While smartwatches like the Apple Watch Series 10 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra dominate the wearable tech scene, a new contender is steadily gaining traction: the smart ring. These unobtrusive devices offer a compelling alternative for those seeking a more discreet way to track their health and fitness.
Despite not yet matching the full functionality of their wrist-worn counterparts, smart rings boast an impressive array of features, including activity tracking, sleep monitoring, and even heart rate measurement. Their minimalist design and unparalleled comfort make them an appealing option for individuals who find smartwatches bulky or intrusive.
The smart ring market is burgeoning with exciting options. Let's delve into some of the leading choices available today.
The Oura Ring 4 is a sophisticated health and wellness tracker disguised as a stylish ring. Worn 24/7, it continuously monitors your body using advanced sensors that captures a wealth of data, including your heart rate, temperature, and movement. This information translates into personalized insights about your sleep, activity levels, and recovery, empowering you to make informed decisions about your health. It can also automatically track over 40 exercises, which is handy when you don't have a screen to manually start an exercise.
A redesigned ring uses a bump-less integrated sensor design that creates more data connections than ever before, resulting in more accurate and timely data. In the Oura app, the data comes to life, providing detailed sleep stage analysis, personalized activity goals, and guidance on optimizing your recovery. Although it lacks some smartwatch features and requires a membership subscription for full functionality, the Oura Ring Gen 4 is the best way to track your sleep and overall wellness.
It works with both iOS and Android, meaning you'll be able to use the Oura Ring 4 regardless of which phone you use. There's one key downside: Unlike its competitors, there's no enclosed portable charging case. The battery life isn't the greatest either — up to eight days but closer to seven from our testing — but the redesigned titanium charging puck is far more premium. There's also the aforementioned subscription fee, and you'll want to pay the $70 per year fee to get the most out of the Oura Ring 4.
The Oura Ring 3 held top spot on this list for many months, and the Oura Ring 4 is an upgrade in many ways. Despite the downsides, the Oura Ring 4 is the best smart ring you can buy right now.
The RingConn Gen 2 is a compelling choice for those seeking a discreet and affordable entry into the world of smart rings. This lightweight and stylish ring punches above its weight, offering many features without the burden of a monthly subscription. The lightweight build is one of its strongest features, but don't forget the six-day battery life, and included charging case, which means you're not tethered to a cable when you need to recharge.
Despite its budget-friendly price, the RingConn Gen 2 provides comprehensive health data, tracking your sleep stages, heart rate variability (HRV), stress levels, and even SpO2 (blood oxygen) levels. Its standout feature is the ability to monitor for sleep apnea, a serious condition often undiagnosed, making it a valuable tool for those concerned about their sleep health. And with a battery life that lasts for days on a single charge, you can wear it continuously without interruption.
While it may not offer automatic workout detection or the granular fitness metrics of higher-priced competitors, the RingConn Gen 2 excels in its core functionality, providing valuable insights into your sleep quality and overall health. It's a fantastic option for those seeking a simple, no-frills wearable that prioritizes essential tracking without breaking the bank. With no subscription fee, it's a tempting choice.
The Ultrahuman Ring Air enters the smart ring arena with a compelling proposition: robust health and fitness tracking without recurring subscription costs. This makes it a tempting alternative to established players like the Oura Ring, but does it dethrone the champion?
In short: No. Our experience with the Ring Air has been mixed. The hardware is undeniably impressive. It's incredibly comfortable, lightweight, and packed with sensors to capture a wide range of physiological data. However, the accompanying app leaves something to be desired. The interface feels cluttered and needs more of the motivational elements that make other fitness trackers engaging. Those who love pure data though? Well, they'll have a field day with this app, though even they may need a Google search or two to figure out what some stats mean.
While Ring Air excels at collecting data, it needs to improve at presenting it in a user-friendly manner. The sheer volume of information can be overwhelming, and the insights aren’t always readily apparent. While the fitness tracking features are robust, the inability to personalize goals feels like a missed opportunity.
The Ultrahuman Ring Air is undeniably a bold attempt to disrupt the smart ring market. It's a scrappy underdog with a unique approach, but it's not without its shortcomings. Still, it's another solid choice for a ring without a subscription cost.
Samsung has entered the smart ring arena with the Galaxy Ring, a sleek and stylish device boasting impressive battery life and seamless integration with the Samsung ecosystem. While this first-generation product showcases Samsung's potential in this burgeoning wearable category, it's not without its shortcomings.
Crafted from lightweight titanium, the Galaxy Ring offers a comfortable fit and a premium aesthetic. Its four-plus-day battery life surpasses a number of competitors, ensuring uninterrupted tracking. Where the Galaxy Ring truly shines is in its sleep tracking capabilities, providing detailed insights into sleep stages and patterns. This, combined with its seamless integration with Samsung Health, makes it a compelling choice for those already invested in Samsung's ecosystem.
However, the Galaxy Ring stumbles in key areas. Its activity tracking accuracy falls short of expectations, particularly when compared to more established fitness trackers. Furthermore, the price tag feels steep considering these limitations and the competitive landscape.
Despite these drawbacks, the Galaxy Ring represents a significant step for Samsung. It demonstrates the company's commitment to innovation in the wearable space and lays the foundation for future iterations. With improvements to activity tracking accuracy and a more competitive price point, subsequent generations of the Galaxy Ring could truly solidify Samsung's position as a leader in the smart ring market.
The Oura Ring has long been a leader in the smart ring space, but the premium price and subscription model can be a barrier for some. Enter the RingConn Smart Ring Gen 2 Air, a first-generation device that aims to deliver similar functionality at a more accessible price point. But can it truly compete with the established giant?
Designed for 24/7 wear, the RingConn prioritizes comfort with its unique "squircle" shape and tapered edges that minimize irritation. An impressive ten-day battery life ensures uninterrupted tracking, further enhancing its wearability. Our in-depth review revealed surprisingly accurate sleep tracking, rivaling the Oura Ring's data in precision. The RingConn app presents this data clearly, offering valuable insights into sleep stages, activity levels, and vital signs without overwhelming users with complex jargon.
Smart rings are a pricey investment, so you want to be sure you get things right first time. With that in mind, there are certain things you should consider when shopping for a new smart ring.
Every smart ring comes in an array of sizes, but if you have particularly small or large fingers then you're more likely to be limited in your choices. We'd always recommend opting for a ring that includes a sizing kit so you can accurately measure your finger to ensure the correct fit. You could measure using your own sizer, but the ones made by the company are more likely to give you a perfect result.
Weight is also a key consideration. Generally speaking, larger rings are heavier, which might not be ideal. Anyone with larger fingers looking for a lightweight option should consider the Samsung Galaxy Ring, which weighs just 3 grams, regardless of which size you buy.
Finally, finishes. If you have your heart set on a rose gold ring or a sleek titanium finish, make sure the smart ring you're after is actually available in that finish and that it suits your lifestyle. Bear in mind that some finishes, like rose gold, may be less durable if they're plated rather than made with a gold alloy.
This is one of the most important things to consider when you're in the market for a smart ring. There's nothing worse than buying a ring and finding out it doesn't have the features you were most excited about.
Though there are some features that are present across the board on most smart rings, such as sleep tracking, health metrics such as heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV), and workout tracking, every ring approaches things differently. For example, if you're looking for sleep apnea monitoring, the RingConn Gen 2 is the ring for you. If you're looking for the most comprehensive workout and fitness tracking, the Oura Ring 4 or the Ultrahuman Ring Air are better choices. If you want to improve your sleep, the Galaxy Ring's detailed insights into sleep patterns and stages will be helpful.
Smart rings are already pretty pricy, but many on our list come with a hidden cost: a subscription. Though you can still use many subscription-based smart rings without paying for the subscription, you'll be limited as to what features you can use, which could prove frustrating. To get the most from your new, expensive smart ring, you'll need to cough up for the subscription, bearing in mind that this often involves a minimum commitment. Or you could always opt for a ring without a subscription, like the RingConn Gen 2 or the Ultrahuman Ring Air.
As you'll see from our list, most smart rings are compatible with both Android and iOS. However, this is something you do need to be aware of when shopping for a smart ring, as some rings, like the Samsung Galaxy Ring, are Android only and won't work if you have an iPhone. Make sure you always double-check compatibility with your device before purchasing!
We own the latest wearables — including smart rings — ourselves, so we like to think we know a thing or two about what makes a truly great smart ring, while still being objective about smart rings we don't think are so great. While we will always favor trusted products we've reviewed ourselves — or been recommended — this doesn't mean that every smart ring we have enjoyed wearing in the past makes it onto our list. When choosing the best smart rings, we considered a wide range of things, from comfort, sizing, and style to subscriptions, stand-out features, and battery life. This helped us ensure that each entry on our list had something unique to offer and was worthy of a place in our roundup.
Digital Trends has been at the forefront of consumer tech since 2006, back when smart rings seemed like a futuristic fantasy. The team has combined decades of experience covering all things tech, from reviewing the latest devices to covering breaking news. We live and breathe technology, and many of us own the latest wearables ourselves. With our combined knowledge and experience, we always try to give readers a full, 360-degree overview of every product we mention, so that you can make informed decisions about what's best for your needs. That means covering the good and the bad of every smart ring we test.
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
Nirave is a creator, evangelist, and founder of House of Tech. A heart attack at 33 inspired him to publish the Impact of Tech newsletter, which covers the best technology and its impact on mental, physical, and emotional health. Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more.
Freelance technology journalist and writer living in (somewhat) sunny Scotland. Gamer, tea addict, never without a good book.
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