A wearable that doesn’t need your wrist is in reach for all Aussies with an Android, but especially those with a Galaxy, as Samsung’s Ring arrives.
Wearables come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but there tends to be one common factor uniting most of what’s out there: where you wear them.
Most wearables tend to be wrist-mounted, designed to be a watch of some sort or something like it. A wrist-based fitness tracker is basically a slim or elongated watch with health sensors inside, while a smartwatch is clearly a watch with smarts, evident by its name and category.
Wearables are typically designed for the wrist, and that’s not a vibe everyone wants. In fact, if you’re someone who prefers a classic watch or not wearing anything on your wrist at all, wearables can seem downright inconvenient.
That could be part of what makes the Samsung’s first smart ring so intriguing, with the ring officially the first of its kind in Australia, unless you had the initiative and money to import one from startup Oura in recent years.
While few Aussies likely did, more will get the chance to try the Samsung Galaxy Ring, since it’s now on sale in Australia.
Designed to work with Android phones, but coming with features specific to Samsung Galaxy phones as well, the Galaxy Ring is a titanium encased ring bringing with it sensors not unlike what you can find in the Galaxy Watch Ultra, just made to be a little different.
There’s no screen in the Galaxy Ring and no phone notifications. It’s a ring with health sensors to track your heart rate, walking, and skin temperature, with the watch encased in titanium to make it strong.
A battery life of up to a week is part of the package as are AI insights into your health inside the required Samsung Health app, while recent Samsung phones will enjoy a little more in the feature set, including a “Find My Ring” function.
“We’re very excited to be bringing the Galaxy Ring to Australians, and to be the first market to launch in the Southeast Asia and Oceania region,” said Kylie Mason, Head of Wearables for Samsung Australia.
“Australia ranks amongst the most health conscious countries in the world, and we believe that Australians will embrace Galaxy Ring as a new option for a simplified and more consistent wellness tracking experience,” she said.
“By combining the AI-powered Galaxy Ring with Samsung Health, you can enjoy a personalised and secure intelligent health experience with detailed, data driven insights.”
Aside for health features, Samsung has also thought of the durability, including a concave design to make the ring more difficult to scratch, while also building in water resistance. Officially, the Galaxy Ring delivers up to 100 metres of depth for swimming and an IP68 water resistance rating, though Samsung notes that “water and dust resistance isn’t permanent” and that it’s “not recommended for beach or pool use”.
Despite this, Samsung told Pickr that it should survive more than chance encounters with water, and that the water resistance should be there for some time to come. While the Galaxy Ring arrives with a one year warranty, Mason noted that the “service team should be replacing it after two years”, and that replacements would be taken seriously.
Wearing this ring will also be a little different from other wearables, because it comes in nine sizes and three colours. To find the ideal size, you’ll want to check out a Samsung store and try out the Galaxy Ring’s sizing kit to find the right one, which may have you wear a dummy ring for 24 hours to match your fingers.
You won’t be able to tighten this ring once it has been made, that’s for sure, and for $699 in Australia, you’ll want to get it right. The Galaxy Ring is available now, though, found at Samsung stores and its online presence.
