During the Samsung Unpacked 2024 event, three Samsung Galaxy S24 models were launched. Along with it was the announcement of the presence of the Galaxy Ring, which is a smart ring that focuses on fitness. The smart ring market is nothing new as it has been around for years. It's just that it hasn't been widespread enough and with Samsung being the big manufacturer, can smart rings change the wearables market?
In Malaysia, smart rings are not very popular because brands such as Amovan Smart Ring, Ultrahuman Ring Air, Cicular, RingConn or Oura Ring are not officially sold here. What is offered is a smart ring with a tasbih feature and find the Qibla direction that can be purchased at a price of around RM100-300. This means that for Malaysians the smart ring is not for physical health but rather for spiritual health.
The selling price of this fitness-focused branded smart ring can reach up to more than RM2000. It's not cheap because good build materials, important components and electricals need to fit in a small size and it needs to be durable. If the price has reached more than RM1000, people will question why buy a ring when they can buy a smart watch that is cheaper or the same price?
If a smart ring wants to revolutionize the wearables industry, it needs to be like a smartwatch. Use and services should not depend on paid subscriptions like Oura or Ringconn do. Users are free to use all features and functions without hindrance. If you still want to offer a subscription, the selling price should be affordable and only select features that are quite niche are only activated through subscription.
Manufacturers of smart rings should learn from the automotive industry that introduced subscriptions to access additional features such as heated seats and additional performance. Customers gave negative feedback and managed to force BWM to cancel this ill-advised subscription last year.
Universal Design For All
Based on my observations, most smart ring designs are too masculine or ring themed which I think is suitable for men. This is probably because the design is thick and most women's rings use a thin design. A large selection of sizes and design variations should be offered because otherwise it is not enough to attract attention.
If not many sizes are offered, it is difficult for Muslim male users to use it. From what I understand so far, most smart rings must be worn on the index or middle finger with the option of the ring finger usually having a limited size. In Islam, a man should avoid wearing a ring on his index finger and middle finger as stated by the narration of Muslim, `Ali bin Abi Talib RA;
نَهَانِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ اَتَخَتَّمَ فِي إِْسَبَعِي هَذِهِ أَوْ هَذِهِ. فَاوْمَاَ إِلَى الْوُسْتَى وَالَّتِي تَلِيهَا
Meaning: Rasulullah SAW prevented me from wearing a ring on this finger and this (while pointing to the middle finger and after that the index finger) - Muslim Narration (2078).
Going back to the price earlier, if the Samsung Galaxy Ring wants to dominate the smart ring market - the selling price should be cheaper than the Galaxy Watch6. As a person who wears rings, the most reasonable price if I want to buy a smart ring is around RM500 which is the price of Chinese smart watches such as Redmi Watch 4 or Amazfit Active Edge.
If given the chance, I might try to wear a smart ring instead of the "dumb ring" that I've been wearing for almost two years. I'm very curious how the sensor in the ring performs compared to my smartwatch. What is your opinion? If the Samsung Galaxy Ring is sold at a price of around RM500, there are many options of sizes and designs and there is no subscription in my opinion it has the potential to be a champion in this new wearable device market.