The contenders
Side by side
Buy this if you carry a Galaxy phone
Samsung Galaxy Ring
No subscription6.2/10No fee, a charging case in the box, sizes 5-15, 10ATM and IP68, and an FDA-cleared sleep apnea feature announced for fall 2026. Android 11 or newer only, and some features want a Samsung handset.
$229.99Amazon#ad · Price as of October 11, 2026 · How we make money for the link to Samsung Galaxy Ring
Buy this if you carry an iPhone
Ultrahuman Ring PRO
No subscription6.9/10Up to 15 days claimed and 45 with the included case - the longest numbers in the category - plus a titanium unibody and a published cut-off design. Ultrahuman does not state the Ring PRO's phone requirements anywhere we could find.
$479.00Amazon#ad · Price as of October 11, 2026 · How we make money for the link to Ultrahuman Ring PRO
The ring we would buy instead
RingConn Gen 2
No subscription8.2/10No fee, 10-12 days a charge with a case rated at up to 150 days, and the only one of the three with any chest-strap comparison of its own - a 2026 preprint at rest. The cheapest of the three on list price.
$299.00Amazon#ad · Price as of October 11, 2026 · How we make money for the link to RingConn Gen 2
Where they tie: the fee
This site exists because so many rings put your own sleep data behind a monthly charge. Neither of these does. Samsung charges nothing for the Galaxy Ring's data in Samsung Health, and the Amazon listing title says so outright. Ultrahuman's buy page states there are “no recurring subscription fees for accessing your data”, with paid PowerPlugs - Cardio Adaptability at $24/year, Cycle & Ovulation Pro at $39/year - as genuine extras rather than the core product (Ultrahuman).
| Ring | Required plan | Fees, 1 yr | Fees, 3 yrs | Fees, 5 yrs | Ring price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy Ring | No subscription | $0 | $0 | $0 | $229.99 |
| Ultrahuman Ring PRO | No subscription (optional extras) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $479.00 |
| RingConn Gen 2 | No subscription | $0 | $0 | $0 | $299.00 |
That table is the short version of why both of these appear on our no-subscription roundup. Compare it with an Oura, where the three-year fee total is the largest single number on the page: Oura membership cost.
The phone question settles it
Samsung states Android 11 or newer and lists Double Pinch and Find My Ring as not working on non-Samsung phones (Samsung Canada), and Energy Score insights need a compatible Samsung Galaxy phone on Samsung's US page (Samsung US). Android Police went through which features survive on a non-Samsung Android handset (Android Police). So the Galaxy Ring is a Samsung-phone accessory first, an Android accessory second, and not an iPhone product at all.
Ultrahuman is the mirror image of that - not because it is more open, but because it says nothing. We could not find a stated phone requirement for the Ring PRO on Ultrahuman's buy page, product page or US FAQ; the FAQ gives the Bluetooth version (BLE 5.3) and stops there (Ultrahuman). Ultrahuman ships an iOS app, so iPhone support is real in practice, but the specification is absent, and we do not print figures a maker has not published. If you need a guaranteed minimum iOS version before you spend, ask Ultrahuman directly.
If your phone is the deciding factor more broadly, the platform roundups are best smart ring for iPhone and best smart ring for Android, and the Samsung lock-in argument in full is on best Galaxy Ring alternatives.
Specs side by side
Battery: 7 days vs 15
On paper this is not close. Samsung claims up to 7 days for sizes 12-13 and up to 6 for smaller sizes, with the charging case taking the total to up to 14 days; Samsung's own support page breaks the cell down by size - 17 mAh for sizes 5-7, 18.5 mAh for 8-11 and 22.5 mAh for 12-15 - and says a full charge in the case takes about 90 minutes (Samsung Support). Ultrahuman claims up to 15 days and up to 45 with its included case.
Two caveats keep this from being a rout. Both are maker claims with no independent measurement behind them, and larger-size claims always flatter the smaller sizes people actually buy. GSMArena's reviewer got about five days from a size 11 Galaxy Ring (GSMArena). Every maker's claim with its small print is collected on smart ring battery life, and the Galaxy Ring's specific drain behaviour is on Galaxy Ring battery drain.
Evidence: neither brand has any
We found no peer-reviewed validation of the Galaxy Ring, and none of the Ultrahuman Ring PRO. Ultrahuman's only published data is an in-house pilot on sleep heart-rate sensing, not peer-reviewed and run on the older Ring AIR (Ultrahuman). That is the single strongest reason the third ring is on this page: RingConn's Gen 2 at least has a 2026 preprint comparing it with a Polar H10 at rest (Tao et al.), and the ring family with real published evidence is Oura's - at the cost of a membership. The whole evidence landscape is on smart ring accuracy.
One point to Samsung, though, and it is a serious one: Samsung said in July 2026 that an FDA-cleared sleep apnea feature is coming to the Galaxy Ring in the fall (Android Authority). A clearance is a different category of claim from a spec sheet, and no other ring has one announced. It was not yet on Samsung's US page when we checked, so treat it as pending.
Availability and legal history
The Ultrahuman line has a complicated US story. The older Ring AIR was covered by an exclusion order, and the redesigned ring was cleared for import under CBP ruling H354023 (CBP); the Ring PRO is now listed and in stock on Amazon.com as well as Ultrahuman's own US store. The pre-order history before that involved more than one slipped ship date. The Galaxy Ring has none of this baggage: it is a Samsung product on Amazon with a one-year US warranty. The AIR-versus-PRO situation is unpacked on Ultrahuman Ring PRO vs Ring AIR.
Sizing and fit
Samsung covers 5-15 - the widest range of the three - and says plainly that its sizes are “slightly different from that of regular rings” (Samsung). Ultrahuman covers 5-14 with a free kit. Both ship the kit before the ring, which is the right way round. Ultrahuman is also the only one of the three to publish a removal design for a swollen finger. Brand-by-brand differences are on smart ring sizing compared.
The verdict
- iPhone owner: Ultrahuman Ring PRO, because the Galaxy Ring is not an option at all.
- Samsung Galaxy phone owner: Galaxy Ring. You get the features that need a Samsung handset, the widest size range, a case in the box, and the apnea clearance when it lands.
- Non-Samsung Android owner: a closer call. The Galaxy Ring works, minus gestures and Find My Ring, and costs less than the Ultrahuman. If the lost features bother you, the Ultrahuman or the RingConn is the cleaner buy.
- Anyone buying on evidence: neither. Read Oura vs RingConn instead - that is where the published-evidence question actually gets decided.
In detail
The contenders, in full
Buy this if you carry a Galaxy phone
Samsung Galaxy Ring
No fee, a charging case in the box, sizes 5-15, 10ATM and IP68, and an FDA-cleared sleep apnea feature announced for fall 2026. Android 11 or newer only, and some features want a Samsung handset.
Published specsResearched · every value sourced
How the 6.2 score breaks down
- Cost of ownership (3 years) (30%)
- 10
- Evidence of accuracy (25%)
- 2
- Battery (claimed) (15%)
- 6
- Sizing & fit (10%)
- 8
- Data ownership (10%)
- 7
- Platform support (10%)
- 3
What the specs support
- No subscription
- Charging case included (up to 14 days total, maker's claim)
- Sizes 5-15, with a complimentary sizing kit before the ring
- Titanium, 10ATM and IP68
Where it falls short
- Does not work with iPhone
- Energy Score insights, Find My Ring and gestures need a Samsung Galaxy phone
- No peer-reviewed validation study found
- Up to 6 days on smaller sizes; a reviewer got about 5 days from a size 11
Skip this if…
…You own an iPhone (it doesn't work with iOS), or you use a non-Samsung Android phone and want every feature.
#ad · Price as of October 11, 2026 · How we make money for the link to Samsung Galaxy Ring
Buy this if you carry an iPhone
Ultrahuman Ring PRO
Up to 15 days claimed and 45 with the included case - the longest numbers in the category - plus a titanium unibody and a published cut-off design. Ultrahuman does not state the Ring PRO's phone requirements anywhere we could find.
Published specsResearched · every value sourced
How the 6.9 score breaks down
- Cost of ownership (3 years) (30%)
- 9
- Evidence of accuracy (25%)
- 2
- Battery (claimed) (15%)
- 10
- Sizing & fit (10%)
- 9
- Data ownership (10%)
- 8
- Platform support (10%)
- 5
What the specs support
- No required subscription
- Longest claimed battery we found: up to 15 days, 45 with the included case
- Free sizing kit; sizes 5-14
- Titanium unibody, 100 m water rating
Where it falls short
- The most expensive ring here by list price
- A long US pre-order history: ship dates slipped more than once before stock arrived
- No independent validation; Ultrahuman's only published data is an in-house pilot on the older Ring AIR
- Optional paid PowerPlugs for some features
Skip this if…
…You want published accuracy evidence for the exact ring on your finger: Ultrahuman has none for the PRO.
#ad · Price as of October 11, 2026 · How we make money for the link to Ultrahuman Ring PRO
The ring we would buy instead
RingConn Gen 2
No fee, 10-12 days a charge with a case rated at up to 150 days, and the only one of the three with any chest-strap comparison of its own - a 2026 preprint at rest. The cheapest of the three on list price.
Published specsResearched · every value sourced
| Subscription | None ("No Subscriptions") |
|---|---|
| Battery (claimed) | 10-12 daysMaker's claim |
| Charging case | Included; "Extended Up to 150 Days With Charging Case"Maker's claim |
| Sizes | 6-14 |
| Sizing kit | Complimentary |
| Phones | iOS 17.0+ and Android 10.0+ |
| Water resistance | IP68 (100 m / 328 ft) |
| Materials | Titanium alloy with medical-grade epoxy resin |
| HSA/FSA | Eligible through Flex |
| Warranty (US) | 1 year (non-EEA); normal battery capacity loss excluded; optional 2- or 3-year protection in the US |
| Features | "Automatic sleep apnea monitoring" with a "90.7% Sleep Apnea Monitoring Accuracy" claim (maker's claim; not a diagnosis)Maker's claim |
| US availability | Listed on Amazon.com |
How the 8.2 score breaks down
- Cost of ownership (3 years) (30%)
- 10
- Evidence of accuracy (25%)
- 5
- Battery (claimed) (15%)
- 9
- Sizing & fit (10%)
- 9
- Data ownership (10%)
- 8
- Platform support (10%)
- 9
What the specs support
- No subscription
- The charging case turns a 10-12 day ring into a months-between-outlets ring (maker's claim)
- A 2026 preprint compared it with a Polar H10 at rest: heart rate bias -0.42 bpm
- iOS and Android, free sizing kit
Where it falls short
- The chest-strap study is a preprint, seated only, and not peer-reviewed
- A reviewer found it read heart rate high during runs compared with a chest strap
- Needs iOS 17 or Android 10 or newer
- Sleep apnea figure is RingConn's own claim
Skip this if…
…You want workout heart rate you can trust on runs: a reviewer found it read high against a chest strap. Wear a strap for training.
#ad · Price as of October 11, 2026 · How we make money for the link to RingConn Gen 2
How we scored this
How these picks were chosen
Every pick here is labeled Researched: chosen from each brand's fee policy, spec sheet, sizing and warranty pages, and the published studies that measured the ring (or its predecessor) against a chest strap, an ECG or a sleep lab, then scored on a public rubric. Every figure links to where it came from, and maker performance numbers are labeled “maker's claim,” so you can see exactly what you're paying for before you buy.
Scores are editorial judgments built from that documented research. Commissions never set a score or decide a pick. The rubric and its weights are published.
What changed
- Published.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does the Samsung Galaxy Ring work with an iPhone?
Which has better battery, the Galaxy Ring or the Ultrahuman Ring PRO?
Do either of them charge a subscription?
Has either ring been validated in a study?
Is the Ultrahuman Ring PRO legal to buy in the US now?
Receipts
Sources
- Samsung US: Galaxy Ring product page (checked 2026-09-19)
- Samsung Canada: Galaxy Ring buy page (compatibility notes) (checked 2026-09-19)
- Samsung Newsroom: Galaxy Ring adds sizes 14 and 15 (sizes 5 to 15) (checked 2026-09-19)
- Samsung US Support: how to charge the Galaxy Ring (cell size and claimed days by ring size - 17 mAh for sizes 5-7 and 18.5 mAh for 8-11 at "up to 6 days on a single charge", 22.5 mAh for 12-15 at "up to 7 days"; "fully charge the Ring in about 90 minutes using the charging case"; a flat ring "may take at least ten minutes for the Ring to begin working"; battery life "may vary depending on the Ring's size, the network environment, personal usage patterns, amount of calls and messages, charging frequency, and other factors"; wearing a Galaxy Watch too can "extend the Ring's battery life by up to 30 percent") (checked 2026-10-11)
- Android Police: Galaxy Ring features on non-Samsung phones (July 22, 2024) (checked 2026-09-19)
- GSMArena: Samsung Galaxy Ring review (checked 2026-09-19)
- Android Authority: Samsung Galaxy Ring sleep apnea feature (July 22, 2026) (checked 2026-09-19)
- Ultrahuman US: Ring PRO buy page (price, ship date, subscription, battery, sizes) (checked 2026-09-19)
- Ultrahuman US: Ring FAQ (ProRelease Technology, BLE 5.3) (checked 2026-09-19)
- Ultrahuman: in-house pilot study, sleep heart rate sensing (not peer-reviewed) (checked 2026-09-19)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection ruling H354023 (Mar 6, 2026) (checked 2026-09-19)
- RingConn: Gen 2 product page (checked 2026-09-19)
- Tao et al., Research Square preprint 2026: ring PPG (RingConn Gen 2) vs chest strap in shooting athletes (not peer-reviewed) (checked 2026-09-19)
Every figure on this page is traceable. Fees come from each brand's own policy pages (with the date we checked), specs from maker pages and listings, and accuracy claims from named, published studies. Hardware prices are set by Amazon and change daily, so we link them live instead of printing them. Read the full method.
