What do we learn from the Galaxy Ring, the Smartphone, and the future of wearable technology: a roundtable discussion with Dr. Pak
Dr. Pak describes it a little more eloquently than that, but basically envisions a holistic system that supports individual health goals rather than a single gadget bombarding users with contextless data. It appears to be reasonable, even. But first? This ring needs to be perfect.
Dr. Khan referred to the new Wearable as a step forward in building out a larger system of ambient sensor, which would provide Connected care centered around the home. Rather than relying on a single device and having to charge it frequently, ambient sensor is gathered data from different places to remove friction. Your ring, your watch, who knows, your refrigerator — all working in harmony to remind you the last time you ate a vegetable was four days ago and maybe that’s why you feel disgusting.
As a standalone device though, Pak says people will be “pleased” at the launch features of the Galaxy Ring, but it seems to focus more on sleep and health insights than fitness. For starters, there will not be any support for auto-workout detection at launch—a common feature on Samsung’s smartwatches, and a capability available on the popular Oura Ring.
The Galaxy Ring prototypes I was able to try out were presented in three colors: platinum silver, ceramic black, and gold. I wasn’t allowed to take any photos during that session, but gold looked right at home next to my wedding ring. The Galaxy Ring is lighter than it looks and doesn’t feel as dense as I thought it would. It has a slightly concave shape, and each color was offered in sizes from 5 to 13, which is a slightly wider range of options than usual, with sizes marked as S through XL on the inside of the band.
Last month, Samsung made a surprise announcement after it showed off its new phone series. It had very little information about the smart ring except that it would be released later this year. Well, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the company held a roundtable to share a few more details about its newest product category. So far, here’s what we know.
The Ring is not a replacement for the company’s own series of watches. According to Hon Kim, vice president of the Digital Health Team, people will be able to wear two watches at the same time and get richer health data.
For one example, Samsung says it detected that the performance of tracking sleep stages improves when someone wears both at the same time to bed. Pak claims there will be other features that improve when you have both devices.
Fertility tracking will be part of it. Period tracking and prediction is one of the features of the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Ring, and was announced a year ago.
