And now we’re hearing that both Samsung and Apple might be preparing to launch smart rings this year.
Two heavy hitters in the mobile tech world, with their own smartwatch products – the Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch – might be about to release products that directly compete?
Knowing Apple, that was hard for me to believe. The Apple Watch is not only the most popular smartwatch in the world, but the most popular watch in the world, period. Yet we can’t overlook the smart ring rumors and patents Apple has been filing for several years now. And Samsung… is already pretty much expected to unveil a Galaxy Ring in August.
And I’m here to tell you – I’m super happy about the smart ring becoming a mainstream thing, so we can finally choose between a smartwatch, and something more compact, less intrusive, and easier to wear, with stronger battery life…
Here’s why I believe you should be excited for the Galaxy Ring and Apple Ring, and why I’m hyped too…
I’ve become a watch collector, and everyone’s favorite Apple Watch doesn’t do it for me, at all
Apple Watch Ultra
I fell down a rabbit hole of collecting both vintage and modern watches, beautiful timepieces, both mechanical and digital. It’s really a wonderful world of variety out there, when it comes to watches.
Unfortunately I, like many, don’t often get to wear all the cool, unique watches I have, because I want to track my health data, and so – I kind of have to wear my Apple Watch.
And the Apple Watch, to me… it’s not exactly a thing of beauty. Its available faces are just unappealing to me, and I’ve tried all of them, all variations, plus a lot of first and third party bands, in vain attempts to make the Apple Watch resemble something interesting I’d actually enjoy wearing, but alas.
I’d rather wear a vintage Casio, or a modern G-Shock, or a classy mechanical piece that screams uniqueness and microscopic attention to detail. There’s something really special about wearing a unique timepiece you actually find beautiful. It makes me happy, and actually showcases my identity.
But back on track, I still want to track (no pun intended) my health data, so more often than not – I have an iPhone – I have to wear the Apple Watch.
I can’t wait for the Apple Ring, so I can finally wear different watches that I actually enjoy, while still getting the reliable Apple fitness tracking features I’ve come to rely on.
At least that’s the dream; whether the Apple Ring actually manages to sport the same tracking functionality of an Apple Watch, we’re yet to see. But I’m optimistic, as smart rings already exist, and some of them are highly praised.
Smartwatches aren’t comfortable for workouts, I dare say
The last thing I want while sweating on a treadmill or boxing with bulky gloves, is a fragile smartwatch that leaves a mark on my wrist, and limits my wrist movement somewhat.
I don’t know how a lot of users seem to manage it, but I can’t get used to wearing a smartwatch while working out, which is a huge bummer, because its point (for the most part) is to track your activity.
Now, a small smart ring would be far, far easier to accept during intense workouts, especially if it’s competently designed to be as light as possible, with smooth, rounded corners, which I’m pretty sure both Apple and Samsung will nail.
Just think of all the exercises you need your wrists for. Now add a smartwatch, especially a bulky one, say, the Apple Watch Ultra. It doesn’t work for me, and it never will.
So once again – give me that smart ring, I’m all for it.
Who ever manages to use the sleep tracking feature of a smartwatch?
I’ve tried it many times, with several different smartwatches, but nope – I can’t sleep with a smartwatch. There’s a lot of turning and tossing going on until I get comfortable enough to fall asleep, as any insomniac will tell you.
But even if you have a healthy sleep pattern, are you really comfortable wearing a smartwatch in bed?
I’ve spoken with a lot of people to validate my theory that nobody actually uses the sleep tracking feature of a smartwatch, and the answers I usually get are exactly what I thought.
A majority of people don’t use the sleep tracking feature. It’s not that they don’t want to use it, it’s just not viable. They either prefer to charge the smartwatch overnight, because battery life is normally pretty poor, and won’t last the following day otherwise, or they’re simply not comfortable wearing the watch at night.
Once again, a smart ring with the same functionality will be a huge step up. Not only is a ring far more comfortable to sleep with, but we expect smart rings to sport far better battery life than the single-day-or-less we’re used to from most contemporary smartwatches.
While a smart ring does face the drawback of having a much tinier battery due to its limited size, it won’t have a display, nor does it need an operating system as powerful as, say, Apple’s WatchOS.
Thus – battery life should be far better than a smartwatch, and with that, and its less intrusive form factor, a smart ring would actually, finally make sleep tracking a usable feature, for many of us. Bring it on!
Your thoughts on smart rings vs. smartwatches? Which do you prefer and why?
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Ring looks very promising
There’s my reasoning for why I can’t wait for both Apple and Samsung’s smart rings to come. But what do you think?
If you’ve never even used a smartwatch, what’s stopped you, and would you be interested in using a smart ring anyway?
And if you’re using a smartwatch right now, would you switch to a smart ring?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
