DOWN THE DRAIN
Samsung owners told they’ll have to BIN expensive gadgets worth hundreds as experts uncover mega battery mistake
The lithium-ion batteries in the Samsung Galaxy ring are impossible to remove without destroying the device
OWNERS of smart rings are in for a rotten surprise when it comes to replacing the batteries in their pricey miniatures.
The wearable gadgets, such as Samsung's Galaxy Ring or the Oura, range between £300 and £500 ($300-$550).
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But once the battery is worn out, they cannot be fixed, tech expert Shahram Mokhtari at iFixit has warned in a recent blog post.
"The Galaxy Ring - and all smart rings like it - comes with a huge string attached: It’s 100% disposable," he said, before adding: "The culprit? The lithium ion batteries."
Lithium ion batteries are lightweight and rechargeable, and are used in all kinds of electronics.
But they're not immune to the natural degradation that batteries undergo.
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This means that one day, it will stop working properly.
If they cannot be replaced, then the device is rendered useless.
"It’s impossible to fix a smart ring because once it dies, you can’t get to the battery without destroying the device in the process," Mokhtari explained.
"The unfortunate truth is that most people still don’t know that lithium ion batteries have an expiry date attached to them.
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"It’s not by accident that the Oura Ring specifically excludes batteries from their one year warranty."
Samsung released its first-ever Galaxy Ring in July this year, but alternatives such as Oura have been around for much longer.
Customers of Oura, which came out with its first smart ring in 2015, have long complained about the battery life and lack of customer support in response.
A Reddit post from two years ago reveals Oura ring users who couldn't use key features like sleep tracking because the battery "doesn't make it through the night".
In the replies, another customer wrote: "Same thing with mine. I contacted support. They said warranty ran out a couple weeks ago.
"Their solution? Buy a new ring. No thanks. I’ll just be done with Oura."
Another added: "Same here. They offered $50 off the price of a new one. No thanks."
The Sun has contacted Samsung and Oura for comment.
Why do batteries get worse over time?
Here's what you need to know...
- Most gadgets run on lithium-ion batteries
- Over time, the amount of charge this type of battery can hold gets smaller
- That means you need to charge your device more often because they hold less charge
- Batteries have two electrode points – the cathode and the anode
- To charge a battery, the ions inside the battery are forced from the cathode to the anode
- When you use a battery, it moves in the reverse direction
- This process wears away at the structure of the anode, reducing its ability to function correctly
- But the process also builds up a kind of salt on the cathode when charging
- As this build-up grows, the battery will accept less charge over time
- It’s estimated that between 500 and 1,000 full charge-cycles will reduce a battery’s maximum capacity by roughly 20%