Samsung has reportedly started work on an Oura Ring competitor to cash in on the growing popularity of health and fitness tracking smart rings. Although the company has not made an official announcement, a new report from the South Korean publication Naver reveals that the company submitted a smart ring-related patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October last year.

The patent application reveals that Samsung's smart ring will feature an optical blood flow measurement sensor (PPG) and an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor to measure blood pressure and heart rate. To differentiate its offering from other smart rings on the market, Samsung will also pack a couple of extra features that will let users control connected devices, like laptops, smartphones, and TVs, with the smart ring.

Illustration from Samsung's smart ring-related patent.
Illustration from Samsung's smart ring-related patent (Credit: Naver)

Samsung's smart ring could also offer support for other health and fitness tracking features found on its Galaxy Watch 5, including temperature sensing, sleep tracking, and SpO2 monitoring. However, we haven't seen any official documentation pointing towards the same.

The smart ring will most likely offer better battery life than Samsung's Wear OS smartwatches simply because it won't feature a display. This should make it a great alternative for buyers who only want to track health and fitness metrics and don't care for all the other bells and whistles that Samsung's smartwatches offer.

Currently, Samsung has not shared any official information about its in-development smart ring. Naver says it's in the early stages of development, so it may be a while before it hits the market. If you don't want to wait for Samsung's offering, you can pick up an Oura Ring 3 right away.

Would you prefer a smart ring over a smartwatch for health and fitness tracking? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.


Source: Naver

Via: Sammobile

Featured image: Oura Ring Gen 3