Samsung Galaxy Ring Teased: Health Monitoring and AI Integrations Likely

In addition to the new flagship Galaxy S24 family, Samsung has teased a new Galaxy Ring fitness wearable at its Galaxy Unpacked launch event in San Jose. The device has been rumoured for a while, but now it is finally official. The announcement marks a significant milestone for the emerging category of smart rings, which are less obtrusive than smartwatches but also much more limited in terms of capabilities. Internationally, the Galaxy Ring will compete with early movers such as the Oura ring.

No information about the Galaxy Ring was actually announced on stage. Even the visual of it shown on screen might not represent the final product. The device's launch date, price, and capabilities have not even been hinted at officially by Samsung – the only thing the company has confirmed is its existence. The teaser is sure to lead to speculation, and we can expect more leaks in the coming weeks and months especially with the global MWC trade show scheduled for late February.

With AI being a huge push for Samsung and the tech industry as a whole, the Galaxy Ring will undoubtedly leverage some form of it to monitor and interpret health parameters. This ties in with the healthcare features announced for the Galaxy S24 series during the launch event, such as generating a "Vitality Score" for users and prompting them to meditate or change exercise and sleep routines.

We can expect the Galaxy Ring to monitor heart rate, body temperature, sleep, and possibly even blood oxygen. It will almost certainly communicate with compatible phones to combine sensor information, but it is unclear whether or how it will be able to work as a standalone product.

Apart from health monitoring, Samsung could leverage the ring's motion sensors to enable shortcuts or gestures to control things like media playback or smart home control via your other connected devices. Samsung Pay integration is also a potential use case, eliminating the need for users to pull their phone out of their pocket to tap a point-of-sale terminal.

The device will need to be light and stylish, and potential buyers will need to choose the correct size, which might introduce new challenges for the company in terms of retail rollout. Battery life will be another concern for those considering yet another connected device. It is also completely unknown whether there will be more than one model at the time of launch.