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Staff pick
Samsung Galaxy Ring
The Galaxy Ring is Samsung’s first-ever smart ring designed to be worn all-day for up to seven days. It tracks data about your heart rate, sleep, and activity, and the Energy Score signifies your readiness for the day ahead. The portable charging case more than doubles the battery life, and excellent hardware mean the Galaxy Ring is one of the most capable, and stylish, smart rings you can buy right now.
Pros- Excellent design
- Samsung Health app is extremely user friendly
- Portable charger is intuitive and useful
- Works flawlessly with Android phones
Cons- Fewer health metrics tracked
- Expensive
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Don’t buy this
Circular Ring Slim (2024)
The Circular Ring Slim is the only smart ring with a haptic motor. It can be used to set timers or remind people to take medication. It weighs just 2 grams and is 2.2mm thick, making it one of the lightest and thinnest smart rings. It’s packed with sensors and collects data about your heart rate, breathing, temperature, SpO2, sleep and much more.
Pros- Useful insights in the app
- Only smart ring with a haptic motor
Cons- Unreliable syncing and app
- Poor charging experience
- Questionable durability
- Lacks other color choices
If you’re looking for a great smart ring, you’ll come across two companies with differing fortunes. Samsung’s first smart ring debuted in August, and in our Galaxy Ring review, we called it the best smart ring you can buy today.
Meanwhile, French company Circular has two smart rings on the market; the Circular Ring Pro offered customizable shells and a host of health features, then the Circular Ring Slim shrunk the size and made it thinner and more comfortable on your finger.
One of these has a limited health portfolio, but excellent battery life, charging, and performance. The other smart ring does more, but fails at the basics, like syncing and data reliability. Should you buy the Circular Ring Slim, the only smart ring with a vibration motor? Or the Galaxy Ring, which benefits from Samsung’s decade-plus experience in health? Let’s find out.
Price, availability, and specifications
Wide availability and sold out versus limited availability
The Galaxy Ring proved to be more popular than Samsung expected and is widely sold out in the US. If you can find one that fits your size and color, it will cost you $399, but it doesn’t come with a costly subscription attached.
The Galaxy Ring is available in nine different sizes and three colors. It runs slightly different from regular ring sizes, so you’ll want to order the Galaxy Ring sizing kit or try it out in a nearby store.
The Circular Ring Slim has been available since earlier this year and is only sold via Circular’s website. It only comes in two colors – black and silver – and is available in eight sizes. If you want it with the vibration motor, it costs $294, whereas a light version without it costs $234. The Circular Ring sizing kit is available as part of the purchase process, but costs extra.
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Samsung Galaxy Ring Circular Ring Slim (2024) Heart rate monitor Yes Yes Battery life Up to 7 days 5 hours Water Resistance IP68; 10 ATM yes Ring sizing 5 – 13 6 – 13 Color Titanium Black; Titanium Silver; Titanium Gold Black, Silver
Design
Sleek and polished versus slightly clunky
I love the design of the Galaxy Ring. It’s priced as the most premium of the best smart rings, and the design delivers on this. You get a ring that’s thin, lightweight, and extremely comfortable on your finger for long periods.
The Circular Ring Slim aims to achieve the same, but feels less premium. The black finish leaves much to be desired, it quickly scratches and loses its appeal as a premium smart ring, and with only two color choices, there are no other options if you want something with more style.
The Circular Ring Slim weighs 2 grams, slightly less than the Galaxy Ring (2.3-3 grams depending on the size), and is 0.4mm thinner than the Galaxy Ring at 2.2mm. However, housing all the sensors in an indent at the bottom of the ring makes it feel more clunky on the finger and affects the quality of the metrics.
The Galaxy Ring, meanwhile, uses a concave design that bends inwards like a bowl, protecting the main surface from damage and scratches. It also provides immense relief for those with swollen fingers. I found the Circular Ring Slim distinctly less comfortable to wear than the Galaxy Ring.
Both rings are IP68-rated and offer some dust and water resistance. The Circular Ring Slim can be immersed in up to 5 meters of water for 30 minutes, while the Galaxy Ring is resistant to up to 50 ATM (500 meters) for longer. This means the Circular Ring Slim is suitable for swimming, while the Galaxy Ring is suitable for scuba diving and high-impact water sports.
Battery life
You get what you pay for
The Galaxy Ring costs $100 more than the Circular RIng Slim, and it shows in its performance and battery life. The Circular Ring Slim lasts up to six days in a limited eco-mode, or two days with all the features enabled. It uses an awkward and flimsy charger that, thanks to its awkward design, struggles to stay attached to the contacts on the ring.
Samsung took a different approach with the Galaxy Ring, recognizing that charging is a pain point for most smart rings. Its solution is the portable charging case, which comes with every Galaxy Ring and doubles the battery life.
I’ve tested it extensively, and the Galaxy Ring battery life is phenomenal. The smaller sizes last just shy of six days on a single charge, while the bigger ones last over a day longer. Paired with a Galaxy Watch, the battery life extends to almost ten days. The portable charging case uses between 55% and 65% for a full charge and is the perfect solution for a longer vacation.
Sleep, activity, and other health features
Two different approaches with stark results
Samsung’s approach to the Galaxy Ring is to leverage the Samsung Health ecosystem. It doesn’t want you to use just a Galaxy Ring, it wants you to use it with a Galaxy Watch. When you pair them together, you get better battery life in the Galaxy Ring, and Samsung Health is smart enough to choose which device to keep recordings from.
This means that Samsung took a fairly limited approach to the Galaxy Ring’s features. It can track your heart rate, monitor your sleep, and provide an AI-powered score that denotes your readiness for the day ahead. However, it doesn’t track as much data as many of the best smart rings. That said, the Samsung Health app is beautifully laid out and designed to give you the information that matters to you.
Circular took a different approach. The app has features that are prevalent in all rings, including energy and sleep scoring, and offers many unique features, like a vibration motor that can be used for granular data reporting, or to set a timer and trigger reminders.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem I discovered in our Circular Ring Slim review is somewhat fatal: the Circular Ring Slim fails to sync far too often, making the experience extremely frustrating. Circular is working on improvements and a new app, but I’ll pick the Galaxy Ring over the Circular Ring Slim for now. Samsung’s app works flawlessly and is incredibly reliable.
Which should you buy?
A surprisingly easy choice
I’ve been using the Galaxy Ring for a month now, and I love everything about Samsung’s approach to smart rings. The Circular Ring Slim excited me, but failed to live up to its potential, despite the underlying approach and useful insights making for a unique experience. For now, the Galaxy Ring remains the best smart ring for Android users, while I’d pick the RingConn Gen 2 or Oura Ring if you’re an iPhone user.
Samsung Galaxy Ring
The Galaxy Ring is my favorite smart ring right now, bar none. It’s light, thin, and premium, and the concave design is a blessing for my swollen fingers. The Galaxy Ring doesn’t track as many metrics as other smart rings, but it is reliable, and the portable charging case makes it the best smart ring you can buy right now.
Nobody should buy the Circular Ring Slim. As covered in our review, the syncing issues and questions about the reliability of the infrastructure make it impossible to recommend it. If these issues were resolved, however, it would be a much harder decision.
At the same time, the Circular Ring Slim has a few features that truly stand out. The haptic motor, while not particularly strong, is still useful, especially for medication reminders. The Ring Slim also tracks metrics like the time of day you’re most mentally focused and gives you helpful reminders via notifications. These little features are what make it feel unique.
Circular Ring Slim (2024)
The Circular Ring Slim has a lot of potential but falls short in its execution. The app is buggy, and the ring won’t sync well with your phone, so it’s hard to recommend it. If these can be resolved, the Circular Ring Slim has several interesting and unique features that make it worth a second look.
Nirave is a creator, evangelist, and founder of House of Tech. A heart attack at 33 inspired him to publish the Impact of Tech newsletter, which covers the best technology and its impact on mental, physical, and emotional health. For more, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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