Can Samsung's new Galaxy Ring smart device help its China comeback?

Samsung Electronics, once the dominant smartphone player in China, is drawing fresh interest from consumers on the mainland after the South Korean tech giant unveiled on Wednesday its new smart wearable device, the US$400 titanium Galaxy Ring.

The lightweight, water-resistant smart ring - available in black, silver and gold in nine size options, and weighing from 2.3 grams to 3 grams - supports everyday wellness monitoring through its on-device artificial intelligence, which generates a user's detailed health report that includes sleep, activity, and heart and respiratory rate, according to Samsung's announcement at its Galaxy Unpacked event held in Paris.

The Galaxy Ring marks Samsung's latest bid to challenge Apple's lead in the global wearables market with an updated ecosystem of its own, including new Galaxy smartwatches launched at the same event.

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Cupertino, California-based Apple remained No 1 in that market in the first quarter, despite a decline in sales of the Apple Watch and AirPods during the period, according to research firm IDC's wearables shipment report published last month.

IDC said Xiaomi, Huawei Technologies and Samsung ranked behind Apple in global wearable device shipments.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Ring provides sleep analysis and a sleep artificial intelligence algorithm to help users understand their rest patterns and build better habits. Photo: Samsung alt=Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Ring provides sleep analysis and a sleep artificial intelligence algorithm to help users understand their rest patterns and build better habits. Photo: Samsung>

Shanghai resident and long-time iPhone user Jiang Jiayi, 30, said he is among those mainland consumers considering to buy the Galaxy Ring.

"It's a lighter-weight option for health tracking, and I'm quite curious to know up to what degree it can replace smartwatches [for that purpose]," he said.

Samsung set the price of its smart ring on the mainland at 3,099 yuan (US$425), according to Chinese media. The company, however, labelled the gadget as "out of stock" on its China website as of Thursday afternoon.

Some mainland consumers have already complained about the Galaxy Ring's price. "It looks pretty cool," wrote Weibo user "qzc" in a post on the Chinese microblogging platform on Thursday.

"But I'll only consider [buying such a product] if any domestic company follows up [with a smart ring of its own]."

Before the Galaxy Ring's launch, Chinese consumers have shown interest in smart rings from some smaller vendors such as Oura, Ultrahuman and RingConn.

A sustained local demand for the Galaxy Ring would count as a success for Samsung on the mainland, where it once was the biggest smartphone vendor with a 20 per cent market share in 2013.

The Korean firm ranked dead last among the market's major handset vendors by 2018, with just a 1 per cent share, and has since remained around that level.

Samsung Electronics launched its latest portfolio of smart wearable devices on July 10. These include the Galaxy Ring in three colour options, the Galaxy Watch7 (centre) and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Photo: Samsung alt=Samsung Electronics launched its latest portfolio of smart wearable devices on July 10. These include the Galaxy Ring in three colour options, the Galaxy Watch7 (centre) and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Photo: Samsung>

In spite of its shrunken presence in China, Samsung has continued to launch new smartphone models on the mainland, as it remains keen to stage a comeback.

Samsung has been working with some Chinese Big Tech companies, including Baidu and Tencent Holdings, to help step up localisation of its smartphones' content ecosystem.

Samsung's latest product launch is expected to help "foster consumer habits" in the nascent smart ring market, with the potential to widen market penetration, according to a research note by TF Securities on Wednesday.

Still, it remains to be seen whether the Galaxy Ring can establish a leading position in its category or be surpassed by the competition.

Apple has accelerated the development of its own smart ring and registered patents related to this device, according to a report by Korean media ETNews in February. Apple has yet to make an announcement on this new wearables segment.

Chinese smartphone vendor Honor, a Huawei spin-off, also revealed in February that it was developing a smart ring after Samsung announced initial details about the Galaxy Ring during the MWC Barcelona trade show that same month.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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