Samsung's Galaxy Ring 2 at Unpacked? What we know and features I'm hoping for

The hottest trend in the wearables market is smart rings, health trackers worn discreetly around your finger. Although Samsung just unveiled its take on the trend  — the Galaxy Ring — this past July, a successor may be announced at the company’s Unpacked event on Wednesday, Jan. 22. 

A report from DigiTimes reveals that the Galaxy Ring 2 will be launched at Samsung Unpacked 2025, the company’s annual hardware launch event. Building on its predecessor, the second-generation ring will feature an improved battery life of up to seven days, more accurate health data sensors, two new sizes, and improved AI, according to the report. 

Also: Why Oura Ring 4 is ZDNET’s product of the year

These upgrades are set to improve the Galaxy Ring’s position as an Oura Ring competitor, which has dominated the smart ring market since its launch in 2015. 

Alongside more sizes, longer battery, and more accurate health data capture, there are a few other new features I’d like to see in the second-gen smart ring for it to compete with the Oura Ring 4. 

NFC payment functionality 

The Samsung Galaxy Watch already has a near-field communication payment functionality that enables users to tap their smartwatch like a credit card to pay. While we haven’t seen major smart ring brands roll out an NFC functionality with their rings, such technology exists in one smart ring brand overseas. The European brand Mclear offers a smart ring whose primary function is NFC payments. 

Now could be the time for Samsung to add NFC payments, alongside Samsung and Google Pay compatibility, to its smart ring for an extra layer of convenience and a unique (for now) feature competitors like Oura and Ultrahuman don’t have. 

Also: How to use Google Wallet — and why you should

Sleep apnea detection

Last February, Samsung gained FDA clearance for its sleep apnea detection. Unfortunately, that clearance only applied to its smartwatches, so the Galaxy Ring missed the cut. 

Wearables track sleep apnea, an often undiagnosed and untreated condition, by monitoring a user’s blood oxygen levels during periods of rest. Sleep apnea detection is one of those features smart rings and smartwatches do well — and it’s a major reason why people who snore in their sleep buy such technology. For these reasons, the second-gen smart ring could benefit from more refined sleep apnea detection integration, and its ring wearers could gain more clarity and insight into their breathing patterns during rest. 

Also: The best sleep headphones of 2025: Expert tested

Digital sizing

I can’t stop thinking about Circular’s digital sizing feature unveiled during CES earlier this month. Instead of sending along a sizing kit to prospective ring wearers who size themselves before picking and receiving their own ring, Circular’s digital sizing uses a smartphone camera to determine the size of your smart ring. It’s like your phone’s ruler application that can measure the length of something by using the phone’s camera. 

This digital sizing eliminates the extra step it takes to get the smart ring from the manufacturer into the hands of the owner — and I couldn’t be more for it. If Samsung wants to be in lockstep with competitors, it will take some notes from Circular and implement such a sizing process into its own smart ring. 

Also: Circular’s digital sizing may have solved smart rings’ biggest pain point 

iOS compatibility

This probably will never happen, but can’t a girl dream? For now, the smart ring is only usable for Android phone owners, so iPhone owners are missing out. But what if the smart ring was iOS compatible…?

Despite the shortcomings of the first-generation Samsung ring, ZDNET crowned it the best smart ring for Android users, with nods to its unique AI algorithms that help determine sleep quality and patterns and its seamless integration with the rest of the Samsung ecosystem. 

Even if Samsung does tease the second-generation smart ring at Unpacked, it likely won’t ship for months, following the precedent of the Galaxy Ring, which was teased last January and launched the following summer. 

Also: The upcoming Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses may feature the display upgrade we’ve been hoping for

In addition to the smart ring, if Samsung follows precedent, the company also may launch a new set of Galaxy smartphones, likely the S25 series. However, the other most highly anticipated product will be the company’s first smart glasses. 

As previously reported, these AR glasses will likely weigh about 50 grams, keep the form factor of regular glasses, and are intended to rival the popular Meta Ray-Bans. If announced, these glasses will also likely only be teased, with the full launch at a later date.