Wearables with fingers are hot right now. The lovechild of jewelry and fitness trackers, smart rings are designed for anyone who wants to log health metrics without the hassle of a computer on their wrist.
Smart rings have not been as popular as the fitness tracker space has been. As of December 2021, Oura was your main choice with a price tag of $300 for the second generation model and a $6 monthly subscription for health insights. Jack and Gwyneth are two of Oura's devotees.
The smart ring universe is growing. The first product of the company, the Movano Ring, will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Omicron notwithstanding, the Consumer Electronics Show is still going ahead.
The latest Oura can't provide vital signs such as body temperature, but the Movano is trying to get FDA clearance to do so. Combining these metrics to predict how you'll be feeling on any given day is what the companion app is focused on. Tracking body temperature can be useful for figuring out when you have a disease. It could be useful for anyone trying to get pregnant.
More wholistic insights are delivered by Movano.
Credit: Movano
Can your ring do this?
Credit: Movano
With a robust app and metrics with a ring that looks pretty cool, Movano looks like it could be real competition for Oura. It comes to market. The ring will be available in the second half of 2022, but the price hasn't been released. The company says it will be priced competitively, aiming to be widely accessible and affordable.
Oura launched the Oura 3 in December. The company asked reviewers to spend several weeks with the device before writing about it. The main advantage of the new version is that it allows you to see how your heart rate is during exercise, so you can see how your heart is doing. Oura avoided that metric because it billed its device as more of a sleep aid than a fitness tracker.
It's possible that Tweet has been deleted.
There are other smart ring options. Prevention, a magazine and healthcare company, has created a $299 "heart and blood oxygen wellbeing monitor" that Walmart is selling. One reviewer described it as less smart than its rivals due to a limited feature set. You know something is up if Walmart is getting into the game.
There are a number of smart rings that are crowdfunded. The ArcX, Circular, and Go2Sleep are all designed for exercise, while the Go2Sleep is an odd design which will track the strength of your pulse. When we see them in production, we'll believe them. There are smart rings that are not focused on fitness or sleep. Instead, they are used to pay for your sandwich at the store or lock you up.
Don't bet on smart rings replacing watches any time soon. Tech lovers and tastemakers are looking at them as a complimentary accessory. We could easily end the year with one smart ring to rule all of them, as the battle between Oura, Movano and a host of Hobbit-like outsiders is shaping up to be.
