[Reporter’s Notebook] Underwhelming 'Smart Ring' Healthcare

Global Enthusiasm for the Smart Ring
Public-Private Cooperation Needed for Healthcare Differentiation

On the 10th, at Samsung Electronics' 'Galaxy Unpacked 2024' event held in Paris, France, the moment the 'Galaxy Ring' video was shown, the venue was filled with exclamations of "Wow." Reflecting the atmosphere on-site, the official Samsung Electronics website in the United States temporarily sold out the pre-order stock of the Galaxy Ring within six days on the 15th.

Park Heon-su, head of the Digital Health Team at Samsung Electronics MX Division, emphasized that the goal of new wearable devices, including the Galaxy Ring, lies in connectivity. The aim is to connect devices and people based on health data and ultimately provide solutions.

The reason the ‘Galaxy Ring’ has attracted global attention is due to the anticipation surrounding the popularization of smart rings. It is rare for ring-shaped wearable devices, known as smart rings, to become widespread. Competitor Apple has announced plans to release the so-called 'Apple Ring,' but it still appears to be in the development stage. Finland's 'Oura Health' leads the smart ring market with its 'Oura Ring,' but even domestically, it is not easy to find users wearing it.

The explanation that it would be useful for sleep health management, leveraging its 'convenience,' was immediately understandable after wearing it. Although the design was somewhat bulky, it was so light that it felt almost unnoticeable when worn, and it did not easily fall off even when shaking the hand. However, is it always the case that the first product leaves something to be desired? The fact that there is no significant functional difference from the already existing ‘Oura Ring’ raised doubts about whether it could sustain its current popularity in the long term. Apart from being useful for sleep health management based on 'convenience,' it was difficult to find functional distinctions from watches. The inclusion of 'Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) measurement' and 'sleep apnea measurement' functions for the first time in the series in the new Galaxy Watch products rather increased interest in the watch.

Ultimately, Samsung Electronics' efforts to differentiate itself seem likely to make it a true smart ring 'first mover.' However, this cannot be achieved by Samsung Electronics alone. The government's commitment to fostering the healthcare industry must accompany it. Regarding the absence of a 'blood glucose measurement' function in this watch series, Samsung Electronics MX Division President (CEO) No Tae-moon's response that "there are difficulties in passing regulations, and more time is needed for completeness and consistency" sounded as if both government regulation and corporate efforts are necessary in this situation of functional differentiation.

An official who said they had met several times with government ministries to advance new healthcare businesses stated, "It is important that business operators understand regulations well and exceed standards, and that government ministries capable of changing systems see the potential and act accordingly." They added, "The system has not changed significantly due to the actions of small businesses," and "If large corporations move, changes can be substantial." This implies that institutional changes created during Samsung Electronics' healthcare product differentiation process could open possibilities for the entire Korean healthcare industry.

Samsung Electronics has expressed ambitions to include nutrition and cardiovascular health-related functions in the next Galaxy Ring and Watch. Samsung Electronics' determination for differentiation seems clear. Now, it is time to realize this determination. In the growing smart ring industry, for Korean companies to become 'first movers' and further develop Korea's healthcare industry capabilities, both companies and the government must simultaneously make efforts in their respective roles.