A longstanding rivalry between two tech giants, Samsung and Apple, seems to have been reignited with the former recently showcasing a new product within the digital healthcare market.
At the Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris earlier this month, Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Ring, the first ring-type healthcare device, and positioned it as a “game-changer” in the wearable market that the company says is “designed for 24/7 health monitoring.”
Weighing between 2.3-3 grams, the AI-powered Galaxy Ring can track sleep, oxygen, heart rate and skin temperature due to its three built-in sensors.
Samsung claims up to seven days of battery life, and a water resistance of 100 metres as well as a Titanium Grade 5 finish on the ring.
Users can also control their Samsung Galaxy smartphones paired to the ring. They can take pictures or even turn off alarms by pinching their thumb and ring finger.
Both Samsung and Apple have watches that carry out functions ranging from tracking users’ sleep latency, respiratory rate, heart rate, and menstrual cycle. The latest Galaxy Watch7, released alongside the Galaxy Ring, even has an all-new glycation end products (AGEs) index that reflects the overall biological ageing process and indicates the user’s metabolic health.
“As healthcare advances and consumer demand for more features grows, integration with smartphones becomes essential. Wearable devices, being attached to the body, are crucial for more accurate health monitoring,” a Samsung official told The Korea Herald. “We aim to offer unique health functionalities through our latest Galaxy wearable portfolio, leveraging advanced technologies like state-of-the-art sensors and AI. This approach enhances the competitiveness of our wearable products compared to other companies.”
Apple has yet to debut a wearable ring of its own. When it comes to smartwatches, Samsung was the first to market between the two in 2013, followed by Apple which did so in 2015.
Market research firm Counterpoint Research said that Apple held a leading 21 per cent market share in the global smartwatch market in the first quarter of this year. Huawei followed with 10 per cent, while Samsung secured third place with 9 per cent.
However, the Galaxy Ring does not have a competitor product in Apple at the moment and hence could be the device with which Samsung takes a significant lead over Apple in the digital health wearables market. The onus is now very much on Apple as tech enthusiasts watch closely as to how Apple moves to counter Samsung within this space.
