The Galaxy Ring’s charging case deserves to be copied by the competition

Thanks to a string of teases, reveals, and trade show appearances, we thought we knew just about everything about Samsung’s first smart ring ahead of its official launch this week.

We were wrong.

It turns out that Samsung had one more surprise up its sleeve (well, a surprise so long as you weren’t following the leaks too closely): the Galaxy Ring ships with a charging case. That’s not quite a first among smart rings – the RingConn Smart Ring also ships with one – but it’s an appealing extra that key rivals including Oura and Ultrahuman don’t currently offer.

That’s an important edge to have, given that there’s little else to separate most smart rings on the surface. There’s only so different you can make a ring in terms of design or the tracking tech inside, and since Samsung is playing catch-up in an established market – Oura is already on its third-gen ring – it makes sense that it would want to arrive with something up its sleeve.

Let’s get the basics out of the way first: the Galaxy Ring is what it sounds like, a piece of jewelry with Samsung tech inside. It comes in nine sizes and three colors, and will measure your heart rate, activity levels, skin temperature (for cycle tracking, among other things), and sleep. It’s an unobtrusive alternative to a Galaxy Watch 7, albeit for a steeper price – it’ll set you back $400, though at least there’s no ongoing subscription charge.

In addition to the ring itself, you get a portable charger. The Galaxy Ring’s charging case looks much like the case you probably already have for your wireless earbuds. It’s a small, hinged block of white and transparent plastic with a charging stand in its center to hold the ring itself. Aesthetically, there’s not much more to it than that except a ringed LED that turns on while charging to indicate the battery level.

It’s a shame that the color appears to be fixed, rather than changing to match the black, gold, and silver finishes of the ring, which leaves the case feeling a touch generic. It’s sturdy though, with what felt like a solid hinge and a little heft to the base, leaving me encouraged that this case could take a bit of a beating if need be.

By contrast, most smart rings simply ship with a USB-powered charging stand. It’s yet another dinky piece of plastic you’ve got to keep near your bedside, another power socket you’ve got to use up, another cable for your cats to chew on (just me?).

Moreover, since smart rings are small, so are their chargers. That sounds like a good thing, but in fact it’s often a frustration. When I tested the Oura out, I was routinely irritated by the charger’s refusal to sit neatly on my bedside table — it’s small and flimsy enough to get too easily bashed around, tilted to one side, or knocked off the table entirely.

Charging stands aren’t a bad option, but they’re not great.

The case for a case

By contrast, Samsung’s charging case makes much more sense to me. For one, it doesn’t need to hog a power outlet or take up space at home, especially if you have Qi wireless chargers around. When the case itself runs low you simply plug it in or drop it onto a wireless charging pad for a few hours and it’ll top right up, then you can throw it in your backpack, purse, or jacket pocket for when you need it.

That makes it an ideal travel solution too, easy to charge up in all the same ways you would your phone. Hell, it can even charge up from your phone if it supports reverse wireless charging, giving you an extra option for emergency battery if you’re in a real pinch.

Samsung says that the Galaxy Ring itself should run for up to a week between charges (it varies a little by size, with the larger rings lasting a little longer), and the case packs enough oomph for several full top-ups — meaning you’ve potentially got a full month of charge on the go, cover for even a lengthy vacation.

Keeping a charge on you also solves one of the small nuisances with a smart ring. Unlike a watch, where the battery percentage is visible all day long, it’s easy to lose track of how much battery your ring has left. If it dies at midday and your charger is at home, you’re sunk. But if you’ve got the case in your pocket, then it takes just 80 minutes to get a full charge again, and you needn’t miss hours of tracking.

Then there’s the fact that the charger doubles as, well, a case. Samsung pitches the Galaxy Ring as a 24/7 wellness device, not simply a fitness companion, which is for the best given that there are some workouts where it just won’t suit. I always had to take my Oura ring off for weightlifting sessions or post-work bouldering, and there are a few other exercises that aren’t especially ring-friendly. There’s a reason most people take their jewelry off before they hit the gym.

Having a case included saves you from having to throw the ring loose into your backpack, gym locker, or pocket — keeping it safe both from scratches and from your inevitable ability to lose track of it.

I doubt most Galaxy Ring owners will keep the charging case on them 24/7, even if they do the actual ring. For some it may even sit perpetually plugged in, serving as a regular charger with an unnecessary lid. But I could easily see this living in my gym bag, doubling as charger and case when I remove the Ring for workouts, then getting chucked in the suitcase for longer trips abroad.

Shipping with a case rather than a charger is all upside, and gives the Galaxy Ring its first real edge – above and beyond pure Samsung name recognition – as it makes its debut in the smart ring market.