What you need to know
- Samsung showed off its upcoming Galaxy Ring at MWC Barcelona, and Android Central got a close-up look at the device.
- At the event, Samsung's VP of Health, Hon Pak, spoke to media outlets about the smart ring's expected compatibility.
- Nothing is confirmed right now beyond Galaxy devices, but it looks like more Android phones will be supported. iPhones, however, are less likely to be supported.
Samsung has teased its upcoming wearable, the Galaxy Ring, since the Galaxy Unpacked event earlier this year. The company gave a closer look at the Galaxy Ring at MWC Barcelona this week and provided more information on the wearable. We're still a long way from an official Galaxy Ring launch, but we now have an idea of what devices the Galaxy Ring will work with.
CNET spoke with Hon Pak, who is Samsung's vice president of digital health, at MWC Barcelona. During that interview, Pak shared a few details about the company's goals for Galaxy Ring compatibility. Though Pak did not outright confirm anything, the comments reveal a bit about Samsung's planned direction for the Galaxy Ring.
Pak told CNET that Samsung is working on making the Galaxy Ring compatible with Android phones that aren't Galaxy devices. "That's where we are," Pak said. "And then beyond? I think it's TBD."
The comments from Samsung's digital health leader aren't a guarantee that non-Galaxy Android phones will support the Galaxy Ring. However, it seems far more likely that the Galaxy Ring will support other Android phones than iPhones.
"We recognize the iOS/Android challenge," said Pak. "We ultimately hope that our devices are of such caliber that people will be willing to switch."
Samsung's tone towards supporting iOS phones is much different from the company's approach to Android support. This partially makes sense because Samsung is the largest Android smartphone manufacturer. However, it faces deep competition in the global smartphone market from Apple with iOS devices.
It's unclear whether something like the Galaxy Ring would entice iOS users to switch. The Galaxy Ring might be more appealing to other Android users, particularly owners of Google Pixel phones since Google does not have a smart ring yet.
Android Central has reached out to Samsung about the Galaxy Ring's compatibility, and they did not get back to us in time for publication. We will update the article once we have more information.
