What you need to know
- Samsung is reportedly developing its own smart ring.
- The tech giant is said to be in partnership with a number of firms to build an Oura Ring competitor that tracks your activities and health.
- Samsung has also apparently applied for a smart ring patent with the USPTO last year.
Samsung seems to be setting its sights on a market currently dominated by Oura. The South Korean tech giant is reportedly developing a smart ring that can track your activities and health.
The latest leak comes from Korean publication Naver, which claims that Samsung applied for a smart ring patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October last year (via SamMobile). Samsung's own version will apparently include key health-tracking features commonly found on many of the best smart rings, such as the Oura Ring (Gen 3).
According to the patent document, the company will outfit the ring with an optical blood flow measurement sensor as well as an electrocardiogram for measuring heart rate and blood pressure. It will also presumably be capable of controlling other devices such as laptops, smartphones, and televisions, which could set it apart from the competition.
Other than those leaked details, information about the Samsung smart ring is slim at the moment. We've reached out to Samsung for comment and will update this article once we hear back.
For people who only want to monitor their health metrics, smart rings provide a better alternative to the best Android smartwatches for a couple of reasons. For one thing, smart rings use less energy because they don't have a screen, allowing them to be used for longer periods of time away from a charger. Smart rings also provide more accurate readings than smartwatches or fitness bands because they are in closer contact with the body.
The smart ring market is pretty much nascent at this point, with only a handful of players including Oura and a few others. That said, it's predicted to grow in the coming years, and Samsung's early involvement in this segment is a step in the right direction.
The wearable device is said to be in the early stages of development, so it's unlikely we'll hear anything from Samsung anytime soon.
