Earlier this year, Samsung announced it would soon launch a new wearable called Galaxy Ring, helping the company expand its product lineup. The Ring was also showcased at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. How can the device help you?

So far the prototypes have been presented in three colours — platinum silver, ceramic black and gold. The prototypes come in sizes from five to 13, which is a wide range. Since there is no screen on the Galaxy Ring, it will be easier for users to adopt it as the learning curve will be easier.

Samsung is not presenting the Ring as a replacement for the company’s Galaxy Watch smartwatch series. Anyone who wears the Ring as well as the smartwatch will have access to more health data. There is a chance that Ring’s focus will be more on sleep and health insights than fitness. The good news is that there will be fertility tracking, thanks to a partnership with Natural Cycles.

The Galaxy Ring was announced at an event in January

Among its core features will be the My Vitality Score, which will offer a readiness level (mental and physical) for a particular day. It’s based on a clinically validated model from the University of Georgia that initiates a “cognitive load test”. These will be accompanied by Booster Cards that offer “scientifically-backed insights” for ring wearers to stay energized throughout the day. The Vitality Score will also become a feature of Samsung’s Galaxy Watches, coming first to the Watch 6 later this year but will require a Galaxy S24-series phone to work.

Samsung appears to suggest that health tracking will be the Ring’s main purpose, on the lines of Oura and Evie. But the story doesn’t end there. Apple is also rumoured to be experimenting with the idea of a smart ring, according to Bloomberg. The smart ring will be compatible with Android devices, similar to the Galaxy Watch. It’s too early to talk about Samsung’s future plans for the Galaxy Ring, but opening it up to the iPhone would certainly allow it to be more competitive with Oura.

At the moment, the Apple “Ring” is more of an idea and nobody knows if it will even be developed. The appeal would be for people to have a low-cost way to gather key health data without the need to wear a smartwatch. A patent spotted by Apple Insider suggests the Apple Ring could act like a sensor of sorts for better hand detection in Vision Pro. Such a device could also enhance the headset experience with haptic feedback.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring will come in various sizes

Coming back to the Galaxy Ring, it should appear sometime this year. Usually, Samsung launches its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip foldable phones in August and it may offer the company a perfect stage to introduce the Galaxy Ring. But we wouldn’t be surprised if there is an Unpacked event in July this year as the February Unpacked event was brought forward.