As I wrote in my review of the Ultrahuman Ring Air, "If the Oura Ring is the girl next door, the Ultrahuman Ring Air is the Silicon Valley-based, Bitcoin-mining neighbor who drinks Soylent." This is the ring for fitness obsessives. The ring monitors all the good stuff: activity, sleep, and recovery. Plus, it prioritizes comfort and a sleek build that doesn't tarnish easily or interfere with the rote tasks of your day, like carrying heavy bags, washing hands and dishes, and showering.
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What's cool about the Ultrahuman Ring Air is the notifications you get during or after your activity. For example, I went on a run with this ring one morning, and after my workout was complete it notified me to delay any caffeine for around an hour to allow the adenosine I built up from my run to flush out of my system. Later in the day, it reminded me to stretch my legs to recover from my morning run and relieve tension.
Review: Ultrahuman Ring Air
You can also document your diet, while the ring's app offers you AI insights into the health information behind each food you're eating. Some of the data becomes excessive, but I can imagine that anyone who is all-in on optimizing their lifestyle for marathon training or some other fitness goal will find the information Ultrahuman offers useful. Plus, there is a Discover tab on the app with guided workouts for everything from pilates, high-intensity interval training, vinyasa yoga, and more.
The battery life is on par with Oura's, as I charged both up at the same time and found that they run out of juice within hours of each other (about six days). And unlike the Oura Ring, which seemingly scratches when in contact with abrasive material, the Ultrahuman has maintained its sheen, sans scratches. I don't have trouble recommending this ring to health-minded individuals honing their workout and recovery regimen. Plus, unlike Oura, the Ultrahuman Ring Air doesn't come with the price of a monthly subscription.
Redditors say that the Ultrahuman Ring Air is on par with Oura, but the rings overall aren't as effective at fitness tracking as a smartwatch or chest strap. The care and drive for improvement with this ring is palpable: Upon reading user reviews on Reddit, I've noticed that Ultrahuman's founder, Mohit Kumar, is on these threads interacting with users who leave reviews or ask questions about the product -- not something I've seen before.
Ultrahuman Ring Air specs: Sizing: 5-14 | Material: Titanium coated with Tungsten Carbide Carbon | Colors: Matte grey, Aster black, space silver, bionic gold | Water resistance: Up to 330 feet | Sensors: Infrared Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, Non-contact medical-grade skin temperature sensor, 6-axis motion sensors, Red LEDs (heart rate monitoring and oxygen saturation) Green LEDs (heart rate monitoring) Infrared LEDs (heart rate monitoring) | Connectivity: Bluetooth Low-Energy | Battery: Up to six days
Smart rings are relatively new devices that serve a range of functions. Some are packed with sensors and track your heart rate, sleep, and other metrics, whereas others have NFC chips for making payments. But smart rings as a format have just been thrust into the spotlight, as Samsung has revealed it is working on its own Samsung Galaxy Ring.
There may not be much choice when it comes to the best smart rings, but our top picks below are marvelous feats of technology. Brands like Ultrahuman and Oura have packed tech into a tiny form factor, which is small and comfortable enough to wear on your hand 24/7.
We’ve had the chance to test some of the best smart rings below – and the ones we haven’t reviewed we’ll be getting our hands (and fingers) on very soon. This means we know what to look for in terms of comfort, battery life, and data collection.
In our list below, you’ll find our current top picks of the best smart rings, whether you want to find an alternative to one of the best smartwatches or best sleep trackers, supplement the data you already collect from one of the best fitness trackers or find one of the best NFC rings for making payments and more.
The best smart rings in this guide are from several smaller brands. The smart ring space is expected to get bigger and better as competition mounts.
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Best for night time wear
7. Go2Sleep Ring
Best for night time wear
A ring and device combo that you can wear at night to track all kinds of data about your sleep – we can't wait to test it ourselves.
Read more below
Best smart ring for sleep tracking
(Image credit: Future)
Best smart ring for sleep tracking
Our expert review:
Weight:
4-6g
Battery life:
7 days
Visit Site+
Accurate 24/7 heart rate tracking
+
Impressive sleep monitoring
+
Stats clearly presented
+
Excellent mindfulness sessions
-
More expensive than a smartwatch
-
Some features not yet available
The most well-known smart ring brand, Oura's third generation device is improved over previous versions and packed with sensors to track your key metrics, like 24/7 heart rate, temperature, and more. It's particularly geared up to help you track sleep and manage energy levels, which is why it's our top sleep tracking pick.
The Oura looks like a simple metal ring, but inside it's lined with sensors that sit against your skin. You can order a test kit with dummy rings to find the right size and the final ring is incredibly smooth and light at between 4-6g depending on which size you go for.
The Oura Ring 3rd Generation collects a vast amount of data, so it's good news that its smartphone app is incredibly comprehensive but intuitive to use, making data easy to understand. The only downside about the Oura Ring is it's very expensive and works based on a new subscription model, which may put off some users.
Read our full Oura (Generation 3) review
Best smart ring for comfort
(Image credit: Becca Caddy)
Best smart ring for comfort
Our expert review:
Average Amazon review:
Weight:
2.4-3.6 g
Battery life:
6 days
View at Amazon+
Light and comfortable
+
Detailed insights
+
Lack of screen is appealing
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Prone to scratches
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Lots of data to comb through
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Expensive
If you're looking for the lightest ring on the market, the Ultrahuman Ring Air lives up to its name, only weighing in at 2.4g to 3.6g depending on your size.
Offering similar features to the Oura Ring at the top of our list, it uses a range of sensors to track all kinds of data about heart rate, movement, sleep, skin temperature, and more. Like the Oura Ring, it also has a big focus on sleep and recovery, and a handy app that we found to be incredibly thorough in terms of the data it presents, but also easy to use during our testing.
Design-wise, we found it stylish-looking and comfortable to wear, although the matte black version was prone to scratching. Luckily, there are other finishes available now that should fare better. The inside, where the sensors lie against your skin, is covered with see-through hypoallergenic epoxy resin coating, which is velvety smooth.
Read our full Ultrahuman Ring Air review
Best smart ring for payments
(Image credit: Mclear)
Best smart ring for payments
Weight :
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5g
Battery life:
N/A
+
Convenient for payments
+
Slim and light
-
Pricey for one main feature
The McLear RingPay 2 is a different breed of smart ring to others in our guide because it's designed to help you make payments, not track your vitals. Thanks to NFC tech, it works in the same way a contactless card does. Add a card to your RingPay wallet, then simply place your hand over a payment terminal. Because its features are fairly basic, no charging is required.
We've yet to test this smart ring, but according to McLear, it's not just a contactless card on your finger. You can track spending in the app, set funds to top-up automatically, suspend your account if you lose it, add up to four rings to an account, transfer funds between rings and more.
This Gen 2 ring has been improved over the first, with a smaller, lighter, and more streamlined design. It weighs 5g and the width of the ring varies based on the size you choose, from 6.7mm to 6.2mm. You can choose from the standard range of ring sizes, or order a kit through McLear. As you'd expect from a device designed to be worn often, it's scratch-resistant, waterproof and hypoallergenic.
Best smart ring for added features
(Image credit: Circular)
Best for added features
Weight:
5g
Battery life:
4 days
+
Features rivals don't offer
+
Different finishes
-
More basic data tracking than rivals
The Circular Ring is another device designed to track all sorts of data about your health and fitness, including blood oxygen levels, heart rate variability, temperature, steps and more.
We haven't had chance to test the Circular ring yet, but from what we can tell it's like the rings from Oura and Ultrahuman, with a big focus on sleep with detailed insights and recommendations about your sleep cycles, as well as your energy and recovery levels. Unlike most other rings, there's haptic feedback (vibrations) that brings additional features, like a timer, smart alarm, and even notifications, as well as a physical button.
Like other options on this list, the ring weighs 5g and has a thickness of 2.75mm. But another standout design feature is that you can change the outer shell to a different color or finish. The inner material that sits against your finger is clinical grade and hypoallergenic.
Best smart ring on a budget
(Image credit: Gloring)
Best on a budget
Weight:
4g
Battery life:
Not stated
+
Cheaper than rivals
+
Tracks all essential metrics
-
Looks a little more basic than other options on the list
One of the picks on our list we haven't had the chance to test ourselves yet, the Gloring Ring has a similar design and proposition to the Ultrahuman Ring Air. It can monitor temperature, heart rate, blood oxygen and more, with Apple Health integration.
It has a slim and lightweight design with a wide choice of ring sizes and comes in black, silver and gold finishes. It's considerably cheaper than rivals, despite offering a similar suite of features, so we'll be testing it soon to see how it compares.
Best budget NFC smart ring
(Image credit: Hecere)
Best budget NFC smart ring
Weight:
Not stated
Battery life:
N/A
+
Customization options
+
Fun to program
-
Only NFC functions
This smart ring from Hecere is filled with an NFC chip, like the McLear ring higher in our list. But the difference is it's not just for payments, it comes with a rewritable chip and you can download an NFC app for free and program the ring to function in any way you'd like. It can open your phone, share a contact, make a call and more.
It has an incredibly simple and slim design at 2mm thick. It's made from zirconia ceramic and epoxy resin, so it's very smooth, too. It comes in the usual range of ring sizes and it's also waterproof.
We haven't had chance to test the Hecere NFC Ring for ourselves yet, but we think it's clear this is the best pick for customization and NFC on a budget.
Best smart ring for night time wear
(Image credit: Go2Sleep)
Best for night time wear
Weight:
<10g
Battery life:
3 days
+
Collects a lot of sleep data
+
A good option if you don't want it on in the day
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Bulky
Most of the smart rings in this guide focus primarily on sleep tracking. But the Go2Sleep Ring is only about sleep. This is why it looks a little different to rivals in this list. It's much bigger with a design that consists of a simple silicon ring and a device made from acrylic and plastic that fits onto it.
The Go2Sleep Ring tracks your heart rate, HRV, and blood oxygen (SpO2), sending all of that data to a minimal app. It features integration with Apple Health, a smart alarm function, and day and night modes – you can wear it during the day, but given its bulky design and focus on sleep it's our top pick for nighttime use.
How to choose the best smart ring for you
The smart ring space is still relatively new, which means there isn’t much choice when it comes to finding the best smart ring for you.
The first consideration needs to be why you want one in the first place. Right now, the main types of smart rings can roughly be divided into three categories: those designed to track all of your vitals with a focus on sleep, those solely for sleep tracking, and several others that enable you to make payments. We imagine that soon these uses will be combined, but for now your first decision is what you’d like one for.
The next consideration is design. You’d be forgiven for assuming all of the best smart rings in the guide above are the same device. But there are some subtle differences, like the finish and colors, as well as the fit and weight. For example, the Ultrahuman Ring Air is lighter than its rivals.
Finally, have a look at the different features on offer. Although many of the rings in each of those categories we’ve outlined above bring you similar features, there are some that are unique in what they offer, like the haptic feedback from the Circular Ring.
If you’re unsure about whether a smart ring is for you, we highly recommend ordering a testing kit – most of the companies in the list above will send one out to you for free. This way you can be sure you’re getting the perfect fit but also wear the test ring for a few days to see if the design is right for you. Just remember the actual ring itself is likely to be a little heavier but will feel much more comfy and premium given the materials it’s made from.
How we test the best smart rings
We've had chance to test several of the best smart rings in this guide. Which means we know what to expect when it comes to key features, design, battery life, accompanying apps and more.
During our testing, we were very keen to truly assess how comfortable each ring is, as we know this is a major concern with the smart ring form factor. We wore the rings for days and even weeks at a time, assessing general comfort, bulkiness, whether we had to remove them for certain activities and how they fare in water.
We used each of the apps extensively, digging into all of the data and assessing them for thoroughness and whether they pair data with generally useful insights and recommendations. It's not handy to simply present a series of graphs without context.
Each of the smart rings above has its own set of unique features, so we made sure to assess each separately based on what they offer and which ring we believe is the best for each purpose.
We've made it clear which of the best smart rings above we've yet to get our hands on and will be adding reviews for those devices as soon as we can. Until then, we've based our recommendations on specs, features, other reviews and how our experience with other smart rings informs these choices.
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