Purchaser beware: Samsung’s new Galaxy Ring and related finger-worn wearables symbolize the newest class of wearable tech designed to entice shoppers. Earlier than opening up your pockets for a smooth new sensible ring, nevertheless, it is best to know that you just’re shopping for what’s primarily disposable expertise.
As iFixit highlights in its newest teardown, the Galaxy Ring – like all different sensible rings – is hamstrung by the truth that its lithium battery cannot be changed with out destroying the system. In essence, Samsung’s well being monitoring ring has a shelf life and as soon as the battery is worn out, your solely plan of action is to toss out your entire factor.
How lengthy do you may have? Effectively, that relies upon. iFixit notes that the chemistry in fashionable consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries are normally good for no less than 400 cycles. For many, this implies the $400 Galaxy Ring will not final greater than about two years with common use. Something past that needs to be thought of icing on the cake.
iFixit would not advocate shopping for disposable tech like this however in case you do, know that you just’re no less than getting some neat – albeit, not earth-shattering – {hardware}.
The group just lately labored with engineers at Lumafield, and subjected a Galaxy Ring to a computed tomography (CT) scanner to get a have a look at the wearable’s inside workings with out dismantling it.
Curiously sufficient, the scan revealed the usage of a press connector becoming a member of the battery to the circuit board. It is an odd design determination contemplating the battery just isn’t replaceable. Why not merely solder it to the board? Maybe Samsung went this path to make meeting simpler and sooner.
Decided to dig deeper, iFixit cracked open the Galaxy Ring utilizing warmth and a dental choose to soften and chip away on the resin and plastic coating awaiting on the within. After confirming a press connector is certainly used to hyperlink the battery and inductive coil to the circuit board, they’d a more in-depth have a look at the battery.
It was too far broken to positively ID its capability however based on Samsung’s web site, a dimension 11 ring ought to have a 19.5 mAh battery (curiously sufficient, battery capability scales with ring dimension).
