20.01.2025 
Health tracking with the Samsung Galaxy Ring
I tested the Galaxy Ring during an unusual time. At the beginning of December 2024, I had meniscus surgery (more specifically, a suture), and the recovery process is lengthy and slow. Therefore, I couldn’t move normally or do my usual sports activities while testing this wearable device. This turned out to be a positive, because my body didn’t function as it normally would, allowing me to identify some weaknesses in the Galaxy Ring that may not have been evident if I were completely healthy. But before I go into the details, let’s talk a bit about the Samsung Health app, which is where you access all your health-related information. The app is colorful and easy to use. Most of the data that interests you is found in its Home section. There, you see how you stand with your goals, as well as useful data, like your energy score, sleep score, heart rate, bloody oxygen level, and the stress level.
The Samsung Health app is very easy to use
I didn’t use the Galaxy Ring alone, I also had my smartwatch alongside. However, it wasn’t a Galaxy Watch, so I couldn’t test the integration between the two, which would’ve probably revealed some interesting data. I still regularly checked what both the Galaxy Ring and my smartwatch reported. I noticed that it was a good correlation between the two when it came to my heart rate data. The Galaxy Ring measures it automatically, at regular intervals, and presents detailed statistics. However, it can also measure it on user request.
Samsung Galaxy Ring measures your heart rate
An unpleasant fact consistently measured by the Galaxy Ring was that my resting heart rate increased from the levels I used to have prior to my knee surgery. This is normal, and I can’t do much about it, except focus on my physical recovery process and be patient until it gets back to normal levels.
The Galaxy Ring did a good job at highlighting another recurrent problem of my slow recovery process: my average stress levels have increased. Before the surgery, I had few stress-related problems, and all the wearables I was using reported high stress levels only when I had strong negative emotions. This time, things were different: I’m experiencing physical stress, and the Galaxy Ring lets me know and gives me guidance on what I can do to lower it.
Samsung Galaxy Ring measures your stress too
Speaking of guidance, Samsung has added it in many places, and it’s there to help you achieve goals like those shared in the screenshot below. This guidance can include tips on healthy habits that you can develop and reminders to stop drinking alcohol. However, you also get guided workouts for all kinds of health and fitness goals like weight loss, muscle building, running, or endurance training.
We all need some coaching, don't we?
One of the reasons I was excited to test the Samsung Galaxy Ring was my assumption that it would be a more accurate sleep tracker than my smartwatch. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. My smartwatch isn’t great at sleep tracking, and it tends to undervalue my sleep quality. As a result, it often gives me a sleep score that sometimes doesn’t reflect how rested or tired I feel when I wake up. To my surprise, the Galaxy Ring wasn’t accurate either, and it tended to overestimate my sleep quality by a lot. For example, on the night of December 31, 2024, I had a very bad night, plagued by knee pain that made it difficult for me to fall asleep. The pain didn’t allow me to enter the deep sleep phase much either. So I woke up earlier than I would have liked, and I felt very tired. I was surprised to see that the Galaxy Ring said I had an excellent sleep score of 90 points. My smartwatch, on the other hand, said I had a poor score of 35 points. Wow, that’s quite a difference! Unfortunately, the Galaxy Ring was very wrong, and it didn’t reflect my reality in any way. I noticed this tendency to overestimate my sleep quality every night. Fortunately, there were no other nights with such a huge difference in sleep quality scores.
Sleep tracking isn't exactly accurate
While the sleep tracking isn’t accurate, the way the data is presented is very visual, easy to follow and understand. For each night, you not only get your sleep score, but also data about how much time your body spent in each sleep stage, alongside data about your blood oxygen level during sleep, your skin temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate. Your sleep consistency is also measured, and you get useful advice on how to improve your sleep quality.
Your blood oxygen level is also measured during sleep
Unfortunately, the tendency to overestimate things proved valid for step tracking as well. The Samsung Galaxy Ring reported that I took more steps than I actually did every day. Since I was walking with crutches, I didn’t move as much as I used to. Most days, my smartwatch reported that I took around 2,800 steps. The Galaxy Ring reported that I took more than twice as many steps, with figures around 6,100 steps. This difference is significant, highlighting how imprecise the Galaxy Ring is. There’s no way I could’ve walked 6,100 steps in my condition, no matter how much I would have liked to.
Steps tracking isn't accurate either
Unfortunately, I’m not happy with the accuracy of the health data provided by the Galaxy Ring. It’s an expensive wearable device, and for less money, smartwatches tend to provide both more detailed and reliable health data. It’s quite obvious that the Samsung Galaxy Ring is a first-generation type of product, which has a lot of room for improvement. I hope that its second generation will focus on improving its health tracking accuracy in significant ways.
Sports tracking with the Samsung Galaxy Ring
The Galaxy Ring is a basic and imprecise sports tracker. That’s because it lacks a built-in GPS chip and other sensors that are usually included in smartwatches. However, you can track activities using your smartphone and the Samsung Health app. To do that, you have to manually start the tracking from your smartphone and ensure that the Samsung Health app can use its GPS chip. Because of my medical condition, I didn’t do much in terms of sports while testing the Galaxy Ring. However, I did track several indoor biking sessions because they were part of my knee recovery exercise plan. The data I received at the end of each cycling session included the average heart rate, the maximum heart rate, as well as charts with the evolution of my heart rate while exercising, and how much I spent in each heart rate zone.
Sports tracking is quite basic
I used the Galaxy Ring to track my indoor biking activities alongside my smartwatch. I noticed that the heart rate data offered by the Galaxy Ring is consistent, and the two devices agreed most of the time. However, at the end of each cycling session, the Samsung Health app didn’t let me edit the workout and add data from the bike I was using, like the distance I’ve cycled. This would have allowed the Samsung Health app to calculate more statistics and provide more information. This limitation isn’t specific to the Galaxy Ring but to the Samsung Health app and its entire wearables ecosystem.
One standout feature that you may find useful is the workout autodetection for walking and running. By default, it doesn’t track your location using your smartphone, but this can be enabled in the Galaxy Wearable app. For each autodetected workout, the Galaxy Ring offers basic tracking information, such as workout duration, average speed, average heart rate, calories burned, steps, and cadence. You also see a map showcasing your speed and heart rate during the workout. It’s useful information but a little basic. Cheaper smartwatches can provide a lot more useful information.
Samsung Galaxy Ring can autodetect some workouts
While the Samsung Galaxy Ring can be used to track sports activities, it isn’t a good device for this task. It’s best to use it in tandem with a Galaxy Watch, so you can access health and sports tracking data from both devices, which is much more accurate and useful. However, if you’re not an active person, and all you need are some basic stats and coaching, then the Galaxy Ring can be a good enough companion.
Would you buy the Samsung Galaxy Ring?
Now, you know what I think about the Galaxy Ring and what my experience was while testing it. As you’ve seen, it’s an interesting device that’s going to make the idea of a smart ring a lot more popular than it used to be, but it isn’t necessarily a great device on its own. However, this is my opinion. Before closing this review, I’m curious to know what you think: Do you like the Samsung Galaxy Ring and what it has to offer? Are you considering buying it? Comment using the options below and let me know.
