The Rise of the Smart Ring

The media has been talking a lot about Samsung lately, but according toForbes, the company that is leading in the field of smart rings is Oura Ring. Starting from a successful project on the Kickstarter fundraising platform in 2015, Oura Ring has launched three generations of smart rings and to date sold a total of more than 2.5 million units, the most on the market.

According toTomsGuide, Oura Ring 4 could be released by the end of 2024 and is predicted by many experts to continue to be one of the best-selling products on the market. A survey on the site shows that smart rings are currently the most anticipated wearable device by many users.

Not only Oura, some other brands also received a lot of attention. Editor Tim Bajarin ofForbesI've been using the Ultrahuman Ring AIR since February and am impressed with its health tracking features, especially sleep. The ring is small but has a PPG sensor, which tracks important metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, sleep, and movement.

Ultrahuman’s product includes a six-axis sensor for precise motion tracking. It’s also made from “fighter-grade” titanium and reinforced with tungsten to prevent stress fractures. Tim Bajarin says it’s good enough to replace the Apple Watch for health tracking in some cases.

US carriers are also racing to get the ring. Verizon officially launched the Ultrahuman Ring AIR last week alongside the Apple Watch in its wearables category, joining AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T also signed an exclusive deal to sell Samsung's Galaxy Ring in July. Many experts believe that the carriers' "eagerness" shows that smart rings will soon be widely accepted in the market.

According toGlobal Market Insight,Smart rings will generate $210 million in revenue by 2023. The market is also forecast to grow at a CAGR of 24.1% this year and is expected to reach $1 billion by 2032.

Apple is currently considered the "king" of health tracking wearables with the Apple Watch while Fitbit is second. Some sources say that both, along with Google, are looking to enter the smart ring market to avoid being left behind by a large number of potential startups. Samsung is the biggest name to "enter" the market recently with the Galaxy Ring, but it is not widely available.

However, smart rings also receive skepticism about diversity and difficulty in developing strongly. Most current models do not play the role of jewelry like smart watches. Some come in many colors but the design is almost identical and it is difficult for companies to create differentiation.

“This is an interesting wearable category and is getting a lot of serious attention from users,”Forbescommented but said that the growth rate will depend a lot on breakthrough technologies on smart rings in the future.