One of the biggest new releases from Samsung this year is the Galaxy Ring. Not only is the Galaxy Ring a brand new product for the company, but it also makes Samsung the first smartphone brand to enter the smart ring market, which has been dominated by smaller companies like Oura until now.
The Galaxy Ring is a super compact wearable that you put on your finger. While you’re wearing it, it tracks your health data like heart rate and sleep, and it also uses AI algorithms to give you things like an energy score and a sleep score.
You don’t necessarily need a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to use the Galaxy Ring, as it works with any Android phone with Samsung Health installed. But if you’re using an iPhone? Well, you’re completely out of luck then, as the Galaxy Ring simply isn’t iOS-compatible. And if you ask me, that’s the Galaxy Ring’s biggest flaw.
Smart rings should be accessible to everyone
I primarily use an iPhone 15 Pro, and for the past few years I’ve also been using an Oura Ring (I also spent some time with the Evie Ring). Beyond those two options, the world of smart rings also includes the Circular Ring Slim, Ultrahuman Ring Air, RingConn Smart Ring, and more.
With the exception of the Evie Ring, all the rings I mentioned work on both iOS and Android. And even in the case of the Evie Ring, it’s confirmed that an Android app is coming later.
The problem with the Galaxy Ring is that Samsung apparently has no plans to make it compatible with iOS. I wonder why not?
A smart ring is a wearable without a screen. So unlike a smartwatch, it doesn’t run software like the Galaxy Watch 7 runs Wear OS. It makes sense that Samsung and Apple would only make their smartwatches compatible with their respective platforms, but smart rings? Those simply use a Bluetooth connection to pair with your phone — there’s no proprietary software involved in the ring itself.
A change and a mistake
By arbitrarily excluding iPhone users, Samsung is also excluding half of the Galaxy Ring’s potential customer base. Again, I’ve been using the Oura Ring for a few years now, and I’d love to give the Galaxy Ring a try. But the lack of iOS compatibility makes it a lot less appealing, so I have no choice but to stick with Oura.
Although it’s probably easier said than done, I wonder what’s going on. Real Stop Samsung from making a Samsung Health app for iOS? After all, Google’s Fitbit app is still available in the App Store, meaning wearables like the Fitbit Charge 6 work seamlessly with both iOS and Android. It makes sense that a Galaxy Watch Ultra wouldn’t work with an iPhone, but the Galaxy Ring? I don’t think so. Plus, if an iPhone user liked the Galaxy Ring enough, they might eventually try other Samsung products and maybe even upgrade to a Samsung phone, smartwatch, etc.
Not giving iPhone users the ability to try the Galaxy Ring without an Android phone just misses the mark for me. This could have been an opportunity to convince iPhone users that the grass can be greener, but unfortunately it isn’t.
Of course, if Apple were to ever make an Apple Ring, I doubt Apple would make it available for Android users to try. After all, Apple and Samsung have their own loyal user bases within their respective walled gardens and ecosystems at this point.
When we are faced with such closed ecosystems, where even accessories like a smart ring only work on a specific platform, consumers become victims.
