Samsung Galaxy Ring Hands-On: It's Finally Here, But At An Astonishing Price

The Samsung Galaxy Ring might be one of the most anticipated pieces of technology in recent memory. Seemingly overnight, a number of companies from Circular to RingConn started offering health wearables in the form of a ring. Near the beginning of the year, Samsung was rumored to do the same, and that time has finally arrived.

Samsung has been particularly focused on health data and sleep for the past few generations of its wearables. Last year, Samsung introduced the idea of a sleep animal associated with your sleeping patterns, so this is clearly a pretty important metric for the company. Up until now, Samsung has tracked that only with watches.

Now, you can wear a ring for a more comfortable fit while you sleep. Not everyone likes sleeping with their watch on after all, and unless you have an Ultra watch of some sort, your sleeping time might also be your charging time. However, it comes with a heavy cost. I spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy Ring prior to Samsung Unpacked, and these are my initial impressions.

First of all, from a design standpoint, Samsung has really nailed it. The ring is extremely slim and attractive, just like a ring should be. It weighs anywhere from 2.3 to 3 grams depending on size, and comes in three finishes: Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold. Spoiler alert: The ring is made of titanium.

The ring is designed for 24/7 health monitoring, including heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep latency, and movement while you sleep. All of this data combines to give you a sleep score and an energy score, which gives you an idea of how your body is feeling at any given time during the day.

The ring comes with between five to seven days of battery life, with an extra 1.5x charge in the charging case. So, once you get away from the plug, you could be ok for up to 20 days using just the charging case. Plus, if you wear the ring along with a Samsung Galaxy Watch, you can prolong your ring's battery life even further.

Of course, this is a ring, so it will have to be appropriately sized. Samsung has a ring sizing kit it can send to you to make sure you're getting the correct size before shipping you the actual ring. The sizing kit comes in graduated sizes from 3 up to 13, so you don't have to worry about your sausage fingers not fitting inside the ring.

Speaking of inside the ring, typical smart rings have a number of sensors on the inside and two small bumps to help you position the ring appropriately. The bumps on the Samsung Galaxy Ring are noticeably smaller. That won't necessarily lead to a more comfortable fit — the bumps on the RingConn are much larger, but they don't bother me when I'm wearing it. Your mileage may vary of course.

The ring is just 7 mm wide and 2.6 mm thick, so it's rather svelte. Samsung didn't have a ring in my size (13) so I couldn't tell how comfortable it will ultimately be — that'll have to wait for the review. That being said, other journalists who were there with slimmer fingers than mine noted that it was the most comfortable ring they'd tried thus far.

As mentioned, the case holds an additional 1.5x charge for the ring which fits quite snugly inside. The case is quite attractive as well, boasting a clear top that allows you to see the ring, even when it's closed. The case supports wireless charging, which isn't all that common in the smart ring space. A silicon ring on the bottom of the case prevents it from sliding around on a charger or otherwise.

When you're wearing the ring, you get access to a new gesture — the double tap to take a photo. This is designed to work with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 initially, though Samsung expects the feature to roll out to other phones down the line in the near future. When you are wearing the ring, and you open the camera, you can double tap the finger that is wearing the ring on your thumb to activate the shutter button. The gesture worked quite reliably in the testing I did at the event, though I'll want to experiment with more normal conditions in the real world. All the same, it's a neat trick.

Of course, it'll take more than a few neat tricks to justify the $399.99 price tag of this wearable. That is far and away more expensive than any other smart ring on the market, but there is a caveat to that. Some smart rings have additional hidden costs and subscriptions down the line that you may not have realized were there when you made the purchase. The Samsung Galaxy Ring requires no subscription. You pay the one-time fee of $399.99 and that's it.

That helps, for sure, but it definitely doesn't fully justify the exorbitant cost on its own. Again, this is the most expensive smart ring you can buy. Yes, the ring does a lot, the design is attractive, and it can be worth it when it comes to your overall health, but Samsung is asking a lot, especially for a first-generation product.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring will be available on Samsung.com, and at Samsung stores, along with Amazon, Best Buy and some carrier stores. You can also get Samsung Care+ which includes accidental damage and extended warranty if you want to further protect your substantial investment.