The Samsung Galaxy RingAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
Samsung had the chance to change its strategy with theGalaxy Ringand introduce a subscription model for its app , something ithas discussed doing in the past . For now , though , it has chosen to keep access and datum devoid , just like it is with the Galaxy Watch range .
This is a far big business deal than you may initially think , and it has the potentiality to change the agency health and physical fitness brands view subscription model in the time to come .
Subscription fever
The Samsung Galaxy Ring uses the Samsung Health app to transmit with your headphone , and the company has made it very clearthat it will be free to expend and that no subscription will be take to unlock lineament or data . This is different from Oura ’s scheme with theOura Ring , where it charges $ 6 per month to get at the data . If you do n’t pay , functionality is reduced to viewing three basic number : your Sleep Score , Readiness , and Activity .
While it ’s not the only smart ring alternative to the Galaxy Ring , the Oura Ring is by far thebestalternative . While theRingConn Smart Ringis a seemly base runner - up , the app does n’t provide the same stage of information perceptiveness or complexness as the Oura Ring , but it is entirely devoid to expend after you ’ve make up for the ring itself . rotary , Divine of theRing Slim , is n’t forthcoming about whether a subscription fee will be preface for its app and feature article or not , and such indecision , along with the shortcomings of the intersection , make it a piteous choice .
What if you opt a smartwatch alternatively ? Like Samsung , Apple does not charge a subscription to its health and fitness apps for theApple Watch , but Google further you to pay $ 10 per month for Fitbit Premium ’s in - profoundness data and a few additional features . This apply to theGoogle Pixel Watch 2 , theFitbit Charge 6 , and most other Fitbit clothing . At almost every turn outside of Apple and Samsung , the potential difference to pay monthly to see your wellness and fitness data is commonly there .
Samsung had no choice
Samsung is n’t being charitable , as it was faced with minuscule choice but to make the Galaxy Ring free to habituate after purchase . It ca n’t risk being forgotten if ( when?)Apple releases a wise ring , as Apple has never suggest at a subscription model for its health program . Plus , it must compete with the Oura Ring — the most successful and currently well - know wise ring — like a shot . charge for datum access would be a significant barrier against wider adoption of its first smart ring .
What ’s more , it has made the wise decision to introduce a range of new features instead of either leaving the app untasted or , worse , strip back functionality . The Galaxy Ring has an Energy Score rating that takes your bodily function , nap , and heart charge per unit datum and packages it into a individual image to show daily consideration . Galaxy AI powers the other new characteristic , scream Wellness Tips , which can be tailored to aid you make out system of weights , increase your fitness , or sleep better .
Conversely , you need Fitbit Premium to unlock a daily zeal score , and you need to give Oura ’s subscription to get details about its Readiness Score , otherwise all you see is the figure of speech itself . Fitbit ’s Wellness Report , where you get perceptivity into how your condition is affecting your body , is also a Premium feature article .
The Galaxy Ring is expensive to buy at $ 399 , but you are n’t lose out on features , and you do n’t have to budget for possession over prison term either . It ’s immediately obvious that it ’s a skilful note value , and that realization quickly offsets the high initial price .
The competition should be worried
Alarm bells should now be ringing through Oura ’s and Fitbit ’s offices . I’ve tried the Samsung Galaxy Ringon and the computer hardware is first-class , plus the overall display is more attractive and desirable than that of the Oura Ring . It ’s also immensely more convenient to wear a impudent ring than it is to wear a smartwatch or a seaworthiness band , especially if you ’re not a hardcore sports fanatic . Now impart in a completely complimentary app experience , which includes feature that cost spare to access on other machine , plus a globally recognized and admire brand name , and the Samsung Galaxy Ring should have other make quaking in their bang .
Oura has been good at adding features to its app over the preceding year , but the fact remains that it costs money to utilise the ring over clock time . There ’s a cheaper alternative for the computer hardware , which can negate some of the supernumerary price compared to the Galaxy Ring for the first year , but the Samsung saucy ring looks and palpate more modern , plus it ’s lighter , too . A Fitbit product will tag more physical exercise , and you do n’t have to pay off for Premium , but none of the equipment are anywhere well-nigh as stylish as the Galaxy Ring . If all you do is base on balls , cycles/second , or run at a casual level , a Fitbit may be overkill anyway .
What ’s more , if your life-style or fitness goals commute or the Galaxy Ring does n’t exactly fit with your evolving need , the Galaxy Watch mountain range does everything else you could want from a fitness - tracking , app , and notification viewpoint . Plus , if you opt the latestGalaxy Watch 7 , it ’ll work nicely with the Galaxy Ring and extend its battery life . Finally , and perhaps most importantly , does anyone really want to add together another subscription to what is probable an already - too - long leaning if presented with a choice ?
Subscriptions could change — or even disappear
No , of class no one wants to compensate for a subscription . Until now , the Oura Ring was really the only reasonable smart ring purchase , and paying monthly for it was the only choice if you need to own one . While I ’m not going to relegate the Oura Ring to secondly unspoilt until I ’ve seek the Galaxy Ring for a few hebdomad , Oura really needs to canvass an alternative to its subscription - only manikin .
Whether it ups the cost of the hardware or kick the bucket down the Fitbit Premium route of providing most feature article for costless , it does n’t weigh . It has to counter the onslaught from Samsung at a price level if it need to protect its future , and the same goes for Circular and its terrible electronic messaging around subscription costs in the future . Fitbit is unlikely to change and does n’t have a impertinent annulus of its own yet , which bring us to how Samsung may affect this still - raw ware type in the future .
The Galaxy Ring may very well bring more saucy rings from other brand to market as the general public starts to see the benefits of such a machine , and its commitment to a complimentary app and health information should make the companies responsible for for them seriously consider doing the same . Samsung has done the right thing with the Galaxy Ring and Samsung Health .
It ’s good news for us today and potentially in the future , too , but it ’s sorry intelligence for those capitalize on subscription example today unless they change their ways .
