Samsung recently unveiled more than seven new, sleekly designed devices, all brimming with cool AI features, at the massive "Carrousel" hall next to the Louvre Museum in Paris. Among the lineup were two foldable smartphones, two watches, and two pairs of earbuds.
However, the true "wow" factor that tech enthusiasts have been yearning for, perhaps since the launch of the iPhone, was delivered by just one device: a smart ring. Yes, a ring worn on the finger that uses tiny sensors to "spy" on physical processes within a person's cardiovascular system.
The timing and location—Paris on the eve of the Olympics—are perfect, creating an excellent associative link between technology and sports. Estimates suggest that Samsung paid between $600 and $700 million to the Olympic Committee for its sponsorship of the games. The company will supply organizers and athletes with smartphones, tablets, laptops, LED screens, and more.
The newly launched foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 6, even has an Olympic edition that will be distributed to all competitors. During the unusual opening ceremony of the Olympics, which will also take place on the Seine River, over 200 Galaxy Ultra smartphones (launched earlier this year) will be installed on 85 boats carrying the athletes, with broadcasts transmitted to viewers at home via a unique 5G network set up by the European mobile provider Orange. The name of the game is marketing—and big money.
But let's get back to the main attraction—the ring. The Galaxy Ring, weighing only between 2.3 to 3 grams (depending on the size), with a thickness of 2.6 mm and a design reminiscent of a traditional wedding ring, is not just a jaw-dropping technological feat—it is a strategic move, a milestone in the history of wearable computing.
Should it succeed despite its high price (400 euros), it could become a "disruptive factor" for the entire industry, particularly affecting companies offering advanced equipment for basic medical measurements. The reputable tech magazine The Verge claimed yesterday that if it proves to have high accuracy, Samsung's ring could dominate the entire field, posing a significant threat to rival Apple.
Unlike a smartwatch, the Ring cannot make calls, display notifications, or stream music to earbuds. However, it can measure ECG and blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, and heart rate (including alerts for anomalies), monitor sleep status (including heart rate and respiration rate), and calculate menstrual cycles and fertile periods. It offers an excellent solution for those who need constant medical monitoring but do not like or cannot wear a smartwatch.
The ring is completely waterproof and, despite its ultra-small battery, offers a lifespan of 7 days between charges—longer than many smartwatches and fitness bands, mainly because it does not require a screen. Before use, it must be paired with a smartphone via Bluetooth, and initially, only with Android devices. Some new features will work only with Samsung devices.
The idea, explains Dr. Hoon Pak, Samsung's Vice President of Digital Health, is to expand the sensor system that gradually surrounds us all. The watch, the ring, the smartphone, and maybe even the refrigerator will all cooperate in the coming years to remind us of our poor health conditions. What tiny components are packed into the "Galaxy Ring"? Currently, an accelerometer, an optical heart rate sensor, and a skin temperature sensor. In time, even more advanced features will come into play, such as blood pressure monitoring (already available in watches), sleep apnea detection, and irregular heart rate alerts. These features, already integrated into Samsung's smartwatches, require a lengthy approval process from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
All the information gathered by the ring will be used to monitor our daily physical activity. It will be transmitted immediately, via Bluetooth, to Samsung's health tracking app on the mobile phone. A new software feature, My Vitality Score, developed in collaboration with Georgia University, will provide a score for our physical and mental condition based on the data aggregation.
A notable advantage of the ring over the smartwatch is in sleep monitoring: many people avoid wearing a watch at night, no matter how smart it is. The ring, on the other hand, is small and unnoticeable. In any case, according to Dr. Pak, cross-referencing data from the watch and the ring during sleep will provide especially accurate statistics. If you use both, the Samsung health app will choose which device to pull data from: if the signal from your watch is better than the signal from the ring, it will go with the data from the watch.
Samsung does not settle for health monitoring: already now, ring owners can, for example, take photos with their smartphone remotely or delete notifications from the smartphone using air gestures alone. There will also be a "lost mode" that will cause the ring to blink to make it easier to find. In the future, with a flick of a finger—or combinations of taps on the ring—you will be able to switch between music tracks on the smartphone, change the volume, and even accept and reject calls. Moreover, thanks to its wireless connectivity, the ring will also be able to turn lights on and off, operate the air conditioner, and connect to the TV. Thanks to its support for NFC and Samsung Wallet, you will also be able to pay with it in stores, just like with a smartphone.
Since the size of the ring—unlike all familiar electronic devices—depends on the size of the human finger, its purchase will be preceded by a necessary measurement stage using a special kit provided by Samsung: a box containing nine numbered plastic dummy rings for measurement, corresponding to the offered sizes. The company recommends wearing the test ring for 24 hours to find the best fit for the finger, even during sleep.
The Ring will come in three colors to choose from—black, silver, and gold. Those with wider fingers will benefit more—larger rings will allow more space for the battery, which is manufactured in three different capacities—17, 18.5, and 22 milliampere-hours. Charging the ring will, of course, be done wirelessly only, using a small, stylish case that resembles a jewelry box with a prominent circle in its center on which the ring is placed. Its back will connect to a C-USB charging cable. This will be the "mother base" where the device will be stored and charged.
The excitement generated by the small device is captivating: at Samsung's pre-event for journalists this week, a long line formed in front of the ring booth. Finally, something new.
Just as Apple invented the graphical interface, neither for computers nor for mobile phones, but appropriated them over time through technological genius and marketing power—Samsung also did not reinvent the wheel here, or rather the ring: the idea is far from original, but it is still the first international tech giant to adopt it on a large scale and bet on it using all its resources.
A series of companies have released various types of such rings to the market in recent years, and there is no doubt that Samsung's entry into the picture now will be a heavy blow for them. A partial list includes Evie, Ultra Human, Circular, Ringcom, Xiaomi (with the Mijia ring), and several other Chinese manufacturers that offer digital rings even on AliExpress or eBay. Another company, McLear RingPay, produces a ring mainly for payment purposes in stores: extend a finger, take the receipt, and go in peace. The Israeli company Nava also imports smart rings for various uses.
But the leading company in the field, the one that has gained the most experience and is likely to be severely affected by Samsung's move, is the Finnish company Oura. Oura, which currently controls 53% of the small global market for smart rings, launched its first ring in 2016 and has since released several generations, which have improved over time—with capabilities for blood oxygen monitoring, body temperature checking, heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring, and cycle predictions.
It has also been publicly endorsed by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Prince Harry, and Kim Kardashian. Its ring is cheaper than Samsung's, but its business model requires a subscription fee beyond its price, amounting to 6 dollars per month.
No one doubts that Oura was prepared for the ring launched two days ago and understands that Samsung's massive presence in the market will hit the market share it has accumulated so far. In recent months, it has become more aggressive and even started selling its rings through Amazon, a precedent-setting move for it.
Simultaneously, Oura is, of course, preparing for a legal battle drenched in dollars. This won't be its first battle. Throughout its existence, the Finnish company has specialized in filing high-profile patent lawsuits against companies that dared to manufacture any smart ring. Among the victims—Ultra Human, Circular, and Ringcom. Oura consistently and assertively claims ownership of key patents in the ring, including a patent on the very integration of the battery within it.
When the Galaxy Ring was first unveiled in January this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Oura's CEO, Tom Hale, declared that the company would closely monitor Samsung's development for any potential patent infringements. "We will take appropriate action," he said.
Meanwhile, in what seemed both a panicked and subtly threatening move, the company sent an urgent message to tech websites emphasizing that it "holds 100 approved patents, 270 pending patent applications, and 130 registered trademarks."
Samsung's lawyers, who have been closely watching this practice for years, were not intimidated. On the contrary, they decided to act preemptively, and on May 30, they filed a "preventive lawsuit" against Oura in the San Francisco District Court. The demand is for a declaratory judgment to prevent the Finnish company from filing a lawsuit and to establish that Samsung does not infringe on Oura’s patents.
Samsung claims that the features in question are not unique to Oura's rings and are common to almost all smart rings globally. "Oura's pattern of indiscriminate patent infringement accusations against every competitor in the smart ring market poses a real and immediate risk to Samsung," the lawsuit states.
Regardless, and despite projections that the smart ring market will grow by 29% to $1.1 billion by 2028, Samsung is approaching the new project cautiously. Despite the enthusiastic responses this week, the company intends to launch the ring globally gradually and in stages.
According to the Korean site The Elec, at the time of the launch two days ago, the company had only 400,000 production units available for distribution—indicating one of three possibilities: fear of Oura, special complexity in manufacturing the tiny components for the device, or doubts about how the ring will be received in the market.
In any case, it will first be distributed in the U.S., South Korea, and a few European countries. A release date for Israel has not yet been set, but estimates and hopes suggest early 2025.
As usual, Apple is waiting on the sidelines, closely examining developments, according to Bloomberg and Forbes websites. Apple has been conducting secret experiments with its own smart ring since 2015. Like a patient tiger, it will hide in the bushes, poised and ready, until the right opportunity comes to pounce—and win the jackpot.
For Samsung, the bold move of launching the ring is comparable to another daring move it made in 2018 when it introduced the world’s first foldable smartphone. In both cases, it's a technological breakthrough in a market with uncertain reactions to the new development.
Even today, five years after launching its first foldable Fold, foldable smartphones (from all companies) make up only 1.5% of the market, and the most optimistic forecasts predict a "jump" to 5% by 2028. Nevertheless, Samsung is very proud of these devices, which showcase its capabilities, even if they represent only a small fraction of its revenue. Among the foldables on the market—including devices from Motorola, Huawei, Oppo, and others that followed after Samsung's pioneering plunge—it currently holds a market share of more than 50%.
These foldables initially suffered from early-stage issues. The new versions presented this week show Samsung is not giving up, its eyes fixed on the future. it is already managing to match its basic features to those of its flagship S series and better utilize its folding capabilities. For example, in the cool "interpreter" feature—which offers real-time translation of a conversation between two people speaking different languages—the live translation appears on the (folded) screen in front of the conversation partner during a face-to-face conversation.
Nonetheless, despite the innovations in the new foldable models, Samsung's second most important innovation this week is the "Galaxy Watch Ultra"—a professional, rugged, and highly durable smartwatch designed to compete with Apple’s massive and popular Apple Watch Ultra, but at $150 less. And it indeed matches up: a super-durable titanium metal case, extreme weather resistance, a screen with insane brightness, and water resistance up to 328 feet.
For the first time, it will also alert users to sleep apnea—a life-saving feature that will be available in Israel starting in early 2025, after completing the approval process with the Ministry of Health. Alerts for irregular heart rhythms (IHRN) will be available in Israel starting August 21.
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2024-07-14 19:03:16Z
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