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A little over a month ahead of the expected launch date, Samsung filed a lawsuit against Oura Health Oy, the parent company of Oura Ring. It might seem like an odd thing to do considering that the Galaxy Ring was not yet released. However, the documents stated Samsung’s reasoning was due to “Oura’s pattern of indiscriminate assertion of patent infringement against any and all competitors in the smart ring market” is an “actual, imminent risk to Samsung.”
The move makes sense from Samsung’s point of view considering that Oura pointed out that it holds “100 granted patents, 270 pending patent applications, and 130+ registered trademarks.” At the time of this writing, there has yet to be an outcome rendered in the lawsuit, which was to be expected.
By filing the lawsuit, Samsung also revealed that the Galaxy Ring was entering “mass production ‘in mid-June 2024’ and will open smart ring sales ‘in or around August 2024.’”
At this point, there were still a lot of questions left unanswered, but some of that changed after nine models of the Galaxy Ring appeared at the FCC. This confirmed that Samsung will offer the Ring in sizes ranging from Size 5 to Size 12. The FCC appearance also gave us our first look at the “charging cradle” for the Galaxy Ring, but the filing only showed a drawing of the bottom of the cradle.
It wouldn’t be until June before more information was leaked regarding the cradle, this time coming courtesy of Ice Universe. An official-looking render showed that the Galaxy Ring will likely reside in what looks to be a ring box when it needs to be charged. When the box is opened, there’s a “raised portion with the expected contact pins for charging purposes.”
Shortly after the battery life was seemingly confirmed, a report surfaced suggesting that Samsung was gearing up “to produce 400,000 units for its launch.” The same report also confirmed that the Galaxy Ring would not be labeled as a “medical device,” as the company was “still going through the required certification loops.” Instead, Samsung is expected to market the Galaxy Ring as a “wellness wearable” at launch, but that could change if the medical certification is acquired.
From there, bits and pieces of information about the Galaxy Ring has been rumored and/or leaked. In March, Dr. Hon Pak, head of the digital health team at Samsung, confirmed that this new wearable “lasts for about five to nine days.” The battery life is dependent on the size that you get, as the smallest Galaxy Ring is equipped with a 14.5mAh cell, with the largest coming with a 21.5mAh battery.
Our very own Nick Sutrich was on the ground at MWC 2024, and was able to get a “close-up look” at the Galaxy Ring. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a hands-on session, but Nick provided us with his own opinions while snapping a bunch of photos showing off the array of sensors on the inside of the different rings. NIck came away feeling “particularly impressed by how much the Samsung Galaxy Ring looks like a proper piece of jewelry rather than a geeky gadget.”
We had to wait about a month and a half to learn more, as Samsung showcased the Galaxy Ring at MWC 2024 in Barcelona. It was here that the company began revealing and confirming what this new wearable would be capable of. This includes things such as the smallest version weighing just 2.3 grams, while the heaviest one weighs 2.9 grams. In comparison, the Oura Ring “tips the scales between 4 and 6 grams.”
Besides that, Samsung stopped short of revealing much more about the Galaxy Ring, besides that “it’s a wellness-focused gadget taking on the likes of Oura, packed with a bunch of sensors.”
Galaxy Ring rumors sporadically popped up as we went into 2024, and was surprisingly announced at the end of the first Galaxy Unpacked of the year. Not much was actually shared, as Samsung only showed off a teaser video, confirming the name, and that it would be released “later this year.”
Let’s get the party started with arguably the most highly-anticipated product that could finally debut at Unpacked — the Galaxy Ring. Until recently, Oura has really been the only player in the smart ring market, as the original Oura Ring was released in 2015 following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Since then, Oura has released two new iterations, with the most recent being in 2023 and the 4th generation is expected sometime this year.
Other companies have joined the fray, with notable releases from Ultrahuman, RingConn, and Amazfit. Seeing the success and market heating up, Samsung wants to get in on the fun, with rumors of a potential Galaxy Ring beginning in 2023.
From the way that everything appears to be shaking out, Samsung’s next lineup of foldables are taking a backseat this year. Instead, the focus is expected to be on the company’s wearables. Not only are we expecting the Galaxy Watch 7, but rumors suggest Samsung is set to announce two new products, one of which sees Samsung entering an entirely new product segment.
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