cheap sometimes surprises

I didn’t like the smart rings because their design seems a bit crude to me and because in my opinion they cost too much for what they offer. After all, the essence of fitness trackers is: wear something comfortable and use your cell phone to watch everything. Based on this premise, Paying more for a (ugly) ring than for a smartwatch seemed pointless to me.

Then I found this smart ring on AliExpress, it cost around 10 dollars and aesthetically it looked like models from popular brands like Samsung or Oura (although obviously for this price you can’t expect titanium ) and its characteristics seemed interesting to me for a record. my activity. So I bought it to live the experience of wearing a smart ring And if it’s worth it compared to my smart watch.

Design: superb

In the box comes the manual to download the app, the charging cable and the ring, nothing else is needed. Of course, The packaging of the Colmi R02 is not luxury, but it fulfills its role. From there I installed the app called QRing, which is free and available for Android in the Google Play Store and for iPhone in the App Store, it synced in less than a minute and like it was battery powered, I started it up and running.

As I already mentioned in the intro, for this price you cannot expect a precious metal and although it is not titanium, the manufacturer assures that it has quite elegant titanium steel coating

The finishes are correct, it has no corners or edges, but it is smooth and shiny. Her the aesthetic is minimalist, it looks like a thick washer (this is what should house the components) completely smooth, a typically masculine design. Of course, on one side of the interior you can see the circuits and some concentric circles where the charging is done.

Two essential notes on design: It is available in gold and black but I chose the latter because it seems more discreet to me and there are sizes from 8 to 11, but the measurements in the ad description were regular, so first I I ordered the 11 and then had to go back to order size 9, which is still a little big for me.

With the ring you forget about it and that’s good news: it’s very light and doesn’t bother you. That’s why I wore it for everything: sleeping, playing sports, going out… as he also has IP68 and 3 ATM resistanceusing it in the shower or while scrubbing is no problem.

Metrics: daily life and sport with the ring

The list of promised features is surprising for what it costs: activity tracker, steps, distance, estimated calories, heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure, stress, sleep, menstrual cycle… some of these things are expected because they have been available on cheap bracelets for ages years, but others like what you sleep or oxygen saturation is not so much.

All this information is uploaded to the application and, although the current data is visible, to access the history it is necessary to register and access the account. The app is pretty good, it’s colorful and clear, offering lots of data in a clear and visual way. Additionally, you can choose between light and dark modes and customize maps on the home screen. The only small problem I found is that some of the translations are half done.

Regarding the saved settings, one of lime and the other of sand: Although the usual measurements such as steps or pulse are pretty decent (compared to what my Apple Watch measures, which is what I have to compare), the oxygen saturation varies and sometimes slips a bit.

What surprised me was how well it measures sleep and here it seemed really differential to me: I don’t sleep with a watch because it bothers me, but I can sleep with the ring without problem to record the quality of my sleep.

It also allows save sports from a very long list and, although I do not have my beloved padel, I have resorted to useful tennis for the records of my matches.

Bottom line: don’t expect more metrics or more precision than these cheap straps, but get a rough idea of ​​what you move, what you sleep and a few other measurements More day to day, it’s not bad at all. I don’t want to forget certain details like his lost mode, because you never know when you’re going to take it off and you don’t remember where it is.

Don’t forget the charger

This smart ring has a lithium polymer battery with a capacity of 17 mAh according to the manufacturer and, unlike other smart ring models on the market, autonomy is a little shorter: There are some that last about a week of use, but with this Colmi R02 I have always achieved between two and four days of use depending on whether I play sports and record training or not.

So, when the ring’s battery drops below 20%, a notification appears on the mobile phone warning us to recharge it. While it is true that having to recharge the ring every other day can be somewhat tedious, The good news is that the charging is good and fastsince it takes about two hours and as soon as we bring the tip of the cable closer, since it is magnetized, contact is made.

My conclusions with this inexpensive Colmi R02 ring after weeks of use

In this smart ring I found the perfect successor to the legendary Xiaomi Mi Band in its debut in which it was simpler and its price was around 20 dollars. It is true that it does not have a screen and that on paper it measures many more things, but in practice, what it records and estimates best are steps, distance, calories, sleep and heart rate.

Although it cannot compete in materials and dimensions with the most expensive and ambitious models, it occupies a free segment: a discreet, simple and inexpensive gadget to guide us in our activity. I bought it to experiment with a few weeks ago and at the end of my tests it convinced me so much that it stayed on my finger, complementing my watch.

Although for most things, like answering calls, paying, or checking my workout performance, I pull out my smartwatch, for sleeping it’s the ultimate gadget because it doesn’t bother you at all.

In any case and if you are not sure if smart rings are right for you, I consider it to be the case. a very interesting option to start with and check the possibilities of this type of wearables.

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