Smart ring leader Oura enters Korea, bringing the challenge to Samsung

Which smart device will be the “one ring to rule them all”? Finnish smart ring maker Oura Health is eyeing the title in Korea as it takes on Samsung Electronics on its home turf.

The Finnish company recently expanded into the Korean market, with its Oura Ring 5 officially going on sale on Aug. 25. The company also operated a pop-up store at Lotte World Mall in Songpa District, southern Seoul, from the launch date through Monday in a bid to promote its products to new consumers.

Oura is one of the best-known names in smart rings. Oura held a commanding 74 percent share of the global smart ring market in the first half of 2025, according to market tracker Omdia. Samsung Electronics and Ultrahuman tied for a distant second, with 9 percent each, followed by RingConn with 5 percent.

Among Korean consumers, Oura first drew attention after its devices were spotted on several celebrities, including BTS member V.

As competition heats up, Samsung Electronics is preparing a second-generation smart ring after launching its first Galaxy Ring in 2024.

“We are steadily preparing the successor to the Galaxy Ring so that it can also offer a new user experience,” Roh Tae-moon, head of Samsung Electronics’ Device eXperience division, said in July.

A key appeal of smart rings is their ability to monitor health without requiring users to look at a screen. Fingers contain a dense concentration of tiny blood vessels, which makes them well-suited for measuring biometric signals. Smart rings are easier to wear for extended periods than smartwatches, which users often take off during the day or while sleeping because they can become uncomfortable.

Global smart ring sales jumped from 880,000 units in 2023 to 1.7 million in 2024 and are projected to reach 3.2 million by 2028, according to market tracker IDC. The market is expected to see average annual growth of 29.5 percent.

While the market remains small, its rapid expansion contrasts with the smartwatch market, which is entering a period of stagnation with average annual growth of just 1.7 percent.

But the industry faces a dilemma: The more that goes into a smart ring, the more cumbersome it becomes.

"With the way things are headed in the smart ring industry, though, we may just end up slipping mini smartphones on our fingers," technology outlet TechCrunch wrote on Saturday.

Adding functions beyond heart rate and sleep monitoring, such as payments and home appliance controls, increases power consumption. Increasing battery capacity, however, makes the ring heavier and thicker, undermining one of its biggest advantages — comfort. Cutting features, meanwhile, makes it harder to justify the price.

“The key is striking a balance between comfort and performance inside such a small ring,” an industry source said.

Oura's ambitions extend well beyond Korea.

The company filed documents for an initial public offering with U.S. securities regulators on Sept. 3 and is seeking a Nasdaq listing as early as this month, Bloomberg and other outlets reported on Wednesday. Oura aims to raise up to $3 billion.

In addition to selling rings, Oura operates a subscription service that provides detailed health analysis reports on metrics including sleep and heart rate for $5.99 a month. The subscription business posted a gross margin of 89 percent in the nine months through June. The number of paid subscribers doubled over the course of a year to 5 million.

Oura is not alone in stepping up its bets on the fast-growing market. Indian company Ultrahuman raised $70 million from investors including Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment arm of Qualcomm.

French smart ring maker Circular unveiled products including its Ring 3 Pro at the IFA 2026 trade show on Sept. 3. The ring features an NFC chip that can be linked to a payment card, allowing users to make contactless payments with the ring.

China’s Dreame, best known for its robot vacuum cleaners, has added a feature that lets users control its home appliances with a touch of a finger, while Chinese smart ring maker RingConn has equipped its latest product with a vibration notification motor.

BY KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]