Which finger should you wear the Samsung Galaxy Ring on?

Should I wear the Samsung Galaxy Ring on a specific finger?

Most smart ring makers recommend wearing their rings on your non-dominant hand's index finger , or the ring finger as a secondary option that still delivers accurate health data. You can also consider the middle finger. Your pinky will be too small to get a good reading; your thumb may be too short and active to find a convenient spot for continuous data.

Samsung recommended during our Galaxy Ring hands-on that people wear it on their pointer finger, with the ring finger as a backup option. They said you'll want it to slide on your finger somewhat easily but have some resistance coming off so it's not too loose for accurate readings.

During a private Q&A session with the Galaxy Ring product team, they said people should use the Galaxy Ring sizing kit to "choose which finger they want to wear it on or try different sizes on different fingers." In other words, they expect people to wear the Galaxy Ring on whichever finger they find comfortable.

Samsung sells a sizing kit through retailers, or sends it for free if you buy the Galaxy Ring from samsung.com. The Galaxy Ring comes in nine sizes that don't conform to any universal size chart, so you'll want to try it on various fingers first and see which is comfortable for daily use, sleep tracking, and workout tracking.

Why choosing the right Samsung Galaxy Ring finger matters—and why it's not the same for everyone

The Samsung Galaxy Ring has a few non-health features like gesture controls, but you're mainly wearing it to get insights into your heart health, sleep quality, and fitness goals. If you buy the wrong-sized Galaxy Ring for your hand, you're essentially paying $399 for nothing, because the data will be inaccurate.

Whether you buy the Galaxy Ring, Oura Ring , or any other smart ring, you should wear it on one of your three middle fingers. Which you choose will depend on your preferences; this informal Oura subreddit poll , for example, shows that 44% wear it on their index finger, 26% on their ring finger, and 26% on their middle finger out of 1,500 people.

As we explained above, Samsung doesn't require you to wear the Galaxy Ring on your index finger to get good results. Case in point, the Galaxy Ring's double-pinch gesture works "on all fingers wearing rings" according to the fine-print on Samsung's promotional materials. They wouldn't specify that unless they expected people to wear the Galaxy Ring wherever they wanted.

Whichever finger you choose, we do suggest wearing it on your non-dominant hand. Even though the Galaxy Ring is slimmer and lighter than most smart rings, it's still noticeably thick. It'll feel intrusive when holding objects like utensils or other daily actions you normally don't think about, like using the bathroom.

Once you choose a finger and size, wear the Galaxy Ring dummy ring for 24 hours , including one night of fake sleep tracking, before you buy it. Your finger size naturally changes at different times of day, and something snugly comfortable during the day could become uncomfortably tight at night.

That also applies during workouts, where higher heart rates swell your fingers. Unlike a fitness watch —where you can adjust the band to any wrist size—your only recourse with a smart ring is to switch to a different finger entirely.

That's why many people wear their smart rings on different fingers for different activities. You could swap from your index finger to your ring finger at night, for instance. But it really depends on how well Samsung's unique ring sizes match with your hand size.

When I reviewed the Ultrahuman Ring Air , I originally measured it for my dominant index finger without realizing (A) it would get in the way and (B) it got a bit tight at night. Thankfully, my left index finger was only slightly smaller, and it ended up being less annoying at night while still giving me a proper seal during the day.

Ultimately, the best Galaxy Ring finger to choose is probably your non-dominant index finger. But if you want to wear it as a techy wedding band, that should give you similar results so long as it's fitted well. We've found smart rings more uncomfortable when worn on the middle finger, but this comes down to preference.

Now that you know which Galaxy Ring finger is the best option, you may want to check whether the Galaxy Ring or Oura Ring is your best smart ring option in general!

Not one-size-fits-all

The Samsung Galaxy Ring ships in silver, gold, or black titanium finishes, with nine distinct sizes. Don't simply pick your normal ring size; try the sizing kit first and switch between multiple fingers to see which feels comfortable while still offering a tight enough seal that it won't come loose by day or feel restrictive at night.