhythm tracking, it only offers a wide overview and is prone to miscalculations, arsenic ZDNET's smart ringing master Nina Raemont points out.

If you're an iPhone personification and you want nan benefits of a instrumentality akin to nan Galaxy Ring, ZDNET recommends nan Ultrahuman Ring Air aliases nan Oura Ring, since some activity good pinch Apple's iOS. 

How it compares

Latest updates:

August 1, 2025: Added a caller comparison floor plan comparing nan Samsung Galaxy Ring to its astir caller rival: nan Oura Ring 4. Oura's wearable is much affordable, houses sensors that nan Galaxy Ring lacks, and has a longer artillery life (although this declare is disputed successful ZDNET's review). Outdated links were besides replaced.