A Samsung or Google smart ring could be interesting, but not many are convinced

What you need to know

• Samsung has been rumored to have a smart ring in development.
• We polled our readers, asking if a Google, Samsung, or Apple-made smart ring would interest them.
• Many expressed interest in a Google or Samsung ring, but plenty were still not interested in the idea of a smart ring.

Smart rings are still a fairly new device type and are pretty niche. However, things could be different if any of the big smartphone makers swooped in and made their own. Putting a big name like Google, Samsung, or Apple could have the potential to really kick things off for smart rings. However, our latest poll suggests that consumers still aren’t too convinced that smart rings are worth their time.

We recently asked our readers if they would consider buying a smart ring if Google, Samsung, or Apple made one. Unsurprisingly, there was little interest in an Apple smart ring, but Google and Samsung both had 30% and 26% of votes, respectively. Still, 28% of voters said they still would not be interested in buying a smart ring, with many saying they fall short of offering the same functionality as any of the best smartwatches.

Here are some of the responses we received from readers:

• Alfredo Lehar: “Of the 3 options, Apple would make sure it only works with apple products, Google wouldn’t even bother selling it outside of a handful of countries, so that means I would buy it from Samsung.”
• Angus: “The manufacturer of the ring doesn’t really matter, the better question is would you pay the subscription? That’s what’s holding me back”
• VGBurnzy: “Everything the ring could do could be or already is part of what a smartwatch can do, and a watch is a more reasonable sell because of its versatility.”
• Leduan Flores: “Don’t know if I like the idea of having to charge my ring as well”
• Billy Allen: “Nope. Lacks a screen, so I would still need to look at my phone to see whatever information the ring had to provide, which I’d assume a watch can do more things and do said things better.”
• John Wentworth: “Hell no, the smartwatch is still mostly a fashion accessory. How much functionality could it actually provide?”
• Susan Hugus: “It would depend on the what software it would run. The Samsung and Apple watches can do so much. Samsung Galaxy watches keep adding more uses to their watches every year that couldn’t be put on a ring. I never really pull my phone out of my bag for everyday use when I am out.”