Now that smartwatches have more or less become more acceptable in society, it seems that the wearable tech market is setting its eyes on less conspicuous and less distracting designs for monitoring one’s health and fitness. And just like smartwatches in their early years, smart rings just aren’t resounding yet with people, though that could only be a matter of time. There hasn’t been much variety yet in this nascent market, which isn’t surprising given the physical limitations of a ring. Wearable tech brand Amazfit, however, believes it has something unique to offer, at least to athletes and very active people who are just as concerned with their mental health and recovery as they are with their steps and heart rate.
The niche that smartwatches have found themselves in seems to revolve around fitness and health, with features like activity tracking, health monitors, and the like. While those are indeed important metrics, they only represent a part of one’s overall well-being. Mental health is just as important, and giving your body and mind time to rest and recover is critical as well. Those are the points that the Amazfit Helio Ring is trying to emphasize in order to differentiate it from the likes of the Oura Ring, currently the leading name in this very young and small market.
In a nutshell, the Amazfit Helio Ring takes the same data collected by sensors inside the ring but interprets them in a slightly different way. Of course, it still records your steps, tracks your blood oxygen levels, and even monitors your sleep, but it frames that information in light of stress levels, your mental health, and most importantly, how well you’re taking steps to recover from those. Amazfit will propose actionable steps to guide you toward recovery, which unsurprisingly include getting enough sleep and meditation.
As for the device itself, the Amazfit Helios Ring is a bit of an outlier in that it doesn’t try to masquerade as a piece of jewelry. The dotted pattern on its surface is a dead giveaway that it is anything but luxurious, giving it a more rugged appearance that its target audience won’t mind anyway. In fact, it is intentionally designed for this group of people, using “skin-friendly” titanium alloy and ensuring water resistance of up to 10ATM, for those times when you need to take a swim.
The Amazfit Helios Ring can be used on its own, with or without an Amazfit smartwatch. Of course, you will need to pair with the mobile app, but you will also need to subscribe to the Zepp Aura rest and wellness service to really use the data it gives. A purchase of the ring will include a three-month free trial, but there are no pricing details available yet.
Smart wearables and activity trackers are en vogue these days, but with few exceptions, most of them seem to be hyper-focused on the “activity” part of our fitness. Sure, being active and burning calories is always a good thing, especially considering the sedentary lifestyles that most people adopt, but these aren’t the only factors that will keep you living healthy and enjoying life longer. Sleep and recovery, stress and relaxation, and even the coffee you drink all contribute to your overall health, and the Ultrahuman Ring AIR provides a window into those metrics with a stylish wearable that’s so lightweight and comfortable that you might even forget you’re wearing one.
Activity trackers, which evolved from single-purpose pedometers, are nothing new. They come in different forms, from smart bands to smartwatches to the new breed of smart rings, but they have many common characteristics. They’re designed to detect your activity and your body’s vitals as they’re related to those activities, sometimes with some sleep tracking on the side. The latter, unfortunately, doesn’t get as much attention as sweating it out during the day, which further feeds the misunderstanding that sleep is something you can cut down if you need more hours in a day. The Ultrahuman Ring AIR, however, takes a very different approach, one that places sleep above all to provide a more holistic view of your current health so that you can take the necessary steps to improve it.
Sleep Index – Derived to help you understand the various sleep stages such as Deep sleep, REM sleep, Light sleep and being Awake.
Circadian Phase Alignment – A way to sync with your body’s natural rhythm. Analyse temperature minima, align your lifestyle and optimise your sleep-wake cycle for improved cognitive function, energy levels, and hormone balance.
Recovery Score – Derived from a blend of key metrics, including Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Heart Rate, and Skin Temperature, this score provides insights into various signals your body sends throughout the day, enabling a deeper comprehension of its needs.
Movement Index – The score is based on metabolic equivalent (METs) and depends on how much you move throughout the day rather than just your workout for a specific duration during the day.
Stimulant Window Recommender – Designed to optimize your stimulant consumption for enhanced productivity and sleep management.
The Ultrahuman Ring AIR gives due importance to your sleep index, which gives insight not just into your sleep length but also to sleep efficiency, restfulness, consistency, and other markers that indicate the quality of your rest. It also gives you a Recovery Score, using body signals like heart rate variability (HRV) and skin temperature to detect your levels of stress. Of course, it doesn’t just tell you that you’re stressed but also offers concrete ways to calm down, harnessing a huge library of premium content from athletes and experts available on the Ultrahuman app. Ultrahuman even has a “Stimulant Window Recommender” that tells you the best time to drink your favorite coffee blend to have the best effect on your productivity. It also features a revolutionary Circadian Phase Alignment that helps you sync with your natural body rhythm, optimizing your sleep-wake cycle for improved cognitive functions and more balanced health. There’s also Phase Advance that nudges you to move and enjoy healthy sunlight to help shift your sleep schedule earlier. There are even more features coming, including respiratory rate and that oh-so-desirable blood pressure measurement.
Water Resistance – Provides reliable water resistance up to ~330 feet.
Of course, none of this valuable information would matter if your smart ring didn’t make it to the end of the day or didn’t make it out of the swimming pool. Thankfully, the Ultrahuman Ring AIR is not only elegant but also long-lasting, both inside and out. It has an advertised battery life of 6 days, ensuring that you get the most out of all the metrics that it can collect 24 hours a day. The tungsten carbide that coats the titanium outer shell provides a double layer of durability, while its water resistance enables you to wear it for a swim or a shallow dive to a depth of 330 meters. Despite all this toughness, the smooth, hypoallergenic inner shell and lightweight construction make it a joy to wear all throughout the day, especially when you’re sleeping at night.
Being more aware of one’s health is a great thing, but it’s easy to overlook or even take for granted how sleep and recovery play a critical role in our well-being. With the Ultrahuman Ring AIR and the Ultrahuman app’s extensive wealth of knowledge and content, you can get a more holistic grasp of your body’s state and take well-informed steps to make sure that you’re living your healthiest so that you can live life to the fullest.
Stylish minimalist design with a lightweight construction and multiple size options
Incredibly long battery life (even more with the case)
Can be worn while swimming, taking a bath, or washing dishes
No subscription fee required for full data access
CONS:
Prone to scratches
Syncing requires the mobile app to be running
RATINGS:
AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
EDITOR'S QUOTE:
With an elegant and comfortable design and a battery that lasts for almost a week, the RingConn focuses on the essential parts of your health without getting in the way of your life.
The past years have seen an increased interest in personal fitness and health, both physical and mental, which has finally given smartwatches a reason to exist in the market for good. These wrist-worn smart devices have become miniature health clinics that take note of your body’s condition and state and offer some interpretation of this data. But despite smartwatches becoming a bit more stylish than their ancestors, not everyone is comfortable wearing one or is willing to give up a favored timepiece just to keep tabs on their health. The need for discretion and comfort has given rise to a new breed of fitness wearable, one that can be worn discreetly on one’s finger. RingConn is the latest to dip its finger into this niche and nascent market, so we decided to put it on to see if it’s just another “also ran” or if it has the potential to truly change the smart wearable landscape.
Right off the bat, you’ll notice and probably appreciate how simple the RingConn is; a breath of fresh air compared to the sophisticated smartwatches that brands recommend we wear to track our health regularly. It’s the perfect compromise for someone who does want to monitor their activities and sleep without being physically and mentally burdened by the complications of a smartwatch. The ring is a simple circle, though not a perfect round shape because of a subtly flat bottom. Fortunately, you won’t exactly notice that unless you examine the ring closely, and its minimalist design is enough to give the illusion of being anything but a gadget.
Simple doesn’t mean bland, however, and the RingConn definitely brings a touch of class to its appearance. Made from titanium on the outside, the ring is both durable and lightweight, so it doesn’t actually feel that substantial when worn on any finger. It comes in three stylish color options, with Moonlit Silver and Pale Gold gold offering a more luxurious character not unlike fine jewelry. Midnight Black, on the other hand, is more subdued and discreet, a better fit for those who don’t want to call too much attention to the ring.
The ring, however, is rather thick, and that makes it really noticeable even on larger fingers. That’s especially true if placed beside regular rings, especially wedding bands. It isn’t exactly an eyesore, but it does have some significant implications. For example, that does mean that it’s more likely to come in contact with some surface or object compared to thin rings, which introduces risks of scratching. The RingConn’s durability unfortunately only applies to its structural integrity, not to its shiny surface. These two factors together mean that the ring is more likely to get scuffs and scratches during the course of a few days, and the black model is apparently more prone to this than the other two colors. It’s not a complete deal-breaker, but it should give wearers fewer reasons to panic once the scratches start to show in just a few days or weeks.
The charging case mirrors the ring’s minimalist bent, made from matte aluminum that gives the accessory an elegant appearance and a solid build. Each case is made for a specific ring size, so the ring fits perfectly around the charging dock and won’t jump around when the case is placed inside your bag or pocket. Although it can easily slip into your pocket, it’s not as compact as, say, an AirPods charging case. RingConn could have probably made it a bit smaller by sacrificing some battery capacity and it wouldn’t have negatively affected the ring’s performance too much.
Ergonomics
One of the problems with smartwatches is that even the lightest of them tend to be heavier than traditional watches because of the electronics and batteries they have to bear. Even those already used to wearing timepieces on their wrists might still find that too uncomfortable, which makes them even more wary of parting with their favorite, lightweight watch. With its incredibly light body and small footprint, the RingConn doesn’t have that problem and stays out of your way, at least most of the time.
The ring doesn’t bear down on your finger, but it’s not completely unnoticeable either. Its larger-than-normal size easily makes its presence known, but its thickness is what really calls your attention to it from time to time. You will hear it tap on surfaces when you place your hand down, and you will feel it when you grip something tightly. It’s not a painful nor an uncomfortable experience, but it becomes a constant reminder that you’re wearing something unconventional on your finger.
Unlike smartwatches that have an almost “one size fits all” design, rings have to fit a finger to avoid it falling off or, conversely, affecting blood circulation. This is especially true for these smart rings that need to be in contact with a specific side of your finger for their sensors to work properly, which means they can’t be too loose either. Fortunately, RingConn is available in no less than nine sizes and will ship you a sizing kit to test which size is the perfect fit for you. The good news is that the ring can be placed on any hand and any finger, though it’s recommended to place it on your non-dominant hand so that movements won’t throw the activity tracker off.
That said, you need to be mindful that the sensors are always at the bottom side of your finger, and there is unfortunately no external marking to help you know which side is which at a very quick glance. The ring has a tendency to roll on your finger in the course of your use, so you have to check once in a while to see that it’s still in the proper position. The top of the ring is designed with a convex surface, compared to the flatter bottom side, so that would clue you in on which side is which. There are flashing red and green lights on the side of the sensors, but you won’t easily see them unless it’s dark.
Although the RingConn can be worn 24/7, thanks to its durability and water resistance, you should also take it off once in a while to let the skin underneath breathe. This is especially important since the plastic surface of the ring’s underside can trap moisture between it and your skin, which could lead to skin problems if left unchecked. Although it’s not necessary to charge the ring daily, as we’ll see later, there might be moments when you can take it off and place it on its charging case, like when you’re taking a shower, to give your finger’s skin a break.
Performance
A smart ring’s purpose is to offer fitness tracking and health monitoring features in a more discreet and stylish form. Given the need to be small, however, it’s understandable that there would be some sacrifices to be made compared, eschewing features that might be a staple on smartwatches. That said, the RingConn delivers the most critical information you need to keep a finger on your health, without the cruft that smartwatches also bring in the name of adding more features.
As far as sensors go, the RingConn has a heart rate sensor, a blood oxygen sensor, a skin temperature sensor, and a 3D accelerometer. These might sound basic, but these four alone can already draw a very comprehensive picture of your health every day, including your activity and steps, your heart rate variability or HRV, your stress levels, and your sleep quality. The RingConn can gather data 24/7, as long as you’re wearing it, and provide you the information that you need to make sense of all those numbers. As for the data it does provide, the RingConn yields pretty accurate readings, though there’s some margin of error for activity tracking due to how we move our fingers more often than our wrists. The wearable shines the most when tracking sleep, because it is on a more convenient body part for the sensors to function and because it’s more comfortable to wear to bed than a watch.
All this information is available in the RingConn mobile app, which is a treasure trove of knowledge about your current state as well as advice on how to improve your health. Although the app is full of numbers and graphs, it also has summaries and detailed explanations that provide more actionable knowledge you can adopt. The best part of it is that all of that knowledge isn’t gated behind a subscription fee. The price that you pay for the RingConn is the only cost you’ll have, and all the data can be accessed freely forever.
There are a few things about the mobile app you’ll need to keep in mind when using the RingConn. In order for the smart ring to sync its data, the app must be running, at least in the background. Unfortunately, some manufacturers have aggressive memory and battery management systems that would kill the RingConn app unless you explicitly tell it not to. The RingConn does have enough space for 7 days’ worth of health data, but by then it will struggle to sync with the app, so you might want to open the app regularly just to make sure the data it has is fresh. A recent June update also finally added low battery push notifications so you won’t have to worry about running empty when you least expect it.
Fortunately, you don’t actually have to charge the RingConn that much. Your mileage may vary depending on how active you are, but the ring’s battery lasted an average of six days before it needs to be topped up. Charging the ring takes a little over 90 minutes, at least if you’re going from empty to full. If you take the ring off a few minutes each day and put it on the charger, your uptime will be even longer. The charging is advertised to charge the RingConn up to 15 times, which means it could take three months before you actually run out of juice completely. The charger takes a bit slower to fill up, around 2 hours give or take.
Sustainability
The RingConn’s use of titanium for the ring’s body and aluminum for the charging case scores the brand some points in this area, but not by much. The box, though simple, isn’t exactly compact, and yet it doesn’t ship with a charging brick either. There’s no mention of the use of recycled plastics, which is a bit of a missed opportunity considering the ring needs very little in the first place. Then again, RingConn most likely focused first on using a non-allergenic inner molding for the wearer’s comfort and safety.
The ring is at least built to last, thanks to its durable titanium composition as well as its IP68 dust and water resistance rating. This means that the RingConn is safe to use under the shower, while washing dishes, or even taking a swim. It should be noted, however, that the IP68 rating does still have some limitations, particularly with the kind of water the device will be subjected to. RingConn warns against using the product in humid and steamy environments like baths, and abrasive salt water is a big no-no as well.
Value
The RingConn definitely sounds like a dream come true: a non-obtrusive and stylish accessory that lets you track important health markers while letting you still wear your favorite wristwatch. While it definitely delivers that, it should also be clear that it isn’t a smartwatch replacement, at least not entirely. The RingConn will be missing out on a few features given size constraints, though some of those might not be too much of a concern for most people. It doesn’t have sensors for ECG/EKG for warning against irregular heart rhythms or arrhythmia, for example. Nor does it have any form of GPS that would let you leave your phone at home while you go for a run.
Most importantly, it doesn’t have any sort of haptic feedback to call your attention to notifications on your phone. Nor does it have any sort of light indicator, let alone a screen. This, however, might actually be a selling point because it doesn’t bring all of the distractions that a smartwatch brings to your life, allowing you to just focus on keeping an eye on your body and nothing else.
The $279 price tag might seem a little steep at first, but it’s a one-time cost that doesn’t have any hidden subscription fees attached. That amount gets you an elegant though slightly large ring that can do most of what smartwatches can, but without the unnecessary complications and distractions, days of battery life, and unfettered access to your data. In that regard, the RingConn is practically a steal.
Verdict
It sadly took a pandemic to make people painfully aware of the unfavorable state of their health, giving rise to plenty of new products and programs that try to cash in on the rising fitness trend. These novel designs sometimes tend to be more complicated than they need to be, trying to sell you the kitchen sink when all you need is a spoon. Smartwatches have become more advanced, more capable, and thankfully more aesthetic, but they have also started to become more intrusive and more complicated than ever.
The RingConn Smart Ring makes a clean break from that trend and presents a minimalist design that provides the important essentials in health tracking. It’s comfortable, lightweight, and discreet, allowing you to wear it almost 24/7 to get the best health data all the time. It doesn’t get in the way of your mobility or your style, and, most importantly, it doesn’t hold your own data hostage behind a subscription. It lets you be aware of your health in a simple and elegant way that reflects the RingConn’s own simple and elegant design.
Keeping track of our body’s health and state of fitness has become somewhat of an obsession for some people. A decade ago, this wouldn’t have even been possible, but the dawn of wearables like smartwatches has made it almost too easy to keep tabs on different aspects of your health. Unfortunately, these tech accessories aren’t always designed like fashion accessories, and their style often comes second to their functions. Even worse, not everyone who is interested in monitoring their health is equally keen on wrapping a smartwatch around their wrist and saying goodbye to their favorite timepiece. Enter the new generation of smart rings like Circular, enabling the same or even better health tracking without cramping your style.
While smartwatches have the advantage of giving you quick and easy access to the information you need at a glance, including the time, they aren’t always the most discreet pieces of technology if you’re trying to hide the fact that you’re wearing one. While there are now smartwatches that do masquerade as luxury watches, most people probably have a favorite piece they don’t want to give up. A ring that keeps track of the same metrics might be a more subtle accessory to wear, and the Circular wellness ring delivers the best of both worlds without taking away too much from the smartwatch experience.
Circular offers the standard lineup of activity tracking and health monitoring and adds a little more on top. A smart alarm, for example, wakes you up in the most effective way at the best time, depending on your habits and sleep cycles. It also analyzes your bio-signals to keep track of your sleep quality and to offer recommendations on how to improve it. Since you don’t have to take it off at night, you can be assured that your data is continuous and uninterrupted.
Going beyond just physical well-being, Circular is adding guided breathing exercises utilizing subtle vibrations of the ring to also improve your mood and mental health. An upcoming update to its mobile app will improve the overall user experience and add team monitoring to help coaches and employers keep an eye out for athletes’ and employees’ health. With Circular, you can get a more holistic view of your health and take back control, allowing you to make smarter choices in life.
After achieving incredible things with their subcutaneous glucose-tracking patch, health-tech start-up Ultrahuman is looking to augment our way of living with a wearable that literally fits around your finger.
The company shot to prominence with the M1, a simple patch you stuck on your arm that constantly monitored your blood glucose levels (CGM). Working somewhat like the glucose-testing kits used by diabetic patients, this little patch was capable of giving constant real-time feedback on your glucose levels. You could literally see them spike after eating a doughnut, and reduce after a moderate workout. The M1 was simply a stepping stone for the company, which holds much higher aspirations in the health-tech space. The Ultrahuman Ring is capable of tracking your metabolism and your health by relying on a bunch of sensors that detect movement, temperature, and heart rate.
Bolstered by an all-powerful app that can crunch all that data, the Ring gives you valuable sets of metrics, including your Movement Index, Sleep Index, Recovery Score, and Heart Rate Variability. In short, that’s just fancy-talk for seeing how your lifestyle and choices affect your health, giving you insights to make better choices down the road. Make the right choices and you can literally measure your progress. Stray off the path and the Ring gently nudges you back by letting you see your scores plateau off. Combined with the M1 patch, the Ring gives you insights into your health that no other product or tech ecosystem provides. No, not even your bleeding-edge smartwatch.
Movement Index – The movement index has been formulated to help you understand your overall energy expenditure. The score is based on metabolic equivalent (METs) and depends on how much you move throughout the day rather than just your workout for a specific duration during the day.
Sleep Index – The sleep index is formulated to help you understand the different sleep stages such as Deep sleep, REM sleep, Light sleep and being Awake.
Recovery Score – Get an understanding of your body’s current state with the recovery score; this acts as an index for your body. It is based on a combination of biometrics such as HRV, Heart Rate, and Body Temperature throughout the day to help you understand various body signals better.
The Ultrahuman Ring is a rather slick-looking device that fits onto your finger, with a design that’s edgy and minimalist. Designed to look less like a wearable and more like a piece of jewelry, the Ring comes with a tungsten-carbide-coated titanium outer shell that boasts of a beautiful metallic finish, under which lie the Ring’s electronics, embedded in a hypoallergenic resin. This effectively makes the Ring durable, comfortable, and water-resistant up to 7 feet. The tungsten-carbide coating on the outside is 5-times harder than tool steel (the kind used in workshop equipment), making your Ring practically impervious to scratches and dents.
Heart Rate Tracking, Sleep Tracking and Movement Tracking.
Underneath its small fruit-loop-sized exterior lies some impressive tech. The Ring comes with a 6-axis motion sensor, a non-contact temperature sensor, a PPG sensor that detects heat rate, a Bluetooth Low Energy 5 module, and a battery that gives the Ring almost a week’s worth of usage on a full charge (although you may want to charge it during the day so it can perform sleep-tracking at night).
The Ring sends data to its companion smartphone app (available for both Android and iOS), which then crunches the numbers and presents you with insights on how to better plan your life for better health, sleep, and recovery. The magic lies in the fact that you get to see your metabolism stats in real-time, being able to compare them to stats of the past. This effectively allows you to understand your body’s nutritional requirements, sleep needs, and exercise limits, giving you much more insightful control over your health.
The Ultrahuman Ring comes in 7 different sizes, ranging from a US 6 to a US 12, and the company even plans on sending backers a sizing kit to help them choose the right size and fit before actually shipping them the hardware. Along with the size, backers also get to choose the color of their Ring, which is available in Cyber Grey, Bionic Gold, Aster Black, and Space Silver. You also get a wireless charging dock to help replenish the ring’s battery every 4-6 days. The Ultrahuman Ring starts at $212, with global shipping beginning in January 2023… just in time for those New Year fitness resolutions!
After achieving incredible things with their subcutaneous glucose-tracking patch, health-tech start-up Ultrahuman is looking to augment our way of living with a wearable that literally fits around your finger.
The company shot to prominence with the M1, a simple patch you stuck on your arm that constantly monitored your blood glucose levels (CGM). Working somewhat like the glucose-testing kits used by diabetic patients, this little patch was capable of giving constant real-time feedback on your glucose levels. You could literally see them spike after eating a doughnut, and reduce after a moderate workout. The M1 was simply a stepping stone for the company, which holds much higher aspirations in the health-tech space. The Ultrahuman Ring is capable of tracking your metabolism and your health by relying on a bunch of sensors that detect movement, temperature, and heart rate.
Bolstered by an all-powerful app that can crunch all that data, the Ring gives you valuable sets of metrics, including your Movement Index, Sleep Index, Recovery Score, and Heart Rate Variability. In short, that’s just fancy-talk for seeing how your lifestyle and choices affect your health, giving you insights to make better choices down the road. Make the right choices and you can literally measure your progress. Stray off the path and the Ring gently nudges you back by letting you see your scores plateau off. Combined with the M1 patch, the Ring gives you insights into your health that no other product or tech ecosystem provides. No, not even your bleeding-edge smartwatch.
Movement Index – The movement index has been formulated to help you understand your overall energy expenditure. The score is based on metabolic equivalent (METs) and depends on how much you move throughout the day rather than just your workout for a specific duration during the day.
Sleep Index – The sleep index is formulated to help you understand the different sleep stages such as Deep sleep, REM sleep, Light sleep and being Awake.
Recovery Score – Get an understanding of your body’s current state with the recovery score; this acts as an index for your body. It is based on a combination of biometrics such as HRV, Heart Rate, and Body Temperature throughout the day to help you understand various body signals better.
The Ultrahuman Ring is a rather slick-looking device that fits onto your finger, with a design that’s edgy and minimalist. Designed to look less like a wearable and more like a piece of jewelry, the Ring comes with a tungsten-carbide-coated titanium outer shell that boasts of a beautiful metallic finish, under which lie the Ring’s electronics, embedded in a hypoallergenic resin. This effectively makes the Ring durable, comfortable, and water-resistant up to 7 feet. The tungsten-carbide coating on the outside is 5-times harder than tool steel (the kind used in workshop equipment), making your Ring practically impervious to scratches and dents.
Heart Rate Tracking, Sleep Tracking and Movement Tracking.
Underneath its small fruit-loop-sized exterior lies some impressive tech. The Ring comes with a 6-axis motion sensor, a non-contact temperature sensor, a PPG sensor that detects heat rate, a Bluetooth Low Energy 5 module, and a battery that gives the Ring almost a week’s worth of usage on a full charge (although you may want to charge it during the day so it can perform sleep-tracking at night).
The Ring sends data to its companion smartphone app (available for both Android and iOS), which then crunches the numbers and presents you with insights on how to better plan your life for better health, sleep, and recovery. The magic lies in the fact that you get to see your metabolism stats in real-time, being able to compare them to stats of the past. This effectively allows you to understand your body’s nutritional requirements, sleep needs, and exercise limits, giving you much more insightful control over your health.
The Ultrahuman Ring comes in 7 different sizes, ranging from a US 6 to a US 12, and the company even plans on sending backers a sizing kit to help them choose the right size and fit before actually shipping them the hardware. Along with the size, backers also get to choose the color of their Ring, which is available in Cyber Grey, Bionic Gold, Aster Black, and Space Silver. You also get a wireless charging dock to help replenish the ring’s battery every 4-6 days. The Ultrahuman Ring starts at $212, with global shipping beginning in January 2023… just in time for those New Year fitness resolutions!
After achieving incredible things with their subcutaneous glucose-tracking patch, health-tech start-up Ultrahuman is looking to augment our way of living with a wearable that literally fits around your finger.
The company shot to prominence with the M1, a simple patch you stuck on your arm that constantly monitored your blood glucose levels (CGM). Working somewhat like the glucose-testing kits used by diabetic patients, this little patch was capable of giving constant real-time feedback on your glucose levels. You could literally see them spike after eating a doughnut, and reduce after a moderate workout. The M1 was simply a stepping stone for the company, which holds much higher aspirations in the health-tech space. The Ultrahuman Ring is capable of tracking your metabolism and your health by relying on a bunch of sensors that detect movement, temperature, and heart rate.
Bolstered by an all-powerful app that can crunch all that data, the Ring gives you valuable sets of metrics, including your Movement Index, Sleep Index, Recovery Score, and Heart Rate Variability. In short, that’s just fancy-talk for seeing how your lifestyle and choices affect your health, giving you insights to make better choices down the road. Make the right choices and you can literally measure your progress. Stray off the path and the Ring gently nudges you back by letting you see your scores plateau off. Combined with the M1 patch, the Ring gives you insights into your health that no other product or tech ecosystem provides. No, not even your bleeding-edge smartwatch.
Movement Index – The movement index has been formulated to help you understand your overall energy expenditure. The score is based on metabolic equivalent (METs) and depends on how much you move throughout the day rather than just your workout for a specific duration during the day.
Sleep Index – The sleep index is formulated to help you understand the different sleep stages such as Deep sleep, REM sleep, Light sleep and being Awake.
Recovery Score – Get an understanding of your body’s current state with the recovery score; this acts as an index for your body. It is based on a combination of biometrics such as HRV, Heart Rate, and Body Temperature throughout the day to help you understand various body signals better.
The Ultrahuman Ring is a rather slick-looking device that fits onto your finger, with a design that’s edgy and minimalist. Designed to look less like a wearable and more like a piece of jewelry, the Ring comes with a tungsten-carbide-coated titanium outer shell that boasts of a beautiful metallic finish, under which lie the Ring’s electronics, embedded in a hypoallergenic resin. This effectively makes the Ring durable, comfortable, and water-resistant up to 7 feet. The tungsten-carbide coating on the outside is 5-times harder than tool steel (the kind used in workshop equipment), making your Ring practically impervious to scratches and dents.
Heart Rate Tracking, Sleep Tracking and Movement Tracking.
Underneath its small fruit-loop-sized exterior lies some impressive tech. The Ring comes with a 6-axis motion sensor, a non-contact temperature sensor, a PPG sensor that detects heat rate, a Bluetooth Low Energy 5 module, and a battery that gives the Ring almost a week’s worth of usage on a full charge (although you may want to charge it during the day so it can perform sleep-tracking at night).
The Ring sends data to its companion smartphone app (available for both Android and iOS), which then crunches the numbers and presents you with insights on how to better plan your life for better health, sleep, and recovery. The magic lies in the fact that you get to see your metabolism stats in real-time, being able to compare them to stats of the past. This effectively allows you to understand your body’s nutritional requirements, sleep needs, and exercise limits, giving you much more insightful control over your health.
The Ultrahuman Ring comes in 7 different sizes, ranging from a US 6 to a US 12, and the company even plans on sending backers a sizing kit to help them choose the right size and fit before actually shipping them the hardware. Along with the size, backers also get to choose the color of their Ring, which is available in Cyber Grey, Bionic Gold, Aster Black, and Space Silver. You also get a wireless charging dock to help replenish the ring’s battery every 4-6 days. The Ultrahuman Ring starts at $212, with global shipping beginning in January 2023… just in time for those New Year fitness resolutions!
Emblematic of how marriage ‘completes’ people, Collide Rings designed a two-part ring that starts with the engagement… but is completed when the second half of the ring slips on during your wedding.
Designers: Kristen and Gavin Smith of Collide Rings
A pretty nifty symbolic interpretation of ‘sealing the deal’, the ring sports a two-part design and a unique patented fastening mechanism that allows the two rings to interlock into one single larger ring. The idea behind the ring’s two-part design was to mark the two major events in any marriage – the engagement, and then the wedding itself. The idea for the rings was sparked by a pretty interesting question – why aren’t men’s engagement/wedding rings given as much attention as a woman’s ring? The future groom should be able to display his commitment with an engagement ring too, right? This set the husband-wife duo of Gavin and Kristen Smith on a journey to redesign the men’s engagement ring. The result isn’t just another fancy ring design – it’s symbolic, classy, and interactive. Most men don’t show off their engagement rings… Collide Rings hopes to change that.
The first collection offered by Collide Rings comes in both plain and studded designs. Using materials like 14k White Gold/Yellow Gold/Rose Gold, and even Platinum (along with conflict-free diamonds if you opt for the studded design), the materials for the rings are all ethically sourced and carefully recycled before being crafted right in NYC.
The rings can either be made plain, with an inlay, or with studded diamonds, with satin, polished, or brushed finishes; and each ring comes with the patented fastening mechanism that allows the wedding-half of the ring to lock securely and carefully into the engagement-half of the ring. Just like yin and yang coming together, the two halves of the rings unite to celebrate the union of souls. Trust me, this is one ring you’ll definitely be showing off to your friends and family. The rings ship only within the United States, starting June 2022.
If smartwatches and fitness bands aren’t your thing, then something more discreet like this smart ring could still keep you on top of your health.
Although fitness trackers have been around for years, recent events have caused a surge not only in interest but also in sales. The arrival of smartwatches also made it easier for people to keep tabs on their bodies, and the Apple Watch’s plethora of health monitoring features have become the gold standard for these wearables. Not everyone, however, is willing to part with their favorite timepiece, and wearing a rugged-looking fitness band might clash with their preferred fashion style. Fortunately, there are companies already putting a ring on health, and Movano might have the most stylish one to rule them all.
Admittedly, there aren’t that many players in this smart ring market, at least the ones that are intended to keep track of health rather than giving wearers some techno-magical powers to control devices. The most notable of this bunch is perhaps Oura, but its style and size definitely don’t appeal to everyone. That’s where the Movano Ring comes in, offering an alternative that specifically caters to women that prefer something less conspicuous and even fashionable.
It’s easy to mistake the Movano Ring as a fashion accessory rather than a health tracker, coming in Gold, Silver, Copper, and Black colors. The open-loop or twisted design gives it more personality while also ensuring that it can adjust to any finger size. More importantly, you won’t see the bare electronics underneath, unlike on the Oura, at least if product renders are to be believed.
Movano’s wearable isn’t just a pretty face, though, and it promises the staple features you’d find on larger wearables. That includes measuring heart rate and heart rate variability, sleep, respiration, temperature, blood oxygen levels, steps, and calories. It correlates this data and transforms them into information and advice that most people will be able to understand, rather than having to rely on charts and graphs to try and make sense of all the figures.
The one thing holding back the Movano Ring is its availability, which might not happen until later this year. That does give it enough time to get FDA approval for some of the features that require regulatory clearance first. Even while preparing its first product, the young startup is already settings its sights high, putting resources into R&D for non-invasive glucose monitoring and cuffless blood pressure measuring, which could quickly put it ahead of the competition.
Computing on a ring is a concept that has been explored over the years but unfortunately, there has been nothing concrete to state. In an effort to give Apple fans a new reason to be curious, a designer has explored the possibility of an Apple Watch-style ring that one can wear on a finger.
If you’re someone who has felt the Apple Watch you wear is bulky and inconvenient for some reason, or if you wished there was something smaller and more convenient to wear, then Apple may someday grant your wish. The Cupertino giant has forayed into the smart ring arena and has a patent to its name. A patent doesn’t necessarily ensure the innovative product will be commercially available, and that’s been the case with the Apple smart ring.
The act of giving more weightage to other devices – Apple Watch in particular – over the ring, doesn’t imply that Apple has taken a back seat with the idea. The designer’s conception – Apple Ring and Apple Ring Pro – are the adaptation of Apple’s long-time vision of a smart ring and the Apple Watch as a ring. The Ring, in particular, is just about the same smart ring concept that Apple patented in 2015 while the Ring Pro is a nice recreation of the Apple Watch for a ring.
The Ring band has a touchscreen running around it while the Ring Pro has a chiseled form factor and a display that matches the Apple Watch. The rings are both designed in solid metal for durability and owing to their free-flowing design should be pretty comfortable to wear. The Ring Pro may be on the bulkier side given its layout, but the sleek Ring should be a good device to check vital stats while workout or making or receiving calls on the go. Presumably, when something like these rings lands, the Ring Pro-style device would make a smart ring, while the Ring would suit the fitness band tasks.
