A ring for Samsung, but it is not to seize or chain them. If Tolkien’s Sauron had dark intentions, the Koreans look to much nobler purposes for their “smart” ring. Galaxy Ring it is the first of a new category of products, new to Samsung and designed to track our health and sporting activities.
The world of wearables is evolving, physically embracing our index finger (or middle finger, or ring finger, it makes no difference) and exploiting the artificial intelligence that is the common feature of all the products launched in the Korean autumn offensive: Galaxy Ring, but Also Galaxy S24 FE And Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S10+.
Galaxy Ring: a smart ring
The era of Galaxy Ring can be defined as the Third Era of tracking our activities via smart devices. The first was that of the “pedometers” inserted into smartphones which gave us fairly crude data using the accelerometer included in all modern cell phones.
Then we moved on to smartwatchesdevices equipped with their own sensors and in contact with the skin. They were able to track steps, but the software has evolved to the point of turning them into complements for sporting activities of all kinds, from running to swimming. At the same time, sensors arrived for heart rate, for detecting oxygen in the blood, for temperature… and increasingly intelligent algorithms combined this data to obtain a snapshot of our state of health.
The third era begins today for Samsung, that of rings. Galaxy Ring integrates i temperature and heart rate sensorsin addition to the classic sensor to perceive movements: it tracks health and can also be a valid ally for sleep monitoring.
Furthermore it’s smart because is able to interact with other smart devices: if we have a Samsung Galaxy Watch, for example, ring and watch communicate with each other. During the day and during intense sporting activities, for example, the Watch with its sensors is the master, telling the ring to enter the “energy saving” phase so as not to waste battery. At night, however, the ring is less subject to movements because it fits more tightly around the finger than a watch does on the wrist, and for this reason it “wakes up” to track sleep more precisely and punctually.
Everything happens automatically, a sign of the synergy achieved by Samsung in making the devices talk to each other. And, for those who don’t have a smartwatch, the Ring is still able to track activities independently.
Regardless of whether you choose it as a complement or as the only smart device, Galaxy Ring still promises great precision: Samsung does not declare it, but its devices have reached good levels for some time now and, despite lacking certification as a medical device (for now only Huawei has it with the Watch D for measuring blood pressure), these instruments are now increasingly precise.
In fact, several cases are reported in which, for example, smartwatches managed to detect potential health problems and notified the user. In some of these, those who received the notification and then went to the emergency room for a medical check-up thanked their wearable…
While waiting for the development of awareness and desire to certify devices of this type, with necessary efforts both on the manufacturer and on the institutional side, the Galaxy Ring debuts in three versions, all made of Titanium, for €449.
The battery promises 7 days of battery lifecharging is wireless thanks to a compact and transparent case, the weight is very low (2.3 grams in the smallest versions) and the software can also monitor the menstrual cycle thanks to the skin temperature data processed by the algorithm. Furthermore, only for those with a Samsung, there is gesture recognition: by joining your index finger and thumb you can take a photo or deactivate a notification. Compatibility is though only with the Android world: those who have an iPhone will have to look elsewhere.
Galaxy S24 FE: the top of the range… democratic
The FE series indicates the Fan Edition of Samsung, those products that are created to bring the top of the range philosophy more recent, in this case S24, at a more democratic price, giving up some top features on the technical sheet, but being more balanced in terms of price, without making us feel lacking in terms of software or functions.
With S24 FE the Fan Edition series also embraces artificial intelligence, and features such as searching for an object by circling it within a photo or editing images via an AI-based engine arrive. Several months have passed since the launch of S24, but the AI functions introduced by the top of the range are now being introduced on this series, including the transcription assistant and the notes assistant.
Side hardware there are small incremental changes in terms of performance. Samsung has worked on cooling the chipset when maximum effort is required (the vapor chamber is larger), and the battery grows compared to the S23 FE, now reaching 4,700 mAh. The screen has also grown, now 6.7″ with FHD+ resolution, but the equipment in terms of cameras has not been changed.
There are three sensors: the first, 50 MP, is the one accompanied by a wide-angle lens. The second, 8 MP, benefits from a 3x optical zoom, and is also equipped with optical stabilizer. Finally, the third rear lens is an ultra wide angle mounted on a 12 MP sensor, and in front there is a 10 megapixel camera for selfies.
Above all, however, AI has a hand in improving our photos thanks to the recognition of the scenes filmed, as well as offering us various options during the editing phase, including the deletion of unwanted people or objects or the transformation of selfies into cartoons, comics, watercolors and so on.
Galaxy S24 FE is available in four colors a €769but there is also one promotion that takes it starting from just €199 when returning a used smartphone.
Among the main features stand out the 120Hz display which makes vision more fluid, IP68 certification for water resistance, the new Exynos 2400e processor made with a 4 nm production process (higher performance and lower consumption), 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of space for archiving.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and S10+
The third model in the range is a tablet… or rather two. Tab S10 Ultra and Tab S10+ are two variations of the platform that aims to create an all-round device, also accompanied by a keyboard and with the S Pen always included. This becomes a “super” S Pen thanks to artificial intelligence: we draw a draft, and the AI transforms it by reinterpreting it according to our indications.
Artificial Intelligence is now the constant feature of Samsung products, and so the notes assistant that creates a text from a voice recording, note summary functions, and PDF translation also arrive on tablets.
S10 Ultra has a 14.6″ display and an 11,200 mAh battery, S10+ drops to 12.4″ and at 10,090 mAh. The power increases compared to the previous generation also in terms of graphics processing and the processor (MediaTek Dimensity 9300+), but in practice what is most striking is the AMOLED display with anti-reflection treatment.
Available from September 26theven the Tabs are included in the promotion which allows you to “supervalue” second-hand models: by October 31st, by having a used tablet valued, you can get down to €474 for the S10+ and €629 for the S10 Ultra. The list come on €1,149 of the S10 version is with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of disk space and give 1.
€369 for the S10 Ultra in the same configuration, but there are also top models in the range with up to 16 GB of RAM, 1 TB of storage space and the 5G module in addition to WiFi. In this configuration, the S10 Ultra is close to €2,000 (€1,939 list price).