Samsung Galaxy Ring launches as subscription-free health and fitness smart ring, but with a hefty price tag

Samsung has officially unveiled its first smart ring. The Galaxy Ring was first teased at the first Galaxy Unpacked event in January of this year, and now, we know everything about the new wearable. One of the main aspects that sets Samsung's offering apart from competitors like the Oura Ring Gen3 is that it is subscription-free.

In comparison, Oura requires you to sign up for a monthly or annual subscription to gain full access to the companion app. While the subscription-free nature of the Samsung Galaxy Ring is a good thing, it has ultimately made the wearable more expensive.

The smart ring costs $399.99, which is $199.99 higher than what the Oura Ring Gen3 generally retails for (available on Amazon). Now, given that it's a premium smart ring, you would expect a great build quality, and Samsung appears to have delivered in that regard. The Galaxy Ring is made of Titanium Grade 5, lighter yet stronger than stainless steel.

As Samsung revealed earlier at MWC 2024, the Samsung Galaxy ring will be available in nine different sizes, and the company will offer sizing kits. Depending on the size, the wearable can weigh anywhere from 2.3 grams to 3 grams, lighter than Oura Ring Gen3.

Regarding battery life, Samsung advertises up to seven days of runtime for the ones sized 5 to 11, while it's up to six days for size 12 and size 13. The Galaxy Ring comes with a charging dock, which can hold up to 15x the battery life of the smart ring.

Other than that, the Galaxy Ring has numerous health and fitness features, including automatic workout detection, inactivity alerts, and cycle tracking based on skin temperature. You can also control your Samsung phone with it, but unlike the Galaxy smartwatches, the smart ring doesn't support BIA and ECG.

However, when paired with a Galaxy Watch, the Samsung Health app recognizes both and uses them to take optimal measurements. The smart ring will go on sale on July 24.