When I brought it on vacation in late July, I hated it.
It offered little utility in my travels beyond tracking metrics I wasnt actively paying attention to during leisure time.
When I returned from traversing all over, I felt exhausted by the weight of the OnePlus Watch 2R.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring.© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
It was everything and too much at once, and Im not just talking about the jetlag.
I havent taken it off since.
Samsung did a great job with its first-generation smart ring.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
I no longer care about wearing a smartwatch, especially for daily maintenance exercise.
I washed my hands and dishes with it on.
I washed my face and my daughters face when she drew all over it.
© Florence Ion / GizmodoThe Galaxy Ring’s charging case is seriously cool. And yes, it does remind me, a woman, of a makeup compact.
Generally, I dont take off the ring except when doing my twice-daily cleansing and showering.
I even found a nice labradorite ring to wear on my right index finger to match it.
If you wanta smartring that blends with regular jewelry, go for the two metallic finishes.
© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The plain black one sometimes feels too gadgety when I wear it alongside my favorite big stone rings.
I imagine this is from all the laboring Ive done with the ring.
I expected some wear, but not this soon.
© Florence Ion / GizmodoSamsung Health accused me of drinking and eating too late. How rude!
At least its on the bottom, so its not as noticeable at first glance.
Dont Rush to Buy the Samsung Galaxy Ring
The charging case for the Galaxy Ring is certainly distinct.
At night, while youre sleeping, it tracks blood oxygen levels and variable temperature throughout the night.
It lets you know if you snored and how often you got up to use the bathroom.
Granted, its not the Galaxy Ring doing all of this.
Because its a ring, Im wearing it around the clock.
I realize I walk more than I think during a sedentary day in the office.
The Galaxy Ring is not a perfect end-all, be-all tracker.
The Galaxy Ring also isnt good at tracking niche workouts and activities.
If youre walking, hiking, or biking, those are all fine.
I usually get that kind of information from a smartwatch.
The other discrepancy is related to the Galaxy Ring tracking blood oxygen levels during sleep.
Youll also rely heavily on the phone for insights into your daily stats.
Its not a routine Im proud of, but Im reaching for that machine anyway to snooze the alarm.
Now, this app has gotten much more sophisticated since its early days.
Ive been using it to track my health data since 2019 I first adopted the Galaxy Fit smartwatch.
One thing Im not yet convinced that Samsung Health can do is coach me on developing better habits.
I got the compromised sleep notice a few times during the review period.
But there was nowhere to manually enter that data and factor it in with everything else.
Samsung Health is nice about guiding you when things are going well.
I was also periodically reminded that this kind of lifestyle helps stave off depression and anxiety.
Samsung Health will hopefully become more robust down the line.
At the very least, it doesnt cost anything for the stats it gives now.
But who knows what will be the case down the line?
By then, well hopefully have a smart ring that isnt wildly concerning when displaying blood oxygen levels.
I swear Im fine!
Youll have to choose which wellness suite to prioritize syncing with Google Fit, and the data wont correlate.
The only bummer is that those blood oxygen levels it reads out are seriously alarming.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
We still need to see it to believe it.
