Smart rings in comparison: These are the best wearables for your finger

SMARTWATCH

February 18, 2024 at 8:00 p.m

Smart rings are becoming increasingly trendy and promise to be the wearables of the future. You can find out here what the devices can do and which models are already worthwhile.

A smart ring is a gadget that is worn like a traditional ring on a finger of your choice. In many cases, it is equipped with various sensors that record important body data such as heart rate, oxygen saturation in the blood or sleep quality and can make statements about your health based on this. Similar to smartwatches – but without a screen, often without a vibration motor and buttons.

What are smart rings and what advantages do they offer?

And what advantages does that bring? For people looking for a distraction-free accessory that monitors their vital signs like a smartwatch, such devices may be the ideal solution. This big advantage is also a disadvantage for many people – because the rings cannot display notifications or other information. If you want to know what data the device has collected, you have to go to the associated app yourself.

The topic recently became popular with Samsung’s announcement that it wanted to bring a smart ring onto the market. Little is known about the Galaxy Ring yet, but there are already corresponding models. Below we will introduce you to five recommended smart rings.

Oura Ring 3

The Oura Ring 3 is probably the best-known representative of the wearable area of ​​smart rings. The manufacturer, who is already releasing the ring in its third generation, attaches great importance to a high-quality brand image – the reputation of the smart ring is correspondingly high. This is probably the most sophisticated and intelligent implementation of the concept. The ring records more than 20 different biometric signals with its numerous sensors. The device measures, among other things, classics such as your heart rate and oxygen saturation in the blood and tracks important events such as sleep or workouts along with steps.

In addition, the ring offers early detection of illnesses and periods thanks to the skin temperature sensor. The data that the accessory, which costs around 349 dollars, collects is processed in an app that is available for iOS and Android. There is also a connection to Apple Health and Co. But be careful: many features and data are only available if you take out a monthly subscription for around six dollars per month.

RingConn Smart Ring

The manufacturer RingConn is less well known. His ring, which is around 80 dollars cheaper, offers only a slightly smaller range of functions. Among other things, the cycle tracker is missing here – which, according to the manufacturer, will be added in a future software update.

In addition, this model is not waterproof to 5 ATM, but “only” to IP68. What’s nice is that the charger here is a portable charging case. The ring is also slightly lighter on average than the Oura Ring 3.

Bewinner Smart Ring

The Smart Ring from Bewinner is a budget model – this is evident not only from the low price of 80 dollars, but also from the fact that the device is only sold via Amazon. It offers a basic set of features, but no more “advanced” features like stress tracking or the ability to connect to an external health app like Apple Health. For the price, however, it is a worthy replacement for a smartwatch.

Circular Slim

The Circular Slim is exciting not because of its exceptionally wide range of functions – it is roughly the same as the Oura Ring 3 – but because of the fact that it is one of the few smart rings to have a vibration motor that draws attention to notifications or other incidents can.

The battery life is the longest at up to eight days. The ring costs around 270 dollars and is particularly recommended for people who can’t use Oura’s software.

PagoPace

A special feature in our comparison is the PagoPace. This is not a smart ring in the usual sense, but rather a payment ring. The device does not track any health data and does not have a battery, so it never needs to be charged. Instead, an NFC chip is installed onto which a credit card is programmed for payment.

The device replaces a payment card or smartphone, which can also be used to pay via NFC – in a particularly popular way, as a study by the market research institute GfK shows. Accordingly, 89 percent of all payment ring users see the ring as their favorite payment method.

Anyone who is a customer of Comdirect or selected West German Volksbanks (including Cologne-Bonn, Aachener Land, Neu-Ulm; the exact list can be viewed here) can connect their Visa card directly to the PagoPace Ring. Everyone else can add their credit or debit card from all other banks through an account with Curve. If you don’t have a credit or debit card at all, you can get a prepaid credit card for free from VIMpay and have it programmed onto the ring. The ring is available in various colors and sizes, including a slim version, and costs between 110 and 130 dollars.

Size finding thanks to manufacturer sets

Anyone who is not sure about the right size for their smart ring can rest assured: Manufacturers such as Oura and PagoPace offer their customers free sample sets with which they can determine the correct ring size. After purchase, buyers are sent sets or templates with different ring sizes. You try on the sizes, choose the right size and then receive the ring in your desired size.

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