Samsung Galaxy Ring lawsuit suggests it could launch in August
Samsung is preemptively suing smart ring maker Oura in the US to block patent infringement lawsuits over its upcoming wearable Galaxy Ring ahead of its debut. The lawsuit revealed the wearable device’s planned launch window. The South Korean brand first previewed the Galaxy Ring during its Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in January. The wearable, which features various health and sleep tracking features, was also shown off at Mobile World Congress (MWC 2024) in February.
Ahead of the official launch of the Galaxy Ring, Samsung preemptively filed a lawsuit against Oura in the federal court in California, seeking a “declaratory judgment” finding that the Galaxy Ring does not infringe on five Oura patents. The lawsuit alleges that Oura, which currently dominates the smart ring market, has a pattern of arbitrarily asserting patent infringement against competitors in the smart ring market based on “features common to virtually all smart rings,” such as the addition of sensors, electronics, health data scores and batteries. The case lists Oura’s lawsuits against manufacturers including Ultrahuman, Circular and RingConn.
Samsung Galaxy Ring launch timeline (expected)
The lawsuit reveals that Samsung will sell the Galaxy Ring in the US in or around August, corroborating previous rumors about the wearable device’s launch timeline. It could launch alongside Samsung’s latest foldable devices at the next Galaxy Unpacked event, which is expected to take place in July.
According to the lawsuit, the Galaxy Ring monitors heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen, exercise and sleep to provide users with valuable insights and guidance to improve their health and well-being. The lawsuit notes that Samsung has finalized the design for the Galaxy Ring and expects to begin mass production in mid-June.
Samsung previewed the Galaxy Ring during its Unpacked product launch event in San Jose, California in January. We got a sneak peek at the device’s design and capabilities at MWC later in February. It has a metal body with sensors built into it. It’s confirmed to come in three colors, possibly black, gold, and silver, and will run on the Samsung Health platform.
The South Korean tech giant’s entry into the smart ring market is likely to increase consumer interest in such products and encourage other brands to enter the competition.
