It seems logical to think that, after activity bracelets, the next step was “smart” rings. It is a logical step for wearables because it is a small device and that may be more comfortable to wear than bracelets.
At the moment we have a lot of intentions from various brands, but only Oura has taken the plunge with a useful commercial device, the Our Ring Gen 3. Now, Samsung wants to be one of the first to get on the train and has just file the patent for its smart ring, the Galaxy Ring.
One Samsung Ring to rule them all
The story of Samsung’s smart ring is not new. At the end of 2022, rumors began about the development of a smart ring by the South Koreans. The idea was to compete against the king of this small corral, Ring 3 of Oura, but there was nothing official and in the recent Unpacked in which we met the Galaxy S23 we had no news about this.
Now, as we can see in 9to5GoogleSamsung has filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark office –USPTO– which makes it clear that, at least, the intention to develop a device of this style is there.
According to the patent, Samsung’s ring would have an optical sensor that would allow measuring the heart rate and, in addition, would be able to perform electrocardiograms. This is something we’ve seen in recent watches from the company, such as the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
It could also give an estimate of sleep and general fitness, but it seems that Samsung would also be interested in providing interconnectivity to this device. It is the famous ‘ecosystem’ that Samsung is promoting and of which we have seen recent examples, such as the possibility of controlling the mobile from the company laptops or being able to move files by dragging them from the mobile to the PC screen.
And it is that, in the document we can see that Samsung would be interested in including cross-functions with televisions, portable or mobile. There are no details on this, it’s just a patent, but we can imagine a gyroscope/accelerometer that allows us to control the TV with gestures, along with Minority Report.
One advantage that Samsung would have in this area is its own name. The brand inspires confidence and it is evident that a device as striking as a ‘smart ring’ with the Samsung seal would not go unnoticed, but as always happens with these things, That they have patented it does not mean that they are going to launch itit may simply be a way to protect intellectual property.
A clear advantage of these devices is the size.
As a curiosity, this type of ring can be very important in the face of health care. At CES 2022 we saw some examples, being the Movano Ring one of the most striking.
In addition to its design, the device stood out for being able to cross data (heart rate, heart rate, sleep, temperature, blood oxygen or respiratory rate) to find patterns that can lead to chronic diseases.
Now, the problem is the medical validity of these data, something that has to be approved by the agencies of each of the countries.
Image | oura ring