When the Galaxy Ring was launched, initial reports suggested that the smart ring would only work with Samsung smartphones. It now appears that the Galaxy Ring compatibility is much broader than previously thought.
YouTuber Brandon Lee recently questioned Samsung’s notion of exclusivity by sharing a video on Twitter showing the Galaxy Ring X successfully pairing with a smartphone that appears to be the Nothing. Therefore, you will not need to have a Galaxy smartphone to operate the Korean manufacturer’s connected doorbell.
Galaxy Ring doesn’t require a Samsung smartphone
Samsung has since updated its official press release to confirm that the Galaxy Ring is compatible with all Android smartphones. Running Android 11 or later and having at least 1.5GB of RAMThis is a significant change from the initial announcement, which limited compatibility to “Galaxy smartphones running Android 11.0 or later.” Rumors even suggest that iOS support could be on the horizon, further increasing the Galaxy Ring’s appeal to Apple fans.
For non-Samsung Android phone users, the pairing process is the same as other Samsung wearables. To get the Ring up and running, you’ll need to install a number of Samsung apps, including Galaxy Wearable, Samsung Health, and SmartThings. So it’s an extra step, but it’s a small price to pay for access to Samsung’s latest wearable tech.
However, it is important to note that some features will remain exclusive to Samsung smartphones. Users of other Android devices will not be able to benefit from benefits such as Energy Score, Galaxy AI Health Recommendations, Find My Ring function, and gesture controls for the camera and alarm mute.
For those without a Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy Ring still offers solid features like step counting, sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, wellness tips, and automatic workout detection. This expanded compatibility puts the Galaxy Ring on par with competitors like the Oura Ring and Ultrahuman Ring Air, which support both Android and iOS devices.
