Samsung is a leader in everything from TVs to smartphones. Every year, Samsung ups its game with a new Galaxy smartphone series. The company is now in its seventh generation of companion Galaxy smartwatches as well. Last year, Samsung added a Galaxy smart ring to the mix, too. Rather than review these three devices separately, I wanted to look at the entire ecosystem. How do these three devices compare to others in their class, how well do they work together, and is it worth investing in all three?
Key Things to Know About Each Device
Before diving into my review, let’s take a look at the key things to know about each of the devices I used for this review.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Smartphone
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the top-line smartphone in Samsung’s new line. At its centre are AI features, including the ability to long-press the power button to activate Gemini. There’s a neat Now Brief feature that provides AI-powered insights like details about your night’s sleep, the day’s weather, and your daily schedule.
With Samsung One UI, you get a personalized experience, look, and feel. Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor, the phone purports to offer a boost in performance, including the ability to process AI experiences right on the device versus using the cloud.
There’s a 200MP wide AF OIS main camera, 50MP wide AF OIS, 50MP 5x tele AF OIS, 10MP 3x tele AF OIS, and 12MP wide AF front camera. You can take high-res Macro shots and high-res zoom thanks to the increased 100x Space Zoom. Access all the cool photo and video capture and editing features found in the latest Android phones as well.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has an IP68 rating, is equipped with 12GB RAM, and comes in 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB capacities. The 5,000 mAh battery supports fast and wireless charging along with Wireless PowerShare.
Available in Titan Black, Titan Gray, Titan Silverblue, or Titan Whitesilver with a titanium frame, enhanced Corning Gorilla Armor front, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 rear, it starts at $1,919.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 can track more than 100 workouts, including building routines. You can get a snapshot of your body and fitness with the Body Composition feature and there’s an advanced AI algorithm for sleep analysis. The watch boasts an enhanced BioActive Sensor and can track advanced glycation end products (AGEs) right from your wrist with an AGEs Index. Strongly influenced by diet and lifestyle, AGEs reflect your overall biological aging process and provide an indication of metabolic health.
It’s also the first Galaxy smartwatch to feature a Dual-frequency GPS system, which can more precisely track location, even in dense urban environments. The Watch 7 is a nice complement to the Ring since it has a screen you can use to initiate workouts, view and answer messages, and, of course, tell time. It also has features like Samsung Wallet.
The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in a 40mm or 44mm size starting at $410 and $450 for the Bluetooth only versions. For those who want to use it while leaving their phone at home or in a locker, there are LTE options that start at $480 and $520, respectively. Galaxy Watch7 40mm is available in Green and Cream, while Galaxy Watch7 44mm is available in Green and Silver.
Samsung Galaxy Ring
Samsung’s first smart ring, the Galaxy Ring packs almost as much tracking and insights as a premium smartwatch, despite being a tiny ring worn on the finger. It’s lightweight (2.3-3 grams) with a concave design and an impressive 10ATM water resistance. Constructed with Titanium Grade 58 finish, it can run for up to seven days per charge and comes with a specially designed quick charging case that has LED lights to indicate charging status. It comes in Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold. Sizing kits are available to help you find the right fit from nine size options.
In terms of tracking, it can capture workouts, vitals, energy score, and detailed sleep data leveraging AI. Along with Sleep Score and snoring analysis, new sleep metrics include movement during sleep, sleep latency, heart and respiratory rate. With Cycle Tracking, you can better track your menstrual cycle through overnight skin temperature monitoring. All the data integrates into Samsung Health, and the Ring does not require a subscription.
Galaxy Ring works seamlessly with the Galaxy Watch 7, part of the reason I was curious to try both together. It sells for $550 in Canada.
Set Up, Pairing, and Working Together
The first steps are, of course, to set everything up. I started with the phone, transferring my account and data from another Android device to this phone. Second came the Watch, then the Ring. Everything is managed in the Samsung Wearable and Samsung Health apps, which provide a neat and tidy view of all the metrics that are gathered.
Observations on the Galaxy Smart Ring
Pros
- Comfortable to wear
- Available in a range of sizes
- Tracks a lot of metrics without a subscription
- Neat gesture controls
Cons
- Simplistic design
- Expensive for what it is
The ring is comfortable to wear but very basic in its look: there are no frills, cool notches, or a fancy finish. It’s just a basic, circular ring. But you’ll get so used to wearing it, you’ll forget it’s even there. In the background, however, it’s doing the important work of measuring your vitals, workouts, sleep, and more.
The cute charging case is easy to pop in your purse or bag if you need to charge the ring o the go, or even store it while you go into a saltwater ocean, for example. You can recharge the case and use it without the USB-C cable or plug it in to charge the case and the ring at home. It also works with Wireless PowerShare by placing the ring in its case and the case atop a compatible Samsung Galaxy phone to recharge.
It’s a bit confusing because once you close the case, the light goes off, so you never really know if it’s charging or not. A charging indicator light that’s visible when the case is closed would be useful. Otherwise, if the case lights up when you open it, you can be confident it’s doing its job.
When worn on its own, the Ring captures pertinent data, including activity (triggered through the app on the phone), sleep, heart rate, and more. Once you wear it alongside the Watch, it becomes more of a passive secondary device. But it has some other cool features.
For example, it works with gesture controls so you can use it to operate your phone. Double pinch to dismiss an alarm or even take a photo. Double pinching to take a photo works well and it’s super handy. You can take a quick group selfie without having to orient your thumb the right way, stretch your second arm out to push the button, or set a timer. It’s surprisingly responsive, which is refreshing since gesture controls can often be finicky.
If you lose or misplace your ring, you can find the location where it was last connected to the smartphone with Find My Ring on Samsung Find. Beyond this, the ring just becomes part of your day, a piece of jewelry you wear day and night that you just need to charge from time to time.
Observations on the Galaxy Watch 7
Pros
- Sleek design
- Handy gesture features
- Accurate tracking
Cons
- Battery life isn’t great
- Charges very slowly
- Needs more combination workout types, not exercises
The watch is comfortable as well, though I did experience initial skin irritation from the band that comes in the box. Battery life leaves much to be desired: I found myself having to charge it daily, at least every day and-a-half, which you typically don’t experience with similar smartwatches (Apple Watch excepted). It also charges slowly: I charged both my Apple Watch Series 10 and the Galaxy Watch 7 and the Apple Watch consistently recharged more quickly. It was typically back to 100% by the time the Galaxy Watch 7 was still only about 75% charged.
If you can get beyond the slow charging and short battery life, I love the style, personalization options for the watch face, and the easy-to-use interface. It’s nice to be able to choose workouts right from the watch screen. If you only have the ring, you’ll need to initiate a workout from the phone. I do wish there were more workout types, however, versus only a series of specific moves. I’ll often do upper body workouts that involve several different moves through a 30-minute session. So, I can’t choose arm extensions or arm curls, for example, when my workout includes those and many other moves. Why not just include one that’s called strength training? I ended up using circuit training for these as it was the most relevant option I could find.
Along with all the usuals, including tracking activity, sleep, heart rate, and more, you also get an AGEs index, which stands for advanced glycation end products. It’s supposed to tell you about the compounds that form in your body after eating that combine protein or fat with sugar in your bloodstream. The grading shows low to high on a sliding scale, but there was nothing to indicate what this data actually means and how to read it.
Along with also delivering notifications from a connected smartphone, the Galaxy Watch 7 has neat gesture features, too. They’re a little less responsive than with the ring. However, there are times when it might come in handy, like being able to make a fist twice, pinch, or double pinch to do things like dismiss calls, stop a timer, or control the media player. It’s a useful option to silence the phone while you’re trying to get back to your car with arms full of groceries. It just may take some getting used to before you get the hang of making the gestures such that the watch responds.
Observations on the Galaxy S25 Ultra Smartphone
Pros
- Good battery life
- Cameras are good, zoom is excellent
- Deep on-device AI integration
Cons
- Boxy design might not be for everyone
- Charges very slowly
- Interface not as intuitive as others
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is boxier than any other Android phone I have tried in the last few years. It’s not as sleek and sexy, almost employing an industrial look by comparison. That’s something Galaxy phone owners have gotten used to, but it’s not a design preference I would choose.
The interface isn’t as seamless and intuitive as with other phones I’ve used, like the OnePlus 13 and Google Pixels, like the new Google Pixel 9a. But this may just be a matter of personal preference. I found it frustrating to unlock the phone at times, trying to find the right place on the bottom of the screen to do so. It took some getting used to not being able to swipe up to close an app as well, which has become a second-nature gesture for me that works with most phones.
The Morning Brief feature is nice, providing an at-a-glance look at your day, including the weather, suggestions for your morning routine, energy score, and sleep score. But it wasn’t something I found I looked at every day. Instead, I just went right to the Samsung Health app to check my stats.
I did notice that the phone charges very slowly, just like the Watch. So, keep this in mind if you’re a power user. You’ll likely want to keep a wired charger at your bedside and recharge the phone nightly. Considering it only charges at 15W wirelessly, you might want to invest in a wireless charger you can sit it on atop your desk all day. It’s also worth investing in the optional 45W wired charger to speed up wired charging.
The feature people most want to know about when it comes to phones is the camera. So, I put the phone’s cameras through their paces, I snapped photos with this device along with the Google Pixel 9a, OnePlus 13, and Apple iPhone 15 Pro. Here’s a sampling of images I took at home as well as during a weekend in downtown Toronto.
My Health Journey
What I really wanted to focus on with this ecosystem is the health aspects. Once I had all three devices in tow, it was off to my regular schedule, which includes daily workouts, weekend walks, and busy workdays. I used the Watch to track activities as I did them, monitoring the data in the app.
I found the workout stats to be comparable to the data collected for my Apple Watch Series 10, which I wore simultaneously on the opposite wrist (dominant hand).
Comparing workouts with my Apple Watch Series 10, data was similar. For a 30-minute weight training workout, for example, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 recorded 150 total calories burned, an average heart rate of 112 bpm and a maximum heart rate of 136. Comparatively, my Apple Watch Series 10 logged 139 total calories, an average heart rate of 108 bpm, and a maximum heart rate of 131 bpm. There’s some variance, but not much.
Looking at data like sleep, the Galaxy Watch typically recorded more sleep than the Apple Watch, which I find is usually the case with all other smartwatches and smart rings in comparison to that device. The sleep stages were fairly in sync as well, with just a few minutes variance each night.
I do like that you can view everything in one place in the Samsung Health app. But in wearing both the Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Ring, it’s unclear what value the Ring provides beyond the Watch. Presumably, they work together to provide more comprehensive health tracking. But all the data is centralized, so you don’t see it separately. The Ring focuses on continuous monitoring while the Watch handles advanced features and additional data. If you wear both, The Galaxy Watch 7 will take precedence as the primary tracker for metrics. So, I struggle to see how the Ring assists if for no other reason than back-up tracking should your Watch die while you’re out and about.
Final Thoughts on the Samsung Health Ecosystem
If you love the Samsung Galaxy line of phones, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a worthy upgrade if you have been hanging on to one that’s several generations old. The powerful AI processing, great cameras, even the side Gemini button (which works flawlessly) are nice touches.
If you’re looking for an ecosystem to guide you through a fitness, health, or wellness journey, you’ll find value in adding the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 to the mix. You will need to charge it often, which is one downside. But it pairs beautifully with the Galaxy S25 Ultra with added benefits like gesture control.
Where the Galaxy Ring comes into play is the question. It’s great to use on its own, but if you’re tracking workouts, you’ll need to initiate it from the phone. It’s unobtrusive, the battery lasts much longer than the Galaxy Watch 7, plus it tracks almost all the same metrics. However, there’s, of course, no screen which means no notifications. That also, however, means no distractions.
The ideal set-up is to have all three. But given the high price tag of the Samsung Galaxy Ring and the fact that the Watch takes over when you wear both, and you can’t discern what the Ring is capturing that the Watch isn’t (beyond data once the Watch dies), I’m not sure it’s worth it to get all three.
If you’re looking for a health and wellness companion, get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 alongside the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Add the Samsung Galaxy Ring to your wish list for gifting and hope someone signs you up. The good news is that it doesn’t require a subscription, so once you have it, it just works. However, it doesn’t add much value unless you want to get it on its own instead of a Galaxy Watch to avoid distractions.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, and Samsung Galaxy Ring are a great trio for assisting on your wellness journey. It’s just a matter of how you want to use them and how much you’re willing to spend.