Forget the Apple Watch Ultra 2! Who else is excited to put their finger in Samsung’s ring?

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked could have a surprise in store for us all, as rumors suggest the likelihood of the South Korean smart-tech giant preparing to reveal its ring live on stage for the world to see. The Samsung Galaxy Ring has rapidly spun from a recently unearthed patent into a potential spotlight stealer for Samsung’s upcoming event, and the mainstream interest in so-called smart rings has never been higher.

Wearables! They’re pretty fantastic. From smart glasses like the Viture One to the digital ticker that monitors your ticker that is the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the ankle bracelet I’ve acquired after too many anti-social behavioral orders, these Smart-tinged accessories lay upon your meager human form and bring you one step closer to the transhuman technological singularity. What’s that Satan, just sign here? Don’t mind if I do!

The Samsung Galaxy Ring: The fellowship of the smart ring

Never one to stagnate, Samsung is pretty well known for having its fingers in many pies. Not only does the brand have a stunning range of flagship smartphones on the way in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Series, but it also has two next-gen foldables in the works by way of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5, the upcoming Galaxy Tab S9 Series of Android tablets, the mighty Galaxy Book 3 Ultra laptop, and that’s without even mentioning its long-rumored AR/VR headset.

With everything Samsung has going on, it’s amazing they have time to work on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Series at all — let alone expand its wearable catalog with the inclusion of an all-new smart ring device. However, after the Korean website, The Elec, recently reported that Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is entering advanced development it’s all but guaranteed that the smart ring will appear sooner rather than later.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring: The true powers

So, what is the Samsung Galaxy Ring and what can it do? Officially, we’ll have to wait for Samsung to come out and tell us themselves, though smart rings typically follow the same formula as smart watches — monitoring health metrics while acting as small-scale smart devices to quickly access functions like managing emails, texts, and phone calls without having to pull out your phone.

However, unofficially there’s a lot to be gained from years of Samsung patent acquisitions pertaining to its smart ring ambitions. What started as a simple universal remote to control smart home devices has grown in scale to a fully-fledged smart device featuring photoplethysmography (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor to measure blood pressure and heart rate, AR/VR or XR compatibility, and smart home integration, all alongside the typical smart-features you’d expect.

If the final product follows suit, then the Samsung Galaxy Ring, or potentially the Samsung Galaxy Pulse, is rounding out to be an impressively capable device with a wide variety of use cases.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring: The return of the bling

Rumors of the Samsung Galaxy Ring may have piqued the interest of the mainstream, but they’ve been on both Samsung’s and Apple’s radars for some time. The patent P.I’s at Patently Mobile have even uprooted filings that showcase similar interest from Microsoft and Google. While that interest may have waned, Samsung and Apple are still invested.

Patents from both companies stretch as far back as October 2015 when an Apple patent was published that showcased a smart ring with touch-sensitive surfaces, gesture sensors, biometric sensors, a microphone for voice recognition, and even a camera. By December of the same year, Samsung responded with a published patent of its own showcasing its own smart ring and the potential for it to act as a smart home controller of sorts.

Since then both companies have sporadically chased patents around smart ring technology, though neither has followed through and put one into action — even in the face of similar products like the Oura Ring releasing with great aplomb, and favorable reviews. That is, until now.

We’ve seen a spate of new tech adopted by larger brands as of late with foldables, rollables, smartwatches, and AR/VR headsets more prevalent than ever. Could Samsung be spearheading the next tech trend? Is this the return of the bling?

Outlook

It’s always exciting when a brand releases an entirely new product, and from what we’ve gathered so far the Samsung Galaxy Ring is shaping up to be another phenomenal device from the South Korean brand.

Will we see it at this year’s Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event? It’s not beyond the realms of possibility if Samsung is already at the advanced stage of production, though with 2023 seeing Samsung face off against stiff competition from all angles, exposing its ring now could be a power move few will be able to argue against.

Make sure to catch the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event live as it happens on July 26, and keep your eyes peeled to Laptop Mag on Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard for the latest breaking news on all things Samsung and tech as it arrives.