Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring in July 2024 and there was a lot of excitement surrounding its launch. The world’s largest Android manufacturer had reached a stage that Oura had spent years building on its own, and it had arrived with sophisticated hardware, a no-subscription pricing model, and a global distribution network that a small person like Oura could only dream of.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
There was a feeling that this section was going to be the best. Samsung’s ecosystem had enough traction to entice customers to buy their first smart ring. It should have been enough to force people who had never bought it before to take the plunge.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The initial hype died down and Samsung hasn’t done much since pushing the device. It’s been almost two years since Samsung introduced its first smart ring. The company has not said anything about the launch of the new model, but earlier this week, Oura launched the Ring 5.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Oura has made some big changes to its latest outfit. It’s so small, the company actually calls it the world’s smallest smart ring. It even takes on new features such as blood pressure trend monitoring and live activity tracking. There are additional capabilities, such as GLP-1 Insights and Health Records, that associate with healthcare providers and bring users’ medications, diagnoses, and lab results to the Oura app.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
At $399, the Ring 5 costs $50 more than its predecessor, while the subscription model remains unchanged at $5.99 per month. Compared to Samsung, the subscription model has been Oura’s biggest weakness, but the problem is that Samsung can only use the competitive advantage when it has a product in the market to buy.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It is very clear that there will be no Galaxy Ring 2 in 2026. Recent reports have suggested that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Ring 2 in early 2027, but nothing concrete has been forthcoming. \n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
By the time Samsung arrives with the next Ring, Oura will have had the Ring 5 on the market for the better part of a year, accumulating data, user feedback, and software iterations that add up to an advantage Samsung can’t close overnight.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
There is no love lost between Oura and Samsung. The two companies have filed patent infringement claims against each other, and while Oura would like to see injunction action against Samsung, the threat of that alone won’t stop the Korean giant from bringing a new smart ring to market.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It is very likely that Samsung will use a wait and see method to get a smart ring. The first attempt never got off the shelves, and Samsung didn’t do much to encourage sales by offering significant discounts or promotions. Some reports have suggested that sales of the Galaxy Ring have been sluggish after the initial launch period and there doesn’t seem to be anything on the cards to revive interest.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Samsung had a lot of work to do when it entered this stage. It had confidence in the hardware, sales and distribution scale. So while none of this was a limitation, it was the consumer that wasn’t accepting the product the way Samsung thought it would.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On the other hand, Oura enjoys the advantage of being in this market for a long time. It probably has an existing customer base, and the fact that it also supports iPhones no doubt works in its favor, since Apple doesn’t make smart rings yet.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
So while Samsung seems content to sit on the sidelines, Oura shows real progress. The work we’ve done to reduce the size of the ring while improving its capabilities will go unnoticed by consumers. They will notice that the Oura is developing in a way that Samsung has released for a while.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Samsung definitely needs to come out swinging with the Galaxy Ring 2, whenever it launches. Early reports suggest that the next smart ring will improve health and fitness tracking, convenience, and battery life. It may also improve sleep analysis and cardiovascular health monitoring.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Those are worthy priorities as they address some of the criticisms that have dogged the original Galaxy Ring since its launch. However, Oura customers, who Samsung wanted to bring when the first smart ring was launched, will not wait. They now have a device within easy reach when the Ring 5 arrives early next month and so there’s no real reason to wait until early 2027.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
One can only hope that the Galaxy Ring doesn’t end up being one of Samsung’s pet designs that seems to fall out of favor with the company after a few years. The smart ring market is likely to grow in the coming years, and Samsung has a lot to offer users as its comprehensive AI-connected health system is becoming one of the best solutions on the market.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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