Samsung has fully entered into a new wearable categorythe one with the intelligent rings, where, for the moment, only Oura was. The premise is simple, for all those who do not like to wear a smart watch, or do not find it comfortable at bedtime, but want to record certain health parameters discreetly, the Samsung Ring is a good alternative.
Made of anti-scratch titanium, we can find it in three colors, gold, silver and black, It is extremely light and waterproof. Inside, it houses three sensors, one for skin temperature, an accelerometer and the heart biosensor. With them, the Samsung Ring is capable of measuring blood oxygen, sleep quality, pulse, blood temperature and steps surprisingly effectively, at the same level as any smart watch.
But loses many of the functionalities of a smart watchthe main reason is because it does not have a screen or haptic response, that is, it does not vibrate or play any sound, and it depends 100% on the phone to record outdoor sports since it does not have GPS, so it does not know the speed or distance data when recording an exercise. In theory, activities should be detected automatically, although we haven’t been able to get it to work.
Only for the Samsung ecosystem
Otherwise, in tests, the data, compared to other smart watches, is quite accurate. The most disparate is sleep, while it will perfectly record if you fall asleep on a plane or bus, will have difficulty with short naps. The negative point is that we cannot use the ring outside of the Samsung ecosystem, that is, if we want to use it together with a Garmin bike computer, it is impossible.
As for its use, it is an extremely easy device to wear, even when doing sports, we have tested it running, swimming and cycling, and you practically forget you’re wearing it. It is designed to be worn on the index finger of the left hand, but it can be worn on any finger, although we would lose the possibility of controlling the phone with the ring, since by bringing the thumb and index finger together we can execute actions on the phone, such as for example, to take a photo or turn off the alarm.
We’ve tested it running, swimming and cycling, and you practically forget you’re wearing it.
The point that has surprised us the most is the battery life, accustomed to watches not lasting more than a day, the Samsung Ring lasts up to a week, even recording a daily sports activity. Samsung has included a case where you can charge the ring comfortably and which prolongs its autonomy. If we combine it with a Samsung Watch, the battery will be extended.
Charging case
The ring syncs with Samsung’s Wear and Health app, where we can find a daily energy score calculated from hours of sleep, stress and exercise. But it does not work with iOS, so, for now, it is limited to use on Android.
In short, if the smart watch does not convince you, or you want to continue collecting information about your health with a lighter and more discreet device, this is your product, it is comfortable and has great autonomy, it has convinced us.
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