Smart rings have fast become one of the hottest markets in the wearable technology market. For many years, Oura was the leader and the only real maker of smart rings that appealed to most people. Then came a myriad of other options, including rings from RingConn, Ultrahuman, Circular, and, most importantly, Samsung’s first smart ring.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring takes a different approach to the competition. Built around the Samsung Health ecosystem, it is designed to be a companion to the Galaxy Watch lineup. It has a much simpler set of features than other smart rings, which focus on packing as much technology into the ring as possible.
Fresh off a host of new competition, Oura unveiled its latest challenger into the market. The Oura Ring 4 brought a redesign of both hardware and software and is designed to help Oura retain its position as the best smart ring on the market. I had the previous generation, have used the current generation Oura for almost two months, and have also used the Galaxy Ring since it launched in July. After weeks of using these side-by-side, there are many reasons to prefer one over the other, but deciding which to buy isn’t as straightforward as it may seem. In the battle of the Oura Ring 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy Ring, this is the one I’d pick.
There are few differences in comfort and design
Had I written this before the Oura Ring 4 was launched, it would have been no contest: Samsung would have won the design/comfort competition. However, the redesigned Oura Ring 4 solves many of the problems with the previous generation and makes this a much closer contest.
Both rings focus on being as thin and light as possible, but the Oura Ring 4 is still slightly heavier and thicker than the Galaxy Ring. I expected this would make a big difference for me, especially as I struggle with swollen fingers after a heart attack. However, it turns out that the Oura Ring 4 is just as comfortable as the Galaxy Ring.
Oura didn’t use a concave design like Samsung, so one of my biggest concerns with the Oura Ring 3 could still exist: the overall durability. I have the Oura Ring 3 in a matte stealth color, and after three years, it has shown a lot of wear and tear. My Oura Ring 4 is matte silver, which should help hide any blemishes, but I would be concerned about choosing one of the other colors.
The Galaxy Ring uses a concave design, which has a couple of key benefits. First, the design makes it more comfortable if you have swollen fingers, although the differences are now minimal between it and the Oura Ring 4. Second, Samsung confirmed that the key reason for choosing the concave design was to minimize the surface area that is outward facing, and this means it’s far less likely to attract — and show — general wear and tear. That said, it still has small bumps on the inside of the ring that house the sensors, while Oura has gone for a bump-less next-generation integrated sensor design.
I fully expected to still prefer the Galaxy Ring, but these two are neck-and-neck. Neither has a significant advantage in terms of design, which is a big improvement over the Oura Ring 3 vs. Galaxy Ring competition that Samsung won comfortably.
The Oura Ring 4 is better for diving deeper into your health
When you consider the feature set of both rings, it’s no contest; the Oura Ring 4 offers almost everything you can achieve from having both a Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch but in just one device.
The Galaxy Ring, by comparison, has a more limited feature set. It tracks certain workouts automatically, records the data, and syncs it to your phone, all without you needing to do anything. There are specific workouts that it can track — a list that’s shorter than the competition — and it isn’t the most ideal when it comes to tracking strength and weight training.
It’s built for convenience and perfect as the first smart ring for most users, but it falls short when looking for more advanced data. There’s no gyroscope or GPS, which means it won’t accurately track your runs, although I’m not a runner, so this doesn’t impact me as much. For my purposes, it’s perfectly capable, but for many people, it may fall short of tracking all your workouts.
The Oura Ring 4 has a plethora of workout and health-tracking features but also falls short when it comes to providing detailed running or workout data. There are double the neural pathways for tracking health data, and it’s proven to be more accurate than the Galaxy Ring at accurately tracking health and heart data. The latter is critical for my needs, and the redesigned Oura Ring app also makes it super convenient to dive into the data.
Additionally, the Oura Ring 4 is more accurate at tracking blood-oxygen data, although both have proven less accurate than a dedicated pulse oximeter. I enjoy using the Galaxy Ring because it’s simple, but the data provided by the Oura Ring 4 means it’s been a permanent fixture on my finger, at least when I remember to charge it.
Samsung is the endurance and convenience champion
The Galaxy Ring is also a near-omnipresent fixture on my finger for one key reason: the battery lasts significantly longer than the Oura Ring 4, and the portable carrying case makes it so much easier to charge and carry. As such, the Galaxy Ring is better for people who want a simpler overall experience.
The Galaxy Ring lasts up to nine days on a single charge, and the carrying case can hold up to two full charges. With a fully charged ring and case, you can expect around 24 days of total battery life, making this the ideal solution if you’re planning an extended vacation.
Meanwhile, the Oura Ring 4 falls considerably short, and having gotten used to the Galaxy Ring’s endurance, the Oura Ring 4 battery life frustrates me. It’s much shorter and lasts around seven days on a single charge. More importantly, there’s no portable charger, so you must carry the charging puck with you. The lack of enclosure makes it less than ideal for protecting your ring while not wearing it.
Oura missed a big opportunity to follow Samsung and RingConn in building a charging case, and considering the overall value for money, it is much harder to recommend Oura Ring 4. This is especially true considering the RingConn Gen 2 has most of the same features, offers 12 days of battery life, and comes with a carrying case that can extend the battery by up to 150 days.
The Oura Ring 4 is more expensive but more compatible
Where Samsung got things right with the Galaxy Ring is the value-for-money offering. Yes, it does less than the Oura Ring 4, but it’s more than suitable for most people and doesn’t have a subscription cost attached. Pay once, and it’s yours forever. The only problem is that it’s only compatible with Android, although, as I found, it doesn’t matter which Android phone you use.
The Oura Ring 4 takes a different approach. There’s an upfront cost like the Galaxy Ring, but to make the most of the full suite of features, you also need an Oura membership. This will cost you $6 per month or $70 per year, and while it works without the membership, this subscription allows you to use the full suite of features. However, there’s a key benefit to the Oura Ring 4: It also works with the iPhone.
This is the smart ring that I would pick
As I was writing this, I looked down at my hand and realized that while I thought I had been wearing the Oura Ring 4, I had been wearing the Galaxy Ring. This is the strongest indication of how similar these two smart rings are, at least in size and weight.
For some people — especially those that use an Android phone — the Galaxy Ring is a better choice, simply because there are no ongoing costs, and it works especially well if you also have a Galaxy Watch. However, if you’re an iPhone user or you want the largest set of data in a standalone smart ring, look no further than the Oura Ring 4.
Going forward, I plan to use the Oura Ring 4, mainly because it works with any device that I change to. I use both an iPhone and an Android phone daily, and the Galaxy Ring is particularly challenging to move to a new phone. The Oura Ring 4 is far simpler and has better overall metrics. Thanks to my lifetime membership (from upgrading from Oura Ring 2 to 3), I don’t need to pay for the subscription. I just wish there was a portable charging case, and there’s a strong chance I’ll return to the Galaxy Ring soon just for this convenience. Before that, however, I plan to try the RingConn Gen 2, especially as we highly recommend it.
One thing is clear: whichever of these two smart rings you decide to buy, you’ll be getting an incredible device capable of tracking all the important data during the day and while you sleep. But if you can stomach the subscription cost and don’t mind the shorter battery life, the Oura Ring 4 is the way to go.
