We've entered the era of the smart ring. Here's why it will shake up the wearables market

Samsung took the smart ring space to new heights when it unveiled its first-ever Galaxy Ring at its Galaxy Unpacked July 2024 event in Paris. The smart ring promises health and sleep-tracking features that can record your activities throughout the day and your slumber at night to get a holistic picture of your health. 

Also: Samsung Galaxy Ring hands-on: Why I’d ditch my Oura for this competing wearable

Smart rings aren’t a novel bit of technology, but before the Galaxy Ring’s debut, they were niche. In fact, they were niche enough for me to use the smart rings I test as an easy conversation topic at any party. When acquaintances see the Oura Ring glowing green around my index finger, they are confused and intrigued. It’s still a product I’ve had to explain to my 20-something-year-old friends — the same so-called early adopters of cutting-edge tech.

After the Galaxy Ring’s debut, I have a feeling I won’t have to explain smart rings as much. These wearables are about to become much more mainstream, or, as a Samsung spokesperson said at the Unpacked event, “set a new standard for wearable health.” By 2032, the smart ring market is expected to grow to over $1 billion, according to a recent DataHorizzon Research report.  

Also: How we test smart rings

Ditch the smartwatches and fitness bands: Smart rings are about to be the tech world’s hottest new accessory, and I couldn’t be more excited. Here’s why.

The past decade was marked by smartwatches with flashy — literally — screens that became extensions of our smartphones. As our smartphones became ubiquitous for everything from calling a car and renting a vacation place to meeting romantic interests and mobilizing for political protests, our smartwatch acted as the smartphone’s secretary.

The smartwatch answers phone calls (not as well as your smartphone, as every call to my mom, who regularly picks up my calls using her Apple Watch, reminds me), offers a mediocre format for other communications (like texting), wakes you up in the morning, takes your heart rate and body temperature, and generally helps out when your phone isn’t within reach — or supplements it with biometric collection a phone can’t record.

Also: The best smart rings you can buy

As screens monopolized our phones, wrists, fridges, cars, and more, however, people started getting screen time overload. The pendulum is swinging back: people still want this technology — the body temperature checks, sleep scores, and heart rate records — but they don’t want another screen to view it all on. We have enough already! Wearables used to be all-encompassing, but the recent trend towards smart rings, a more discreet, single-use piece of tech, proves otherwise. People want one device that does one function exceptionally well.

“There’s merit behind the idea of a device that primarily functions as a standalone health tracker, unlike today’s smartwatches, which can do everything from track your heart rate to serving as a miniature phone or a digital car key,” CNET’s Lisa Eadicicco writes.

Oh, and another advantage of a screen-less, one-purpose wearable? You can get a week-long battery life, compared to a smartwatch’s days-long battery capacity.

The benefits of a single-purpose product are one reason to get excited about smart rings. Another lies in the mainstream adoption of this tech. Rumor has it that Apple has flirted with a smart ring of its own, and so has Google-owned Fitbit.

Samsung’s foray into smart rings will only open up the playing field to more companies seeking to throw their ring into the ring, ratcheting up the competition. For example, Samsung’s Galaxy Ring has already shaken up the smart ring space, specifically through its subscription-free model, which challenges smart ring industry mainstay Oura and its $6-per-month subscription that is required even after you pay $300 for the device. The Oura Ring is considered the best smart ring, but owners have a common complaint: the perpetual subscription you have to pay to access your biometric data.

Also: Samsung’s $399 doesn’t require a subscription. Oura, take note

I called Samsung’s subscription-free move a “welcome development for customers already forking over $200 or more for a smart ring.” For its part, Oura says that its subscription model allows for continual investments in research and new features, but if enough competing brands come out with subscription-free rings, Oura may have to change its model. Competition is usually advantageous to customers, and the smart ring space is about to get seriously competitive.

The last reason I’m ready to see smart rings on everybody’s finger is a bit more superficial. Smartwatches, in my opinion, are ugly. They are loud and their bands clash with most outfits. Unless you invest in a wide variety of watch bands that coordinate with each outfit you wear, the smartwatch sticks out. They’re also bulky.

Smart rings, on the other hand, blend in. Sure, you might have to worry about clashing gold and silver, but that’s steps better than a honking watch with a noisy neon silicone band. The discreet build of a smart ring also makes way for an unobtrusive wearable that can blend in with the other jewelry and accessories you wear.

We’re witnessing a pivotal moment in the smart ring space, and even though smart rings are a budding market, I’m confident that this will be the last year they’re considered niche.

I better make as much party small talk as I can while my friends are still unfamiliar. Come next year, who knows what funky wearable I’ll be talking about. Brain chips, anyone?