It’s been 11 years since I first ventured into the world of wearables with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Gear in Malaysia. Back then, it was an exciting product that hinted at the future of health tracking, though it came with its fair share of problems — short battery life and software that wasn’t quite ready.
Now in 2025, Samsung is stepping into an entirely new wearable category: smart rings. The Samsung Galaxy Ring offers solutions to some of the issues I had with smartwatches, though not without introducing a few new ones. Here’s my full review after spending two weeks with it.
First Impressions and Design
At first glance, the Galaxy Ring resembles a toy more than a premium piece of tech — especially the Titanium Black variant, which looks more like carbon fiber rings found on Shopee than a flagship wearable. It’s surprisingly light, considering the outer body is made from titanium. However, the inner part is constructed using plastic and resin, housing the PPG sensor (for heart rate and blood oxygen), accelerometer, and skin temperature sensor.
Unlike the Galaxy Watch, it lacks GPS, body composition analysis, ECG, and blood pressure monitoring. As a Galaxy Watch Ultra user, I found this a bit disappointing, but for the average consumer, the included sensors are more than sufficient. The Galaxy Ring is rated IP68 and 10ATM for water and dust resistance, though Samsung advises against wearing it while swimming.
I reviewed the Titanium Silver version, which looked decent enough. My wife jokingly noted that after several years of marriage, I finally had a ring on my finger. Personally, I’ve never enjoyed wearing rings, but the Galaxy Ring was surprisingly comfortable throughout the review period. No itching, no irritation, and it didn’t interfere with daily tasks. While Samsung recommends wearing it on your index finger to enable gesture support, I wore it on my ring finger and still had no trouble with detection.
The ring is available in sizes 5 to 15, ensuring a proper fit for most hands. Battery capacity varies slightly depending on the size — 18mAh for sizes 5-12 and 23.5mAh for sizes 13-15 — with a battery life of up to 7 days. Charging is handled via a custom charging pod, which doubles as a storage case. The pod resembles the Galaxy Buds FE case but features a transparent lid to let you check charging status at a glance.
Unfortunately, wireless charging is only supported through the included pod, not through standard Qi accessories. The case itself houses a 361mAh battery and supports USB-C charging, with an LED indicator for both the case and the ring. There’s also a physical button to help pair the ring with your phone.
Real-World Usage
The Galaxy Ring was incredibly easy to wear and barely noticeable during daily use. Over two weeks, I rarely took it off — even while eating rendang and ketupat during festive visits. The ring cleaned easily, didn’t retain food smells, and showed no damage after repeated handwashing.
Heart rate detection was accurate and consistent during regular use and sleep tracking. Interestingly, the readings were slightly lower than what I got from the Galaxy Watch Ultra — likely due to the ring’s tighter fit. Step tracking was on par with both the Watch Ultra and the Galaxy S25 Ultra, with only minor discrepancies.
Sleep tracking was excellent and notably more comfortable than wearing a smartwatch to bed. I couldn’t test menstrual tracking personally, and the review unit was too large for my wife to try.
One standout feature was gesture support — incredibly useful during festive gatherings, allowing me to snap photos remotely without needing the now-retired Bluetooth S Pen. The Galaxy Ring acts as a remote trigger for the camera, which is surprisingly handy.
The Find My Ring feature helps locate a lost ring, but the lack of UWB and built-in speakers makes it hard to find if dropped. The LED used to indicate location just isn’t bright enough. Hopefully, future models will address this with better tech and longer-lasting batteries, perhaps with solid-state battery tech.
In terms of battery life, the Galaxy Ring needed charging only once during the review period. On average, I got 5 to 6 days of use, far better than the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which needs charging every three days.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is a first-gen product that gets a lot right. It delivers excellent battery life, robust health tracking, durable build, and daily comfort — solving many of the pain points I had with smartwatches. But it also comes with trade-offs: fewer sensors, no display, and a high price tag.
At RM2099, it’s more expensive than the Galaxy Watch7, which starts at RM1049 and offers more features — from ECG and blood pressure monitoring to full notifications and call support.
Still, the Galaxy Ring is a niche product, and for those who don’t like wearing watches or want something subtle and minimal, it’s the best option yet. For everyone else, the Galaxy Watch7 remains the more practical and affordable pick.