Samsung Says New Galaxy Ring Price Decision Is Permanent

Samsung's new Galaxy Ring is taking Oura head-on.

Samsung has gone straight for Oura’s jugular with its new Galaxy Ring, not just in promised abilities, but also in price.

The Galaxy Ring ($399) is significantly more expensive than the third generation Oura Ring ($299) but there’s a key difference between the two devices: Samsung’s gadget doesn’t come with a monthly subscription plan. The Oura Ring, however, will set users back $5.99 a month if they want to access its full suite of features.

At a briefing event last week, Lee Dinham, Samsung’s mobile experience product specialist, told me that it’s possible to do this because the Korean company “makes money elsewhere” and has multiple revenue streams. In short, it can shoulder any additional operating costs of the Galaxy Ring.

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This, Dinham said, was a permanent decision and Samsung had no plans to charge for a subscription in the future. I suspect part of the company’s decision against a subscription is thanks to Samsung Health. The company already has the infrastructure to measure your sleep, heart rate, ECG and so on because of its other wearables through the Health app. Adding The Galaxy Ring to its portfolio of devices doesn’t require building a new system from scratch, which would obviously be costly.

I asked Oura if it planned to revise its subscription price in response to Samsung’s undercutting move. It didn’t directly answer the question, instead focussing on the value Oura customers get from being owners and subscribers.

“We're encouraged by the growing awareness of smart rings as more people recognize the unique benefits of its form factor.

“Oura Ring provides 50+ health-and-wellness metrics and insights, and in 2024 alone, we’ve shipped 14 new features. We’re not slowing down; we continue to focus on building value for our members and delivering the best personal health companion.” Tom Hale, Oura CEO, explained in an emailed statement.

For Samsung’s device, a promise of no future subscription fees is good news for people who want to buy the new wearable, but are conscious of adding another monthly payment to their subscription stack.

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However, I would exercise some scepticism here because Samsung has repeatedly reminded people that Galaxy AI, the brand name for all of its AI features across its devices, including the Galaxy Ring, is “free until 2025.”

We don’t know what will happen after 2025 because Samsung has been quiet about its plans. So while there might not be a direct Galaxy Ring subscription plan in Samsung’s roadmap, there might be one for Galaxy AI.

The Galaxy Ring's AI features—such as the Energy Score and Wellness Tips—may be under that umbrella and could be walled off if Samsung decides you need to pay for AI. We will have to wait until 2025 to find out.

For now, Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is a device that could cause serious problems for the Oura Ring. Samsung’s might as a technology company means it has an in-built base of hundreds of millions of users to sell its new wearable tech too.

There’s a reason some features can only be accessed if you have a Samsung phone, such as like gesture controls to dismiss alarms on your handset. Or more accurate health data and longer battery life when the Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch are worn together, as Samsung claims.

The promise of better battery life, more accuracy, no subscription fees and the simplicity of keeping things ‘in-house’ is a powerful draw for people who already own Samsung tech. And there are a lot of them.

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