GoKawiilCompare Top 3 Smart Rings
Product WIRED TIRED Sensors Price Oura Ring 4 Looks and feels like jewelry; Accurate and consistent with readings; Intuitive app regularly updates its features; Solid battery life. Some colorways are more expensive than others; Requires a paid subscription for the best features; Heavier than its competitors. Red and Infrared LEDs, Green and Infrared LEDs, Accelerometer, Digital Temperature Sensor $499 RingConn Gen 2 Air No subscription required; Relatively affordable; Lighter and more comfortable than the Oura Ring 4. Limited workout tracking; Slow app syncing; Less accurate than its competitors. PPG, Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer $199 Samsung Galaxy Ring Lighter than the Oura Ring 4; Works seamlessly with Galaxy Watch; Full suite of health features. Not worth buying if you don’t have a Samsung phone; Doesn’t have a gyroscope or GPS; AI-enabled suggestions are poor. Accelerometer, Optical Heart Rate Sensor, Temperature Sensor $400
Honorable Mentions
We have tested several other entrants in this category, some good, some bad, and some in between. Here is the lowdown on some of your smart ring alternatives.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Leep Ring for $199: A British smart ring that's affordable, subscription-free, and offers simplified, accessible stats on your activity, sleep, and stress. The Leep Ring is slim and stylish, with a subtle diagonal indent to help you line up the knobbly internal sensors. It comes with a handy charging case that’s supposedly capable of providing an extra 60 days of charge. A fully charged ring is meant to last up to eight days. (I’ve been getting closer to five.) The app is straightforward and gives you a score out of 100 for sleep, balance (stress), and activity. Sadly, sleep is woefully inaccurate and tends to report that I’ve been asleep for my entire time in bed, even if I was watching TV or reading. One night, it suggested I slept 8 hours 43 minutes (Oura says 6 hours 52 minutes). The activity and stress scores seem a bit more accurate, with step counts that were mostly within 100 or so of my Oura and Apple Watch (it was out by 1,000 one day). But the app could use some polish. For example, it doesn’t take into account that it’s only a couple of hours into the day before telling me my movement for today is “Bad.” I also lost data on the first night it ran out of battery, and there was no warning notification to tell me to recharge. It’s early days for Leep, and it’s priced very reasonably, but it needs to improve fast to compete. —Simon Hill
Photograph: Simon Hill
Luna Ring 2.0 for $329: We had issues with charging and connectivity with the first-generation Luna Ring, but the Indian manufacturer seems to have made significant improvements in version 2.0. My Luna Ring 2.0 came with a jazzy wireless charging case (it is $29 cheaper with the regular charging dock) that promises up to 30 days of power. The ring is supposed to go five days between charges, but I found four was more realistic. I don't love the diagonal crease that marks the front of the ring, and it’s not as comfortable as my Oura. It boasts all the usual sensor suspects for tracking (optical heart rate, blood oxygen, PPG, skin temperature). Data is divided into sleep, readiness, and activity tabs in the busy app, with the obligatory AI option for advice and insights. There’s no subscription necessary, which is a big plus, and the data seemed reasonably accurate, but it’s definitely on the generous side. Comparing a full day to my Oura, the Luna thought I got an extra hour of sleep, burned 100 kcal more, and rated my readiness above 80 out of 100, while Oura scored much lower and picked up on something straining my body (I do have a cold right now). If you want a subscription-free ring, I prefer the Ultrahuman listed above. —Simon Hill
Photograph: Adrienne So
Circular Ring 2 for $349: This ring is pretty, with rounded edges that make it slightly look more like jewelry than the Oura or Ultrahuman rings. I also like the closed charging case, which means you can bring it while traveling and recharge without a USB-C cable, and I also like that the ring pings me throughout the day when I'm in my best zone for productivity, working out, or caffeine. However, during my two-week testing period, I was plagued with persistent server issues and data processing delays that made it difficult to double-check any of my health metrics for accuracy, like heart rate, SpO2, or sleep data. —Adrienne So
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