Samsung’s Galaxy Ring was first unveiled in July of this year to a lot of applause and fanfare, and it has received quite a bit of praise from reviewers since then. That said, there’s still room for improvement — and a supposed leak from Naver user yeux1122 suggests the second iteration of the smart ring could arrive on the market sooner rather than later.
The first Galaxy Ring was initially teased in January and released about six months later. Although we don’t know the time frame for a Galaxy Ring 2 release, it will supposedly be “a bit earlier” than expected.
According to the leaker (via Android Authority), the Galaxy Ring 2 will feature several notable improvements, including a thinner design and better battery life. The leaker’s post on Naver goes on to say that it will also come with more features but gives no specification on what those might be.
Our hope is that the Galaxy Ring 2 will arrive with improvements to its tracking and a broader range of compatibility. The first generation only worked with Samsung devices and had several inaccuracies, including SpO2 levels and workout tracking. If Samsung makes the Galaxy Ring 2 work with a wider range of devices (potentially including the iPhone), the company would be able to tap into a bigger market.
And speaking of the iPhone, the leaker also says that Apple still has a ring-type smart device in development. Supposedly, Apple is also trying to develop band-type devices (similar to early Fitbits) as well as smart glasses. Take all of this with a grain of salt; yeux1122, or Lanzuk, as they go by on the blog post, lacks the track record of some of the other leakers we turn to. Nothing is confirmed until an official announcement is made.
With the rising popularity of smart rings like the Galaxy Ring, Oura Ring 4, and the RingConn, it makes sense that Samsung would follow up the first iteration with another release.