- Samsung’s latest wearable device “Galaxy Ring” will be released with tracking functions such as heart rate and sleep monitoring.
- Hong Park, head of Samsung Electronics’ digital health team, said that when Samsung’s smartwatch and ring are worn together, users can gain various health insights.
- Park also said that Samsung is considering a subscription version of the Samsung Health app, but needs to improve its functionality first.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring has a variety of sensors that track heart rate and more.
BARCELONA — Samsung’s latest wearable device, the Galaxy Ring, will include health tracking features such as heart rate and sleep monitoring, while also providing users with a score of their readiness for the day, an executive told CNBC.
In a wide-ranging interview, Hong Park, head of Samsung Electronics’ digital health team, discussed the company’s first foray into the ring product category, its consideration of a subscription model for the Samsung Health app, and its plans for synthetic health services. He talked about his vision. Intelligence “coach”.
Samsung teased the Galaxy Ring at a press conference when it launched its S24 smartphone in January. The South Korean tech giant will showcase it for the first time at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which opens on Monday.
Samsung Galaxy Ring features
Park said the ring is equipped with sensors that can measure heart rate, breathing rate, amount of movement during sleep, and the time it takes to fall asleep after getting into bed.
He also said the ring can give users a “vitality score” and “collect data on your physical and mental readiness to see how much more productive you can be.” said that it can be done.
All of this will be accessible through the Samsung Health app.
The ring is scheduled to go on sale this year, but Park declined to provide a schedule or price.
Park also said that the company is considering adding the ability to make contactless payments on the Galaxy Ring, similar to smartphones.
“We have a whole team looking at it. But certainly, I think we’re looking at multiple different use cases for the ring, not just health,” Pack said. .
Samsung executives also said the company is working on non-invasive blood sugar monitoring and blood pressure sensing through wearable devices.
“I think there are still some solutions,” Park said of non-invasive blood sugar monitoring. People now use devices that check blood sugar levels by puncturing the skin. If we could do that in a non-invasive way, it would be a big step forward.
Samsung Ecosystem Initiatives
Samsung hopes its various devices will strengthen its position in the health sector, which it has been working on for several years.
Samsung has smartphones and smartwatches. Galaxy Ring is the latest product category in the health field. Samsung said the decision to launch the Smart Ring was based on customer wishes.
“Our customers said they want choice. They want other forms of wearable functionality to measure their health,” Park said. “Some people want to wear a watch, some people want to wear a watch and a ring and get the best of both worlds. Some people just want more simplicity.”
Pack confirmed that when the smartwatch and ring are worn together, users can gain a variety of health insights.
Samsung isn’t the first company to launch a smart ring. There are several other players like Oura.
Previous generations of Samsung’s flagship smartphones, such as the S7, have sensors that track things like heart rate. Users place their finger on the sensor and get a reading. Samsung has removed these sensors from its smartphones, especially since they have smartwatches that offer these features.
However, Park did not rule out the possibility of future smartphones being equipped with health sensors.
“Mobile is still very popular, so I think there’s a reason why you would want to put a sensor on a mobile rather than put a sensor on a wearable,” Park said.
AI “Coach”
Mr. Park talked about what role artificial intelligence will play in Samsung’s medical services. AI helps us understand all the data these devices are collecting. Ultimately, Pak’s goal is to enable AI to provide deeper insight into a person’s health.
He said large language models, the AI models that are trained on vast amounts of data and underpin applications such as chatbots, can help give better insights.
“Imagine that large language model acting as my digital assistant, looking at my medical records, my physiological data, my interactions with my mobile device, and the wearable’s context between all of that.” .This is an opportunity to start bringing greater insight and personalization,” Park said.
“In the future, there will be a digital assistant coach, because we think it’s absolutely necessary,” a Samsung executive said.
Park described a scenario where digital assistants provide health advice in the right tone and context, saying, “Our ability to change behavior becomes much greater.”
Park said Bixby, Samsung’s digital assistant, could play a role.
“So we’re exploring different ways that human-computer interfaces can change over time… So we think Bixby with voice represents a significant part of that option. But , we don’t think it’s the only option. But Bixby could potentially be an incredible game changer when combined with a larger language model. And we clearly don’t think it’s the only option. We’re having a lot of conversations,” Park said.
The executive also said the company is “considering” a subscription service for the Samsung Health app, but first it needs to improve the features and insights it offers. Our AI assistant is here to help.
“If you’re really going to make me pay for something, you better make it more end-to-end, more comprehensive,” Park said of health insights.
