Samsung’s Galaxy Ring, Watch coach on sleep, read biological age

Samsung Electronics' new wearables are health-focused, offering features to improve sleep and workouts with customized recommendations powered by AI.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Ring is being introduced at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in Paris, France on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Ring and other new wearables unveiled in Paris on Wednesday aim to impersonate a personal health coach through the power of AI and an array of advanced sensors.

The Korean IT giant held the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in the French capital on Wednesday, where it launched the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7 and the newly added Galaxy Watch Ultra along with the newest generation of its foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6.

“The latest additions to our wearables portfolio integrate Samsung’s most advanced technologies and innovations, enabling you to take control of your health and wellness with preventive healthcare solutions,” said Roh Tae-moon, president and head of mobile business at Samsung Electronics, during the Unpacked event.

“The intelligence, guidance and insights that are offered with the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra will help users turn data into meaningful insights and create a whole new era of expanded intelligent health experiences.”

The Galaxy Ring puts sleep pattern analysis center stage, leveraging the small form factor's longer battery life of up to seven days on a single charge.

Smartphones and watches, which require charging on a daily basis that is most commonly carried out at night, were seen as unsuitable for the job.

The Ring provides sleep quality analysis by monitoring movement during sleep and how long it takes to fall asleep as well as the wearer's heart rate and respiratory patterns. It also is able to track menstrual cycles by monitoring skin temperature overnight.

Such measurements are analyzed by Galaxy AI to offer comprehensive health insights and recommendations on the user's life pattern through the Samsung Health platform along with additional data aggregated from other Galaxy devices.

Additional features of the Galaxy Ring include the ability to control the camera and alarms of the connected Galaxy smartphone by making a pinching gesture with the thumb and the index finger with the ring on.

The new wearable comes in three colors — Titanium Black, Titanium Silver and Titanium Gold — and nine sizes, with a price tag of 499,400 won ($361).

Samsung's ambition in healthcare extends to the updated Galaxy Watch series, with the new premium Galaxy Watch Ultra version added to the lineup.

The Galaxy Watch 7 will be able to offer an advanced glycation end products index, a first for the industry, which can act as an indicator of biological age and other metabolic states. It also comes with an FDA-certified sleep apnea feature.

The premium Ultra line is fitness-focused, tracking various sports including multi-course workouts like triathlons. It also offers personalized intensity recommendations based on the wearer's cardiorespiratory fitness.

"When using both the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring, users can experience more enhanced health monitoring. More comprehensive health insight is possible through seamless data monitoring," Samsung Electronics said in a release.

The price of the Galaxy Watch 7 starts at 379,500 won and the Galaxy Watch Ultra starts from 899,800 won.

Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the mobile businss division at Samsung Electronics poses with the new foldables at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in Paris on Wednesday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics' latest foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 — put AI at the forefront, while boasting lighter and sleeker designs.

The new "Interpreter" feature enables dual-screen real-time translation by using both the front and inner displays to check translated lines without having to toss around the phone.

The "Live Translate" feature from the Galaxy S24, which was only accessible through the built-in call app, will be available in nine third-party apps including KakaoTalk, Line, WhatsApp and Telegram.

An AI-powered camera is another upgrade in the new foldables. The Z Flip 6 comes topped with Auto Zoom, which automatically detects the subject and finds the best framing to eliminate the necessity to manually zoom in or out. The Z Fold 6, meanwhile, has gained a "sketch to image" feature that converts doodles drawn on a photo with the S Pen into a realistic object.

Both devices are sleeker. The Fold 6 weighs 239 grams (8.43 ounces) and measures 12.1 millimeters (0.48 inches) in thickness when folded, less than the Fold 5 at 253 grams and measured 13.4 millimeters. The Flip 6's weight remains the same but thickness went down from the previous generation's 15.1 millimeters to 14.9 when closed.

The Z Fold 6 comes in three storage options — 256GB, 512GB and 1TB — with a starting price of 2.23 million won. The Z Flip 6 has two storage options — 256GB and 512GB — and starts at 1.49 million won.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]