By Michael L Hicks

In this weekly column, Android Central Wearables Editor Michael Hicks talks about the world of wearables, apps, and fitness tech related to running and health, in his quest to get faster and more fit.

To go beyond the tech niche into the mainstream, smart rings might need a "killer app" to stand out and justify their high prices. It's unclear which features they need versus the ones added to pad spec sheets or make them sound futuristic.

Smart rings have exploded in 2024, for better or worse. You can barely go a week without some new brand launching a smart ring Kickstarter, each one promising more features than the last. Before the Samsung Galaxy Ring arrives, they're all rushing out rival products with outlandish promises and (mostly) interchangeable features.

In this oversaturated market, brand recognition gives Samsung and Oura an advantage. But the Oura Ring (Gen 3) has a few missing features, and Galaxy Ring leaks suggest its first-generation device won't have as many "smarts" as you might think.

Any "Find my lost ring" option

(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)

People lose jewelry all the time, but losing a $10 gold band from Target and a $300+ smart ring aren't comparable. And right now, losing a smart ring is pretty much irrevocable. Built-in GPS or a speaker might make a ring too bulky, and no smart rings use a Find My Device network or any sort of method for tracking it down.

A recent Galaxy Ring leak suggests Samsung will add a "Lost Mode" function that triggers a flashing LED and disables any data sharing if someone else finds it. I don't think this goes far enough, however, since a light won't help if the ring falls into a couch cushion or is left somewhere far away.

What you really need is for a smart ring to use your phone's GPS to save its exact location the moment its wear detection catches you taking it off, so you know generally where to look. Once you're in the immediate area, something like Ultra Wideband (UWB) could be the best option for tracking down a ring that's hard to find — assuming it wouldn't make the ring too heavy.