Samsung Galaxy Ring battery life: Here’s what to expect

One of the most attractive features of a smart ring is the potential for multi-day battery life. Unlike wrist-based wearables, which often tout power-draining displays, some leading smart rings can stretch battery life to nearly a week between charges. Find out how the brand-new Samsung Galaxy Ring performs and what to expect from the device’s battery.

It’s a feat in itself that a battery can be squeezed into such tiny real estate. Fortunately, Samsung didn’t just settle for the bare minimum. Depending on which size ring you choose, the device will pack between an 18 and 23.4mAh battery cell. According to the company, this should power the ring for up to seven days, though smaller rings may land closer to six days of use between charges.

Each Samsung Galaxy Ring also ships with a quick-charging case, which packs its own portable battery. When fully charged, the case can charge the ring from 0 to 100% 1.5 times. Samsung claims this should enable up to 16 days of smart ring use without needing an outlet.

Finally, Samsung also offers unique integration between its smart ring and its smartwatches. When users equip both devices simultaneously, Samsung Health will use the optimal measurements from each device, disabling inactive sensors on the ring to extend battery life up to 30%.

In a specs chart, the Samsung Galaxy Ring’s battery looks competitive, but how does it perform in the real world? As soon as I received my device, I charged the battery to 100% to find out. The device lasted just over 100 hours before going completely dead, having hit 50% at about two and a quarter days in. I slipped the ring on my finger at 2 in the afternoon on the first day and made it through four nights of sleep tracking, multiple automatically detected workouts, each over an hour long, and, of course, general all-day wear. I did take the device off for about 30 minutes to hand mix an unruly amount of chocolate chip cookie dough but left it on the counter, not on its charger.

In other words, my experience didn’t quite live up to Samsung’s battery claims. Notably, I do wear a size 7, which means my battery is on the smaller side of the available range. I also enabled every available feature and installed a software update during my testing period when prompted in the Samsung Health app. I would have loved to see six full days of use, but four days and change is a heck of a lot more convenient than most wrist-based wearables.

I also opted not to wear my Galaxy Watch during this period so that the battery-saving features wouldn’t influence my results. Users who simultaneously use their ring and watch would likely come closer to Samsung’s claims.

According to Samsung, charging the Galaxy Ring from 0 to 40% should take 30 minutes with a fully charged case. If the ring’s battery is completely depleted, Samsung advises users to charge the device for at least 10 minutes before use. In practice, I found that 10 minutes of charging will get the ring to 15% battery life, which is pretty quick.

I also tested Samsung’s 30-minute claim, and my ring actually reached 40% in just 25 minutes. However, it then stayed at 40% for a while despite still being on its charger. In the end, a fully depleted Galaxy Ring took just under two hours to charge back up to 100% and hit 50% at about 55 minutes.

Battery life on the Galaxy Ring is certainly comparable to the competition. When testing the Oura Ring 3, our reviewer clocked between four and seven days of use per charge, depending on which features she enabled. Most smart rings claim somewhere in the week-long range based on ideal battery-saving conditions but fall short with regular usage. The Samsung Galaxy Ring lands right on the same spectrum.

With that said, two factors help the Galaxy Ring stand apart regarding battery life. The first is the ring’s compatibility with Galaxy Watches. For Samsung loyalists doing double duty with a ring and watch, the automatic power-saving features are highly valuable. The second strength of the Galaxy Ring is its clamshell charging case. With its own built-in battery, the case offers extremely convenient on-the-go charging whether users choose to top off regularly or wait to hit zero.