The one major downside of a screenless fitness tracker is that you don’t get live feedback during your workout. Oura has set out to change this, with its new Live Workout Tracking feature. Until now, the Oura ring has purely been a retrospective tracker, allowing you to see your stats once you’ve finished a run or bike ride, but now, the ring allows you to see real-life stats on your outdoor activities.

To find out more, I used my Oura Ring 5 and Garmin Forerunner 170 on an outdoor run around sunny Hyde Park in London. Read on to find out more about Oura’s latest feature.

You’ll need your phone with you

The Oura Ring doesn’t have built-in GPS, so it uses your phone’s location for the Live Workout Tracking. This means you’ll need to carry your phone with you on the run, but if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be able to see the live information from your Oura ring anyway!

When using Live Workout Tracking, the Oura app uses your phone’s internal GPS to track your route, altitude, and velocity. If you’re wearing another device that’ll track your heart rate, such as one of the best Garmin watches, or the Apple AirPods Pro 3, you can also see live heart rate stats. These will sit on a widget on your lock screen, so you can look at your phone at any point to see your live data.

You won’t get your live heart rate without a connected device

Your Oura ring is recording your heart rate all of the time and, during a workout, the optical sensors of the ring turn on permanently, streaming your heart rate second-by-second, instead of every few minutes. That said, you won’t see your heart rate in the Live Workout Tracking unless you have a third-party heart rate monitor connected.

If you don’t, you can still look at your heart rate once you’ve finished your workout. However, if you’re using your heart rate during the session, perhaps for a run where you’re trying to stay in Zone 2, you’ll need to connect another device. The list includes Garmin, Polar, AirPods Pro 3, and the Powerbeats Pro 2.

It’s definitely a useful upgrade

So, how did it perform on the run? For this test, I used my Oura Ring 5 connected to my iPhone 17, and my Garmin Forerunner 170, which has its own multi-band GPS and wasn’t connected to my phone. I found the Oura Ring 5 to be pretty much spot-on when comparing it to the stats on my Garmin over the easy 5K recovery run around Hyde Park.

When I synced both runs to my phone afterwards, there was a slight difference in pace; this is purely down to the auto-pause feature on my Garmin watch. The Oura Ring didn’t autopause at stop lights (and trust me, there are a lot of them in central London), so it recorded my average pace as 9:02 minutes/mile, whereas my Garmin recorded the run as an average pace of 8:32 minutes/mile.

When I look at the heart rate zones, the Oura Ring recorded my average heart rate for the run was 145 beats per minute, whereas the Garmin Forerunner 170 recorded 151 beats per minute, so both put this run in zone 4, telling me that I was pushing too hard for a recovery run, or was struggling running on such a warm day.

I’m currently training for my seventh marathon, so I’d personally only use this feature for really easy runs, where I was running to feel and didn’t need to follow a structured plan. That said, if you don’t own a running watch or you prefer to run without distractions, this little tweak really makes a huge difference and is a welcome addition to the Oura line-up. Live Tracking is available on Oura Ring Gen 3, Oura Ring 4, and Oura Ring 5.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month
• Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: What's changed for the 'world's smallest smart ring'?

I'm sorry to report that I'm one of the victims in the Ultrahuman data breach, which includes wellness data. Yesterday, certain Ultrahuman users got an email from Mohit Kumar, the company's founder and CEO, alerting them of a “security incident” that occurred on 27 March 2026.

Kumar said: “The most important facts first: no passwords, card details, or payment data were involved, and we have found no evidence of misuse.” As a health and fitness editor, I'm constantly testing the latest wearables, and it turns out I've been compromised and, according to Ultrahuman, my data is now at risk.

The company, best known for its smart rings, reportedly has up to 700,000 users globally. The breach targeted an internal analytics system, rather than Ultrahuman’s core user database, so it’s thought that only around 1,000 users are affected. Let’s look at what’s been taken and the steps Ultrahuman has taken to reassure users like me.

What have the hackers stolen?

According to the email that landed in my inbox last night, the “affected dataset” contained just one single piece of personal information: my email address. In the grand scheme of things, that's not too bad.

A statement on the Ultrahuman website confirms that for other users, this won’t be the only data accessed by hackers.

“The information visible to the unauthorised individual varied by account. The dataset that was accessed contained, depending on the user, contact and account details, order and transaction history, and for a smaller group of users, some fitness related data associated with their product usage and purchases.”

Kumar goes on to write: “No passwords, payment or credit card information, account details, transaction history or wellness data were accessible or affected by this incident. Your Ultrahuman Ring continues to operate normally and to record accurate wellness information.”

What has Ultrahuman advised?

The email goes on to advise me to “be alert to phishing attempts. If you receive any unexpected email, SMS, or telephone call referencing Ultrahuman, your orders, or your personal data, please treat it with caution, particularly where it conveys urgency or requests that you click a link.”

In a week that’s seen Oura launch the Oura Ring 5, and reports building about a new Samsung Galaxy Ring, what this data breach will do to Ultrahuman’s reputation remains to be seen.

I reached out to Ultrahuman, and they responded with the following statement:

"On March 27 2026, the wellness data of 0.1% of users was accessed via unauthorized access to an internal tool. No passwords or payment data were accessed, and the Ultrahuman Ring and production system weren’t compromised.

"We’ve taken our time to properly comply with the process of informing regulators and auditing the full scope of what was and wasn't affected. We wanted to inform users precisely what data was involved rather than guessing, and have taken steps to ensure this never happens again."

Have you had your personal details stolen through a data breach? Let me know what happened in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've been using the Fitbit Air for over a week, and my favorite feature has completely changed the way I wake up
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• Forget the Whoop 5.0 — The new Fitbit Air is a screen-less, subscription-free fitness tracker for the masses

The Oura Ring 5 just changed the smart ring game. Oura’s flagship ring has undergone a physical transformation, with the brand completely reengineering its smart ring to make it 40% smaller and even lighter than before. Forget the chunky rings of the past, the Oura Ring 5 looks like jewelry, for discreet, comfortable fitness tracking.

Proving that good things really do come in small packages, the new ring has about a day longer battery life than its predecessor, and four times more powerful LEDs, repositioned for better accuracy.

But should you be tempted to upgrade your ring if you already own an Oura Ring 4? And how does it compare to some of the best smart rings on the market? Read my full Oura Ring 5 review to find out more.

Oura Ring 5: Cheat sheet

• What is the Oura Ring 5? The Oura Ring 5 is a smart ring that has health tracking sensors within. As well as doing the basics, like counting your steps and reading your heart rate, the Oura Ring 5 can track your sleep, tell you when you ovulate, look at your overall stress levels throughout the day, and give you actionable insights based on your body’s resilience.
• When is the Oura Ring 5 release date? The Oura Ring 5 was released on May 28, 2026 and is available to buy now.
• Who is the Oura Ring 5 for? The Oura Ring 5 is for anyone who wants to be more informed about their health and wellness, without wearing a smartwatch or activity band on their wrist.
• What is the difference between the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 5? The main differences between the two smart rings are in the design. The Oura Ring 5 is 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4, as well as being lighter. The Ring 5 has more powerful sensors for more accurate measurements and longer battery life. The Oura Ring 5 is also fully waterproof up to 100m, whereas the Oura Ring 4 is water resistant.
• How much does the Oura Ring 5 cost? The Oura Ring 5 starts at $399/£399 for the ‘base finishes’, which are Silver and Black. The premium finishes are — Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver, and Deep Rose, and cost $499/£499.
• Is there a subscription fee for the Oura app? Yes, the Oura membership costs $5.99 / £5.99 per month or $72 / £72 per year.
• Is there a size difference between the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 5? Yes, slightly. Oura recommends using the Oura Ring 5 sizing kit to re-test your size with the smaller ring.
• Does Oura offer any trade-in deals? At the time of writing, no. You can send your old Oura ring back to Oura to recycle, but you do not get any money or credit for trading your old ring in.

Oura Ring 5: Specs

Oura Ring 5 review: Design

The Oura Ring 5 is noticeably smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the Oura Ring 4. Oura says they completely redesigned the ring to achieve the dramatic shrinkage, re-engineering the internal architecture to ensure it was smaller but just as powerful.

The width of the ring has dropped to 6.09mm from 7.9mm, and the thickness is now 2.28mm, with the ring weighing 2 grams. The exact weight and size of the Oura Ring 5 will depend on the size you’re wearing. The Oura Ring 5 comes in sizes 6-13.

Speaking of which, Oura recommends you use a new sizing kit for the Oura Ring 5, even if you’ve got an Oura Ring 4 on your finger. I found my size hadn’t changed — I’m wearing an Oura Ring size 7 in both rings, and the fit is similar, if not a tiny bit smaller on the newer ring. My colleague Sam, on the other hand, had to go up a size in the Oura Ring 5, so it’s worth checking.

The Oura Ring 5 comes in six different colors, and they’ve changed slightly from the Oura Ring 4. The cheapest options, Silver and Black, cost $399/£399. The more premium options include Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver, and Deep Rose, and cost $499/£499. Compared to the Oura Ring 4, the Gold color is a brighter gold to better match jewelry. Deep Gold replaces the Rose Gold colorway on the Oura Ring 4. In person, it’s a more coppery gold.

All of the Oura Ring 5 colors are made from a thicker, more scratch-resistant coating, aiming to minimize the damage from daily wear and holding weights in the gym.

The Oura Ring 4 will still be available in Gold, Stealth, and Silver, and ceramic in Cloud and Midnight in sizes 4-15 for $349. At the time of writing, Oura doesn’t have a trade-in program, so if you have recently bought an Oura Ring 4, you won’t get any money back for upgrading to an Oura Ring 5.

Oura Ring 5 review: Oura app

A screenless tracker is only as good as its app, and Oura’s app makes understanding your health data a dream. When you open the app, there are three tabs: Today, Vitals, and My Health. Today shows you a breakdown of changing information based on what might be relevant to you at a given point in the day. At the top of the page, there are shortcut tiles that allow you to see key information at a glance.

The Vitals tab has expanding and collapsing cards covering all your daily metrics, including your readiness score, sleep score, activity progress, menstrual cycle status, and daytime stress chart.

My Health is a zoomed-out picture of your overall wellness, looking at long-term insights like stress resilience, heart health, sleep chronotype, and cardiovascular age. My app tells me my sleep health has declined over the past 90 days, which is feedback I’ll pass on to my two-year-old, who has decided it’s his nightly mission to escape from his crib.

There are a few new features in the Oura Ring app added via a software update. Firstly, you’ll now be able to use your ring for live activity tracking. When starting a live activity from your Oura app, you’ll be able to see your live data from a lock screen widget on your phone. This can track your pace and distance live during workouts like runs, cycles, and strength training sessions.

Oura has also added two new Women’s Health features: Menopause Insights and Hormonal Birth Control. Menopause Insights asks you structured questions about how well you’re sleeping, your mood, cognition, and daily functioning, helping Oura ring wearers to really understand how strongly they feel perimenopause is affecting their daily lives.

The Hormonal Birth Control Feature is an update to the ring’s current Cycle Insights tool, and will support pills, patches, IUDs, implants, and other hormonal methods. It will be able to help women see at a glance how their biometrics shift across hormone and hormone-free days.

There’s also a new Locate feature on the app. This allows you to connect multiple devices to the app, as well as an Oura Charging Case, allowing you to keep track of your devices in one place. Locate is available for Oura Ring Gen3 and all future generations.

Oura Ring 5 review: Battery life

Oura says they’ve been working on the new device for over two years, and they didn’t want the smaller size to affect battery life. They’ve done the opposite, improving the battery life on the newer ring, giving you 6-9 days per charge, compared to the 5-8 with the Oura Ring 4. During my week of testing, I’ve found this to be accurate — I’ve only had to charge my ring once.

From what I've experienced, the batteries in these rings do seem to deteriorate over time, so I’ll be paying close attention. But for now, I’m very content to not have to worry about charging the Oura Ring 5 for several days at a time.

You still charge the ring on the same charging dock, but if you have an Oura Ring 4, the charger won’t work with the Oura Ring 5.

Launching alongside the Oura Ring 5 is the new Oura Ring 5 charging case, which costs $99/£99. It holds up to five ring charges and supports wireless charging. There’s an action button that makes it easier to see the charging status, and you can now add the charging case to Oura’s new Locate feature.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: Should you upgrade?

If you’re already one of the millions of people with an Oura Ring on your finger, does it make sense to upgrade to the Oura Ring 5?

Firstly, it’s worth noting that from a software perspective, everything mentioned above is available to you, as Oura has rolled the updates out to previous rings.

After a week of testing, however, I do really love how small the ring looks on my finger. It completely disappears, and compared to the chunky ring I’ve worn for years, I don’t think anyone would even notice the smart ring on my finger. If I’d just bought an Oura Ring 4, I’m not sure it would be enough to make me splurge for the new ring, but if I were wearing an Oura Ring 3 or earlier, I’d definitely consider the upgrade.

Oura says the Oura Ring 5 is more accurate than the Oura Ring 4, thanks to more powerful LEDs, but I haven’t noticed any differences in the tracking, and it would be impossible to say which is more accurate for some metrics without lab tests. I do find the ring more comfortable to wear, and while I’m never diving down to 100m, as a swimmer, I do appreciate the fact that the Oura Ring 5 is fully waterproof, rather than just water resistant.

Oura Ring 5 review: Should you buy?

I’ll be updating this review once I’ve had a chance to test the new features that recently rolled out, but after a week of testing, I’m confident that this is the best Oura Ring to date. The Oura Ring 5 has set new standards for the world of smart rings, and I think it’ll be a race between Samsung, Ultrahuman, and Luna to create smaller, thinner rings to compete.

The Oura experience is second to none, and if you’re looking for a fitness tracker that allows you to gain deeper insights into your overall health, without looking like you’re wearing a tracker, the Oura Ring 5 is the way to go.

After a week of continuous testing, I’m genuinely struggling to find a flaw or a missing feature in the Oura Ring 5. By chopping 40% of the bulk while actually extending the battery life, Oura hasn't followed the tech trend of making slight tweaks to launch a new product — it has completely rewritten the blueprint for what invisible tech can do.

The time has come: the Oura Ring 4 has officially been upstaged by the hotly anticipated Oura Ring 5, and there are plenty of changes to the ring you should know about if you're deciding whether or not to invest.

I have been wearing my Oura Ring since its 2021 release, graduating from the Oura Ring Gen 3 to the latest 5 model, and I'm convinced it's still the best smart ring on the market, despite stiff competition emerging.

Launched on May 28 2026, the Ring 5 is now the "world's smallest smart ring," but what else can you expect? Oura announced new features that will roll out to the Oura Ring Gen3, Oura Ring 4, and Oura Ring 4 Ceramic. These include live workout tracking, more women’s health features and a brand new way to find your ring or charging case if you lose it.

Read on to find out more about the Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4, whether we think it's worth upgrading and a sneak peek at the new design.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Specs compared

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Price and availability

The Oura Ring 5 launched on May 28 and is now available for pre-order directly with Oura and other retailers including Amazon and Best Buy.

Shipping is due to begin June 4, while the Oura Ring 4 and ceramic will continue to be available.

As for pricing, the Oura Ring 4 starts at $349, while the Ring 5 begins at $399, with premium finishes (Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver and Deep Rose) coming in at $499. Each purchase comes with a charger, but you can buy Oura's Ring 5 charging case, which is now available for pre-order at $99.

You'll get a one-year protection plan, plus a free month's trial of the Oura membership, which costs $5.99 a month thereafter.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Design

There have been some pretty significant changes to the newer version's design, and the most notable is that the Ring 5 is 40% smaller than its predecessor, making it more wearable for your everyday life; it's now the world's smallest smart ring.

Like the Oura Ring 4, the Ring 5's sensors are recessed. However, the 5's sensor domes provide better skin contact, more powerful LEDS (for clearer readings) and 12 stronger signal pathways for better accuracy across finger types and skin tones.

Oura also redesigned the mechanical, electrical, optical, battery and sensing architectures to ensure the quality of the ring isn't compromised by the smaller size. The rings are made from non-allergenic titanium, but the 5 features an extra-strong physical vapor deposition coating that enhances scratch resistance. It's also dust and waterproof to 100 meters (IP68), rather than waster resistant.

While the Oura Ring 4 comes in sizes 4 through 15, the Ring 5 comes in sizes 6 to 13. Oura strongly recommends confirming your best fit with a sizing kit; the new design means your ring size might change.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Fitness tracking features

The Oura Ring 4 introduced smart sensing, which meant your ring could create up to 18 sensing paths to read through your finger. As mentioned, Oura redesigned the ring from the ground up, creating smaller but more powerful LEDS repositioned for accuracy, and 12 refined but stronger signal pathways.

Gen 3, 4 and Ring 5 users can benefit from Oura's large bounty of health metrics and integrations, like sleep tracking, activity tracking, automatic workout detection, heart rate readings, readiness scores, stress tracking, menstrual cycle predictions, resilience estimates and long-term health trend insights, to name a few.

The Oura app is still split into three tabs, Today, Vitals and My Health, in an effort to keep all your information organized.

Oura has now introduced live activity tracking that lets members start a workout and follow their key metrics in real time from their phone. You can start a workout in the Oura App and track pace and distance during activities like running, cycling and strength training.

Members can also connect third-party heart rate monitors and supported devices, which gives access to heart rate in real time, including lock screen widgets for metrics. This feature becomes globally live on June 4. Automatic Activity Detection will also be more accurate, especially for low-motion activities like Pilates or yoga.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Battery life and charging

The Ring 4 can last up to 8 days, though we've found it typically lasts around 5-6 days, which declines gradually over time. The Ring 5 is expected to add a day of battery life, lasting up to 9 days. How this fares is down to testing, so we will include our results in our Oura Ring 5 review.

With one-touch multiring support, members can pair and switch among multiple Oura Ring 4 and Oura Ring 5 devices on a single account at no further cost.

A sandblasted anodized aluminum case stores one month of battery and, unlike the 4, the Oura Ring 5 charging case supports wireless charging. There's also a dedicated action button to check charging status and quickly pair the device. This will cost $99 and is available for pre-order.

Oura also introduced Locate, which helps you find your case and ring more easily, available for Oura Ring 4 and 5. You can support multiple devices and use the search mode in the app.

Oura Ring 4 vs Oura 5: Women's Health & Privacy settings

Menopause Insights

Menopause Insights asks you structured questions about sleep, mood, cognition and daily functioning, helping your Oura ring understand how strongly perimenopause may affect your daily life. After the symptom assessment, Oura members will access a personalized dashboard that translates these symptoms into an overall impact level.

Thankfully, it’ll be easy to follow at a glance, and you can learn how lifestyle changes, stress and interventions can change this data using your My Health view. Members can also save and share results with clinicians.

This update will be available to anyone with the app.

Hormonal Birth Control

Also rolling out is Oura’s new Hormonal Birth Control feature, which adapts Cycle Insights for members using pills, patches, IUDs, implants and other hormonal methods. You can gain insight into how contraception influences your wellbeing, and how your hormone fluctuations impact your body.

This is an update to the ring’s current Cycle Insights tool.

Lab Uploads

Oura users will now be able to import lab and blood work results directly into the Oura App, placing blood biomarkers alongside the data Oura collects. This will be available globally from June 30, 2026.

Privacy and Data Control

Finally, Oura will now make it possible for all members to erase data stored in the Oura App by choosing a specific time window. This will still preserve the account and longitudinal history but allows members to decide what data is stored without impacting the value of long-term trends.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Should you upgrade?

Although the in-app features will be available across both devices, there are some pretty big changes to the design of the 5 that could make it worth the upgrade, given the price isn't enormously different.

However, if you're not ready to invest in the 5, we suspect the Oura Ring 4 will be on sale, so you could pick up a bargain.

If you're an avid Oura Ring user and want to be on the cutting edge of the company's latest hardware, I think you can purchase a new one knowing it won't be replaced for a while.

And if the size of the current ring feels off-putting, I can confirm that I've worn the Oura Ring 5 and it is super tiny, much easier to wear, and comes in beautiful colorways that blend into my everyday. Think sleek and chic.

We'll be testing the Oura Ring 5 here at Tom's Guide, so look out for our full, in-depth review coming soon.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month
• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring 4 — which smart ring wins?

Today, Oura announced its newest and smallest smart ring, the Oura Ring 5. Yet if you’re not planning on upgrading your smart ring just yet, I’ve got good news — the Oura ring on your finger is getting new features too.

As well as the new device, Oura has announced new features that will roll out to the Oura Ring Gen3, Oura Ring 4, and Oura Ring 4 Ceramic. These include live workout tracking, new women’s health features, and a new way to find your ring or charging case should you lose it. Read on to find out more.

Oura Ring: New software features for all Oura ring wearers

Live activity tracking

The only downside to a screenless device is no live activity tracking, but Oura’s latest update changes that. You’ll now be able to see your live data from a lock screen widget on your phone. This can track your pace and distance live during workouts like runs, cycles, and strength training sessions.

You’ll also be able to connect a third-party heart rate monitor to the Oura app, allowing you to see your heart rate in real time. Live activity tracking will be available globally on June 4, 2026.

Women’s Health updates

Oura has always been one of the best wearables on the market when it comes to women’s health (heck, my Oura Ring knew I was pregnant before I did). But today, two new features rolled out: Menopause Insights and Hormonal Birth Control.

Menopause Insights asks you structured questions about how well you’re sleeping, your mood, cognition, and daily functioning, helping Oura ring wearers to really understand how strongly they feel perimenopause is affecting their daily lives.

After the symptom assessment, users will get a personalized dashboard that translates these symptoms into an overall impact level. It’ll be easy to follow at a glance how lifestyle changes, stress, and interventions can change this data.

Also rolling out today is a new Hormonal Birth Control Feature. Oura realized that thousands of its wearers were using hormonal birth control, but that a lot of women weren’t able to collect data on how their contraception was influencing their baseline over time. This is an update to the ring’s current Cycle Insights tool, and will support pills, patches, IUDs, implants, and other hormonal methods. It will be able to help women see at a glance how their biometrics shift across hormone and hormone-free days.

Lab uploads

Oura users will now be able to import their lab and blood work results directly into the Oura App, placing blood biomarkers alongside the data Oura has collected. This will be available globally from June 30, 2026.

Locate

Oura has also updated its device-tracking experience with Locate. This allows you to connect multiple devices to the app, as well as an Oura Charging Case, allowing you to keep track of your devices in one place. Locate is available for Oura Ring Gen3 and all future generations globally on June 4.

Data control

Oura is also adding a new time-based Data Deletion capability. This allows users of all Oura ring generations to erase data stored in the Oura App from a specific time window, while preserving the rest of their tracking history. This is available globally on June 4.

It's great to see Oura continuing to support its older devices in this way and rest assured, we'll have a full review of the Oura Ring 5 coming to you soon.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• I spent one week with a wallet-friendly Garmin Forerunner 970 dupe — 5 things that stand out about the $300 cheaper Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

The Oura Ring 5 just dropped, and I was lucky enough to try it on a week ago during a briefing with Oura, learning all about its newest and smallest wearable yet. The Oura Ring 5 is 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4, making it even more discreet. Proving that good things really do come in small packages, the new ring has about a day longer battery life than its predecessor, and four times more powerful LEDs, repositioned for better accuracy.

Read on to find out more about the Oura Ring 5, and why I think it’s set to be the smart ring to beat in 2026.

Oura Ring 5: Price and availability

The Oura Ring 5 is available to preorder today and will ship on June 4. It comes in six different finishes, with a thicker coating for better scratch resistance. The base finishes are Silver and Black, and cost $399/£399. The premium finishes are — Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver, and Deep Rose, and cost $499/£499.

Having seen the colors up close, Oura has changed the Gold finish slightly — it’s lighter and more modern. The Rose Gold we saw in the Oura Ring 4 is now Deep Rose and looks slightly more coppery up close. Both are beautiful.

Oura Ring 5: What has changed?

The biggest and most obvious difference between the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 5 is the size. The newest ring is noticeably smaller, allowing it to disappear on your finger, easily looking like jewelry. Oura says they’ve been working on the new device for over two years, as it required a total redesign. Oura didn’t want the smaller size to affect battery life, and they’ve done the opposite, improving the battery life on the newer ring, giving you 6-9 days per charge, compared to the 5-8 with the Oura Ring 4.

Launching alongside the Oura Ring 5 is the new Oura Ring 5 charging case, which costs $99/£99. It holds up to five charges of the ring, as well as supporting wireless charging. There’s an action button that makes it easier to see the charging status, and you can now add the charging case to Oura’s new Locate feature. Locate is available on the Oura Ring 4, Oura Ring 5, and charging case, allowing members to keep track of their Oura devices in one place.

Size-wise, Oura recommends using an Oura Ring 5 sizing kit, even if you have an Oura Ring already. I was wearing the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic in a size 7, and found that the Oura Ring 5 size 7 fit me well, but my colleague went up a size in the newer ring. The Oura Ring 5 comes in sizes 6-13.

Oura Ring 5: Should you upgrade?

I’m yet to go hands-on with the Oura Ring 5, so keep an eye on Tom’s Guide for our longer review, coming soon. That said, from my hour with the Oura Ring 5, I’m sure this is going to be the smart ring to beat in 2026. It’s light, it’s comfortable, and it will appeal to an even wider audience now that it’s smaller.

Oura is also rolling out some exciting health updates with the new ring, including live activity tracking, allowing users to track their pace and distance during running, cycling, and strength training workouts from their phone. There are also a few new women’s health updates, including new menopause insights and hormonal birth control tracking. These will all be available globally from June 4, 2026 on Oura Ring Gen 3 and all future rings.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• I spent one week with a wallet-friendly Garmin Forerunner 970 dupe — 5 things that stand out about the $300 cheaper Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

There are many reasons you should choose one of the best smart rings over a conventional fitness tracker. And when it comes to smart rings, Oura is the undisputed leader of the pack for me. I've been wearing an Oura Ring 3 for the last couple of years, and it sounds like my natural next upgrade could be right around the corner.

According to a leaked internal document, posted on Reddit, the upcoming Oura Ring 5 could break cover as soon as this week. While Oura itself hasn't commented on the leak, it shows a "launch timeline" that claims the Oura Ring 5 will be announced tomorrow, May 28, 2026.

The leak also says that pre-orders will begin the same day, and the new smart ring will get an official launch and start shipping on June 5, 2026.

What can we expect from the Oura Ring 5? Well, the leaked documentation states that the Oura Ring 5 will be, "Oura's newest, smaller, and more comfortable ring, designed to keep the same health-tracking capabilities and membership features members know from the Oura Ring 4."

Oura gen 5 from r/ouraring

The Oura Ring 4 was a real step-up over the Oura Ring 3, offering an all-titanium design, recessed sensors, more size options, and an extra full day of battery life. If you've never used an Oura Ring before, it tracks all the necessary metrics: steps, calories, sleep, and can also provide you with advanced features like stress measurement and cardiovascular age. The Oura Ring 4 is up to 120% more accurate in certain respects than the Oura Ring 3 as well.

We'll seemingly need to wait until later this week to find out if there are more improvements to come with the Oura Ring 5. But it seems like the company is focusing on getting its wearable to be smaller and less obtrusive — trying to lighten the (size-dependent) 3.3 to 5.2 grams of the Oura Ring 4.

Battery is my big concern

After using an Oura Ring myself for roughly two years, and while I love the wearable, there's one major concern I have with it. It's not the $5.99 / £5.99 per month (or $72 / £72 per year membership), it's the battery life.

Screenless fitness trackers like the Oura Ring (and the recently-launched Fitbit Air) can offer up several days' worth of battery life compared to something like the Apple Watch Series 11. Apple's smartwatch is infinitely more capable, but it's likely to be dead within 70 hours. In my first year with the Oura Ring, it would easily go for five or six days without needing a charge. Sadly, that's no longer the case.

After two years, the tiny battery in my Oura Ring 3 now can't manage a full 24 hours without needing to be charged. And, honestly, after the third or fourth time of waking up to find the ring had died on me overnight, I stopped wearing it.

I appreciate that it's very hard to battle battery degradation on a device this small, but for a $299 starting price plus the monthly membership, I had hoped for a wearable that would last me longer than two years.

With the Oura Ring 5 supposedly smaller and thinner, I'm concerned about the impact on long-term battery life. My sincere hope is that Oura has made efficiency savings inside the Ring 5 that mean anyone buying one in 2026 can still expect reasonable performance and longevity from it in 2028 and 2029.

Here's what my colleague Kate Kozuch thought after wearing an Oura Ring 4 for an entire year.

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Samsung has reportedly been developing a Galaxy Ring sequel since last year, but a new article claims it's "virtually impossible" for the Korean tech giant to release the Galaxy Ring 2 this year.

Instead, according to the Korean publication ETNews, Samsung is aiming to debut the Ring 2 in early 2027. Apparently, the release schedule is being reevaluated around the growth of the smart ring market and the launch of other flagship devices.

The Galaxy Ring is already one of the best smart rings available, and the next iteration will reportedly focus on longer battery life, better comfort and new sensors.

Rumored Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 improvements

Starting with comfort, the Galaxy Ring 2 is supposed to be thinner and weigh less thanks to optimized component placement. It was not reported by how much or how the components will be laid out.

When it comes to longevity, the Galaxy Ring is rated at seven days for its battery life, though we found it closer to six. According to ETNews though, the next iteration should improve this to 9-10 days.

Sensor functions are supposed to be enhanced including improved sleep analysis and advanced body temperature sensors. There will also likely be "expanded insights related to cardiovascular health."

Allegedly, Samsung is working on integrating blood glucose measurement technology, but it may not debut on the Galaxy Ring. The struggle centers around accuracy, regulatory approval and the implementation of "ultra-small sensors."

We may see this appear on the Galaxy Watch first, though we've seen rumors regarding that feature as far back as 2021.

Interestingly, ETNews suggests that Samsung is considering dividing functions in the Ring and Galaxy Watch. The Ring would focus on sleep and daily health data in combination with Galaxy AI and Samsung Health. The Galaxy Watch would handle exercise, notifications and app functions.

If the schedule holds, we could see the Galaxy Ring 2 launch alongside the Galaxy S27 lineup in early 2027, likely around January.

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The Oura Ring 5 is coming. And even though we’ll likely have to wait until 2027 for its arrival, the hype is building. The question is, will the new model bring enough to the table to keep Oura at the head of the smart ring pack?

While the Oura Ring 4 remains the best smart ring available today, it’s far from your only option. In fact, over the past six months alone, I’ve tried out half a dozen exciting new smart ring models, many of which are subscription-free with unique features not yet found on the Oura Ring, from color-changing exteriors to customizable on-ring touch controls.

So, to remain the brand to beat in 2027, Oura might want to consider ‘borrowing’ at least some of these shiny new features for its next-gen flagship. With that in mind, these are the five biggest Oura Ring 5 upgrades I’m hoping for the most.

1. Two weeks or more of battery

The Oura Ring 4 lasts an average of five to eight days per charge, which is pretty solid. The brand also sells an accessory, the Oura Ring charging case, to lessen the burden of keeping the device juiced up.

However, those stats pale in comparison to the promised battery life of the forthcoming Ultrahuman Ring Pro: Up to 15 days per charge. To stay in lock-step with what I’d consider to be the brand’s biggest competition, I’m hoping the Oura Ring 5 also cruises past the two-week battery life barrier.

2. Haptic feedback

When I first caught wind of smart ring brands adding haptic feedback to their devices, I was skeptical. However, after experiencing haptic alerts for notifications on the Dreame Smart Ring earlier this year, I’m now intrigued.

While I’m not so certain I want my finger to buzz every time I get a text, it seems like a great way to gently wake up versus an audible alarm, assuming you’re not a heavy sleeper. Haptic feedback might also let Oura Ring 5 users know when holistic insights are ready to be viewed or if any troubling health trends emerge.

3. High blood pressure alerts

Speaking of health, the Oura Ring 4 offers users detailed and digestible holistic insights via the companion app, along with actionable takeaways and advice.

For example, the Oura Ring 4 can already tip you off to an oncoming illness ahead of time via Symptom Radar, monitor your physiological Strain, track ovulation cycles, and more. But, what if the Oura Ring 5 could also alert you to potential signs of high blood pressure, similar to Hypertension Alerts found in the best Apple Watch Models?

Of course, actual medical-grade blood pressure tracking in a smart ring would be an even greater achievement, but I suspect we’re still a few years out from that becoming a reality in such a small form factor.

4. Custom gesture controls

Both the Dreame Smart Ring and the Aivela Ring Pro, which I demoed at CES 2026, feature tiny touch-sensitive areas on the exterior for customizable gesture controls. For example, the Dreame Ring supports three programmable actions: swipe up/down, double-tap, and long-press.

I set up my Dreame Ring to advance Spotify to the next track whenever I double-tap the side of the device with my thumb, and though there's a slight learning curve, it ultimately works quite well.

I’d love to see Oura similarly offer a touchpad on the exterior of the Oura Ring 5, but with expanded customizable capabilities to execute more than just three actions.

5. NFC for mobile payments

Rumors of Oura adding NFC are not new, but this time around, I’m hopeful they are true. Seriously, how cool/futuristic would it be to pay for your morning coffee with a tap of a ring?

You won’t find support for mobile payments offered on even the best Oura Ring alternatives… for now, but I have no doubt the competition is working on it. Ultimately, beating the rest of the pack would no doubt go a long way to ensuring Oura’s dominance in the smart ring market in 2027 and beyond

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I just spoke one-on-one with Mohit Kumar, the founder and CEO of Ultrahuman, one of the best-known smart rings brands not named Oura.

Our conversation touched on everything from mitigating the wrath of other brands' legal departments, whether or not the Ultrahuman Ring Air will return to the U.S. market, how Ultrahuman plans to stay largely subscription-free, the promise of new, ground-breaking biomarker tracking tools, the massive benefits of on-chip processing, and the future of Ultrahuman ten years out.

We also discussed the new flagship Ultrahuman Ring Pro — now officially available for preorder in the U.S. — which promises 15 days of battery, a unique and durable unibody design, and improved heart tracking tech.

Check out my full interview with Ultrahuman CEO and founder, Mohit Kumar, below.

The Ultrahuman Ring Pro is coming to the U.S.; are you anticipating any legal action from your competitors? And are you confident that the design changes from the Ultrahuman Ring Air to the Pro are substantial enough to keep the device on store shelves in the U.S.?

Mohit Kumar: We are pretty confident, and that's why we went through the [U.S.] customs procedure 177 to get the device approved. We took the right path to make sure that the design is approved by customs, and they officially issue an order that says 'this is a design which is unique and non-infringing, for the patent which Oura holds.' That's why we are pretty confident, I think even more than that, we're confident in our ability to build and create like engineers in this space.

So, behind the scenes, from an engineering standpoint, you figured out workarounds to avoid the wrath of Oura's legal department?

Kumar: Yeah, I think even more now, we believe that Ring Air is unique [from the Oura Ring design] and different. There was a negative order from the International Trade Commission (ITC), but we're still fighting that in the Federal Circuit. But the Ring Pro obviously takes it to another level.

The [Ring Pro's] unibody design is pretty unique in this category; it's never been done, and it's basically a completely different kind of engineering.

Is there a chance we'll eventually see the Ultrahuman Ring Air return to the U.S.?

Kumar: I can't predict this, but our intent is to fight on the right grounds to make sure that the Ring air and every model that we have is allowed to be sold everywhere.

What are the biggest differences between the Ultrahuman Ring Air and the Ultrahuman Ring Pro?

Kumar: The Ring Air is more comfort-first. [The Ring Pro] is more about robustness and battery life; we intend to continue both versions.

What was your primary aim when developing the Ultrahuman Ring Pro, besides avoiding Oura's patents?

Kumar: The biggest focus from an engineering perspective was to get a fifteen-day battery life. We prioritized this above everything else.

The Ring Pro is also capable of handling on-chip machine learning tasks. Explain why that's a big deal.

Kumar: If you remember, we were the first company in the world in the ring space to introduce AFib detection. [This feature previously] required us to extract the AFib signals, or the PPG signals from the ring, send the signals to the phone, the phone syncs the signals to the cloud, and then we have an Afib validation service which runs the machine learning model on the cloud and then sends the feedback back to the phone and then back to the device itself, the ring.

Now, naturally, you would question the robustness of this entire integration, which depends a lot on how much data you're able to transfer. Then the data transfer becomes a critical step of this AFib detection.

Now, what if you don't need to transfer so much data? What if you could actually compute on the chip itself? This changes the game because if you don't need to transfer so much data, you save battery. At the same time, you're able to look into so much more raw signal.

If you were to send so much raw signal, you would dissipate a lot of battery, it would take a lot of time, and require a stable connection. Whereas if you do all the processing on the device, you could process all that you want.

That was a core motivation behind adding more computing power to the device. Instead of just a tracking device, [smart rings] should become a computer on the body in the future. It should have its own brain, it should have its own ability to at least micro-think.

And I think that's the direction that we're heading into, and that's why it's such a big deal. There could also be like tons of new signals that you could derive, potentially blood pressure or signs of women's health issues like PCOS, etc.

You offer a largely subscription-free model where core features don't cost anything, but more advanced add-ons do. How do you ensure that Ultrahuman remains subscription-free, and how do you determine which tools go behind the paywall?

Kumar: Those are two different questions, I think. The first one is how do we make money in the future? Close to to 20% of our users do subscribe to a paid capability.

The number has been growing over time, but that really obviously helps us make money, but at the same time, they're looking for something deeper, and that's the core philosophy of the platform: that the base features like sleep, activity, movement, there's no reason why anyone should be charging you for that data.

Where do you see Ultrahuman as a company ten years from now?

Kumar: There are two ways, two journeys for this company. One is selling the most rings. It's a great business, we are the market leaders, but it's still not too exciting. Like, it's not the best outcome for the company.

I think where we want to be, apart from just selling more devices, is where we are able to discover a whole new biomarker for help. If you visit us and our engineers and meet them, they're obsessed with finding new markers.

What you will see in the next few months is a potentially completely new marker of heart health, which has never been tapped from the human body. But not in the ring form factor, just to be clear, it could be a new form factor.

Does this mean that Ultrahuman is moving away from smart rings?

Kumar: We are a health data company, we don't care about the form factor, and, well, it might seem that we're competing in the ring form factor and pretty fiercely. However, all that we care about is basically how do we help people generate more data so that we can actually deliver on helping improve their health.

So it doesn't need to be a ring, always. But if the ring is the best form factor, obviously, we'll build the ring. In the spectrum of companies you could relate us to, we are more like Garmin, with multiple devices, multiple form factors, and unconstrained by hardware or software engineering.

In 2026, what are the factors you feel most set the Ultrahuman platform apart from the competition?

Kumar: Transparency and control: you own your own data, and you only pay for what you want to pay for. This is the theme that we have been building for the last few years because we believe that this is a super early space. [Smart rings are] like computers in the 1980s right now.

On the subject, if a major tech player like Apple were to jump into the smart ring space, would you see this as a good or bad thing for Ultrahuman?

Kumar: I think a net positive, if you look at the 10-year spectrum, because how many ring devices get sold every year? Five or six million at max, all players included. How many watches get sold every year? ~300 million.

So if a large player makes an entry, you would imagine that the space would reach 100 million devices annually pretty soon. Obviously, that'll help make us happy financially, but from an impact perspective as well.

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Oura’s biggest competitor is officially bringing its new flagship smart ring model, the Ultrahuman Ring Pro, to the U.S. market. Not only does it crush the Oura Ring 4 in terms of battery performance, but it’s also completely subscription-free.

As a reminder, Ultrahuman and Oura have serious beef with one another. Back in October 2025, Oura successfully forced Ultrahuman to pull the brand’s then-flagship model from the U.S. market due to alleged infringements of Oura’s intellectual property. As of writing, the Ultrahuman Ring Air remains unavailable (directly) for U.S. customers.

Thankfully, the newer, more impressive Ultrahuman Ring Pro is now officially available to U.S. customers, with preorders opening today. Here’s everything you need to know about the Ultrahuman Ring Pro’s U.S. launch.

Ultrahuman vs Oura in 2026

Ultrahuman unveiled the brand’s latest flagship model, the Ultrahuman Ring Pro, a few weeks back in late February. It promises up to 15 days of battery, an onboard dual-core processor capable of handling localized machine-learning tasks, improved heart rate data, and all sorts of other upgrades, all for a one-time cost of $479 via Ultrahuman.

That’s pricier than the $349 starting cost of the Oura Ring 4, the best smart ring of 2026. However, once you factor in the $5.99 monthly Oura subscription fee, after roughly a year of use, the two devices cost about the same.

First 1,000 U.S. Ultrahuman Ring Pro customers get a huge discount

While the U.S. MRSP of the Ultrahuman Ring Pro is $479, the brand is offering a $130 discount for the first 1,000 customers who preorder both the new ring and its accessory charging case. That reduces the bundle price to $349, the same as an Oura Ring 4 without a charging case.

How did Ultrahuman get past Oura’s legal claims?

Just before the Ultrahuman Ring Pro received approval for sale in the U.S., I had the chance to chat one-on-one with Ultrahuman’s CEO, Mohit Kumar (full interview to be published this week).

When asked whether or not he felt that Ultrahuman took enough steps in the Ring Pro’s redesign to ensure it stays on U.S. store shelves — even if Oura makes new legal claims — Kumar expressed near-absolute confidence.

It turns out that Ultrahuman engineers went out of their way to reconstruct the latest ring in a way that completely circumvents all Oura patents, using an innovative, all-titanium unibody design. Of course, time (and the U.S. legal system) will likely tell whether the brand went far enough.

Ultrahuman Ring Pro outlook

As noted when the Ultrahuman Ring Pro was first announced, with superior battery life, a subscription-free model, onboard machine learning capabilities, and improved heart/sleep data, there’s a seriously solid chance that this new flagship could steal the Oura Ring 4’s crown as the best smart ring in 2026.

Stay tuned for an Ultrahuman Ring Pro review; I’m expecting a test unit soon.

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It's good news for Oura lovers and those invested in wearing the best smart rings on the market, as we could be set to see the release of the Oura Ring 5 in 2027, according to an exclusive from Android Headlines.

The Oura Ring 4 remains best in show for in-depth, comprehensive fitness, sleep, and health tracking, despite stiff competition from the likes of the Ultrahuman Ring Pro and Samsung Galaxy Ring; Oura looks set to protect that status with the release of its next-generation ring, although it's unlikely we'll see it until 2027.

Here's everything we know so far.

Oura Ring 5: Price

It's too soon to tell whether the new ring will come with a price increase, although it's likely. The Oura Ring 3 was released in November 2021, with a starting price of $299. The Oura Ring 4 launched in October 2024, starting at $349.

Oura Ring 5: Design

According to Android Headlines' exclusive, the Oura Ring 5 could still be over a year away from being announced. Tom's Guide has reached out to Oura for comment.

It's rumoured Oura will be ditching its Rose Gold color in favor of a Deep Rose colorway (pictured), which has a more bronze look and may appeal to those who prefer a pared-back approach to design.

There may also be colorways in Matte Black, Silver, and Gold, which are already available with the Oura Ring 4. That said, Matte Black may be labeled Stealth, while Silver models may be available in brushed and glossy options.

The new ring also appears to have a slightly more curved design than existing models.

Oura Ring 5: Charging

According to Android Headlines, the charging style will remain the same. At the moment, the ring can be charged with the compatible dock, as well as with the Oura charging case.

It isn't clear whether the Oura Ring 5 will have any improvements from a battery life perspective, but reportedly, there could be some changes to sensors and health tracking.

Some major upgrades we saw between the Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4 included recessed and improved sensors that also bolstered accuracy, better battery life, and more sizing options, along with improvements to the app, which applied to users of either ring model.

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The ever-expanding smart ring market is about to get a little more competitive and a lot more stylish. The Cudis Sporty Ring — weird name, I know — promises heady AI-backed wellness insights, on par with the top-performing smart ring of 2026, the Oura Ring 4, along with the best Oura Ring 4 alternatives.

5 ways the color-changing Cudis Sporty Ring beats the Oura Ring 4

The Cudis Sporty is also the only smart ring I’m aware of with a color-changing exterior. No, it’s not based on your mood, but rather, personal preference. That’s just one of the advantages the new Cudis Sporty Ring seemingly has over the Oura Ring 4. Find out how it pulls off this chameleon-like wizardry, and four other ways it potentially beats the king of smart rings, below.

1. Subscription-free tracking

Fully funded on Kickstarter with 40 days to go as of writing, the Cudis Sporty Ring is expected to ship this summer for $399. That said, you can secure much cheaper pricing, $239, by backing the project before the campaign ends.

While the eventual starting price of the ring is $50 more than that of the Oura Ring 4, unlike the industry leader, the Cudis Sporty Ring is subscription-free (Oura charges $5.99 a month for access to insights).

2. Interchangeable exterior

Buying a smart ring used to mean committing to one single finish or style. Not with the Cudis Sporty. While the body of the ring is made from titanium and epoxy, a swappable textured silicone band adorns the outside.

My review ring shipped with a standard black band, along with two ‘Focus Green’ color options. In total, Cudis offers 12 Pantone-coded colors to choose from. Not only does the silicone protect the smart ring from bumps and abrasions, but swapping one band for another is a painless affair.

3. Good behavior earns redeemable ‘Health Points’

‘Health Points,’ rewarded for good behavior like getting a solid night of rest or achieving your weekly workout goals, are a key motivational feature of the Cudis Sporty Ring. Similar to Apple’s Workout Rings, Health Points are designed to encourage healthy habit-forming.

Banking loads of health points doesn’t just provide bragging rights, though. Cudis says users will be able to redeem their points for actual goods and services, such as premium app features, free fitness classes, supplements, and workout gear. A yet-to-launch Cudis Store will be available to ring owners in the U.S., Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

4. ‘Pace of Aging’ metric

While the Oura Ring 4 offers insights into your cardiovascular age, the Cudis Sporty Ring promises an even headier aging metric, called “Pace of Aging” (PoA), that takes into account more than just heart health, but all of your holistic and fitness data.

By keeping a user’s PoA front and center, Cudis hopes to make users keenly aware of which types of lifestyle decisions reverse the aging process versus speed it up. The metric is accompanied by AI-backed guidance and insights, which, according to Cudis, are both ‘stark and honest’ in nature.

Transition: There will be no sugarcoating your holistic shortcomings or failures. Who doesn't love being scolded by an inanimate object?

5. Ten-day battery rating

Last but not least, the Cudis Sporty Ring promises better battery performance than the Oura Ring 4. The former is rated for ten days of use per charge, while the latter is rated for eight days (closer to six days in real-world testing).

It’s worth noting that the Cudis Sporty is quite a bit thicker than the Oura Ring 4, roughly 4mm compared to 2.9mm, which means space for a potentially larger-capacity battery.

Ultimately, the Cudis Sporty Ring promises a whole lot when it comes to sleep, fitness, recovery, and aging insights, not to mention the color-changing capabilities. However, until the companion app reaches its final release-ready form, I’ll hold off on my final judgments. For now, color me intrigued.

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Today, Oura announced it has acquired Doublepoint — a company specializing in AI-driven, biometrics-based gesture-recognition technology. This suggests that voice and hand gestures will come to Oura rings in the near future.

It’s thought that in future rings, voice and hand gestures could play a central role in the user experience. What this might look like remains to be seen, but based on what competitors are doing, we’d guess that ring wearers will be able to use double-pinch gestures, similar to those on the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Apple Watch.

Doublepoint Technologies is a Helsinki-based startup that uses artificial intelligence and biometric data to enable users to control wearable devices with small hand movements.

In an interview with Bloomberg at MCW Barcelona, Oura’s Chief Executive Officer confirmed that gestures would become more important in future products, but cautioned, “it’s not like something’s happening tomorrow or in the near term,” so we might have a while to wait. He also stressed that he wanted the gestures to be “meaningful” to Oura’s customer base. At MWC, he referred to a Doublepoint demo in which users could skip songs with gestures or create a trackpad with their fingers.

The Oura ring is one of the best smart rings on the market. The news follows a massive period of growth at Oura, which released the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic last year. The company was recently valued at approximately $11 billion.

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Ultrahuman — one of the biggest players in the smart ring space not named Oura — just announced the new Ultrahuman Ring Pro. This flagship, third-generation model features competitive specs, including 15 days of battery, dual-core processing with on-chip machine learning, and overhauled continuous heart rate tracking for improved sleep and workout recovery insights.

The Ultrahuman Ring Rro debuts alongside Ultrahuman's new Pro charging case, which offers quite a few additional functions, beyond storing and recharging the ring. Read on for the pertinent details on this new Oura Ring 4 competitor and accessory, along with my take on whether or not it be one of the best Oura Ring alternatives.

Ultrahuman Ring Pro: Key specs and features

• Ultrahuman's third-generation smart ring and new flagship model
• Redesigned heart rate sensor should improve tracking accuracy
• New dual-core processor for faster/improved data processing
• Core holistic features are subscription-free
• Up to 15 days of battery per charge
• New 'Pro' charging case keeps the ring charged for up to 45 days; also delivers firmware updates
• 'ProRelease Technology' makes the ring easier to remove in an emergency
• Available in Bionic Gold, Space Silver, Aster Black, and Raw Titanium
• Sizes 5–14
• $479 / AU$739; ship in March
• No U.S. availability at launch

Ultrahuman Ring Pro: Price and availability

The Ultrahuman Ring Pro starts at $479 / AU$739, which is $129 / AU$170 more than the Oura Ring 4. However, that cost (presumably) includes the Pro charging case (Oura's charging case is another $99 / AU$99).

Ultrahuman's new flagship smart ring will be available in sizes five through 14 and in four finishes, including gold, silver, black, and titanium. Available for preorder now, the Ultrahuman Ring Pro is expected to begin shipping in March. However, it will not be available in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.

Ultrahuman Ring Pro: Key features explained

Compared to the brand's most recent device, the Ultrahuman Ring Air, the new model features an overhauled heart rate sensor that promises more accurate signal readings, particularly while users are sleeping. Ultrahuman says this should result in more meaningful insights into workout recovery, too.

Processing power has also been greatly improved. The Ultrahuman Ring Pro sports a dual-core processor that can handle on-chip machine learning tasks (rather than relying on a paired phone).

Battery life has been vastly increased, too. Ultrahuman claims the Ring Pro can keep on chooglin for up to 15 days per charge compared to just four days for the Ring Air. Once you factor in the new Pro charging case, that rating increases to 45 days of use before needing to find a power outlet.

Beyond powering and protecting the Ring Pro, the new case can also be used to update the device's firmware. Plus, it has onboard storage with enough room to store up to a year's worth of offloaded health data from the ring. An LED indicator on the case lets you easily keep tabs on remaining power, while haptic feedback delivers alerts.

Ultrahuman Ring Pro: Outlook

Before getting into the Ultrahuman Ring Pro's overall outlook — or more simply, predicting whether or not it will make it into our best smart ring guide — I'd be remiss not to address the elephant in the room: lack of U.S. availability.

This is almost certainly a result of the Oura vs Ultrahuman patent dispute that culminated in Ultrahuman being forced to yank the Ultrahuman Ring Air from U.S. markets right toward the end of last year.

Clearly, Ultrahuman is worried about the brand's latest flagship facing a similar reckoning. So, does this mean that the Ring Pro won't ever make it to the grand ol' USA? Not necessarily.

It's entirely possible that Ultrahuman was able to find workarounds for the Ring Pro that don't infringe on Oura's patents. If this is the case, I suspect the brand is simply doing a bit of extra due diligence to ensure that when the new flagship does come Stateside, it will actually be able to be sold.

Lawsuits aside, based on launch specs and features — plus our positive impressions of prior Ultrahuman models — I can definitely see the Ultrahuman Ring Pro giving the Oura Ring 4 a proper run for the money.

Unfortunately, as a U.S.-based journalist, I'm not sure the new device will ever grace my index finger. Thankfully, my colleagues in the UK will still be able to handle a full review in my place as soon as samples become available.

More from Tom's Guide

• I just tried the Dreame Smart Ring — and it beats Oura in 3 key ways
• Just got a new Oura Ring? Here's how to set it up like a pro
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Today, Luna has announced that its smart ring — the Luna Ring 2.0 can now be used via voice commands, allowing you to log workouts and have conversations with your ring about your sleep, stress, and recovery data. We haven’t yet seen a smart ring take this step, skipping the need to use an app to log your data.

We first saw this technology in January at CES 2026, when the brand also announced its Luna Band — a screenless wristband health tracker similar to the Whoop 5.0. There isn’t a launch date yet, but the band is expected to be released later this year.

In an attempt to move away from screens, Luna has added the ability to talk to its wearable using Siri. Users can now log events throughout the day, from what they ate for lunch to medication they’ve taken and workouts they’ve done, without picking up their phone.

Additionally, ring wearers can use the voice chat functionality to create a workout or nutrition plan. You can now say things like, "Hey Siri, ask Luna how my recovery looks after yesterday’s run," and Luna’s AI coach will respond, offering advice. Both iOS and Android users can talk to Luna Voice AI directly when they open the app, whereas iOS users can log their habits without opening the app, via Siri.

“This marks a fundamental shift in what a wearable is,” Luna founder Amit Khatri said in a press release. “The Luna Ring no longer just measures the body. It understands context, connects daily behavior with biometrics, and communicates back in a way that fits naturally into real life.”

The Luna Ring 2.0 is one of the best Oura alternatives on the market — it tracks all kinds of health metrics, including heart rate, stress, and sleep, and there’s a SpO2 monitor and skin temperature sensor on board too, allowing for women’s health and fertility tracking.

The ring has a battery life of 4-7 days, and the charging case that comes with it extends this to 30 days. There’s no monthly subscription, and the ring is compatible with Android and iOS. The Luna Ring Gen 2 costs $330/£300 and is available from Luna directly.

At the time of writing, the Luna Ring is not available in the U.S. due to an ongoing Oura suit with the U.S. International Trade Commission. As of November 2025, Oura filed a complaint against several smart ring manufacturers, which saw the likes of Ringconn, Luna, and Ultrahuman pausing trading in the country.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've tested the best smart rings for tracking your health — and these are my favorites
• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring 4 — which smart ring wins?
• Forget the Oura Ring 4 — these are the best Oura Ring alternatives in 2026

The Dreame Smart Ring was one of several intriguing new wearables to debut at CES 2026. I just got my hands on a review unit, and I’m blown away; it beats the Oura Ring 4, the best smart ring in 2026, in three major ways.

It seems like only yesterday I wrote my smart ring predictions for 2026 (okay, it was a month ago), and two of the biggest trends I mentioned include the addition of haptic feedback — via vibrations — and customizable touch controls on the ring surface.

Well, the new Dreame Smart Ring offers both of these features, and then some. Here’s everything you need to know about what could be the most advanced smart ring that’s graced my finger to date.

1. Haptic alerts

This is the first smart ring I’ve tested with an onboard micro-vibration motor to deliver haptic feedback. However, other brands, including RingConn, have announced similar features in forthcoming releases.

Users can set the Dreame Ring to gently vibrate for alarms, incoming calls, messages, and other notifications. I tested the feature (by setting an alarm) and found the haptics pleasant yet powerful enough to likely (eventually) wake me up from sleep.

Presently, haptic alerts for messages only work with the WeChat and QQ apps, not Apple’s native Messages app. I’ve inquired with Dreame about future support for native iOS messaging.

2. Custom touch controls

The Dreame Ring features a tiny touchpad located on the side of the device, designed to be controlled by your thumb (Dreame recommends wearing the ring on your index finger). This little touchpad supports three gesture controls: swipe up/down, double-tap, and long-press.

Pairing the Dreame Ring with my iPhone 16 Plus and getting the touch controls up and running was surprisingly easy. Within ten minutes of popping between the companion app and my phone’s accessibility settings, I was able to control Spotify on my phone, using the ring, including starting and stopping songs, proceeding to the next track, and adjusting the volume.

Dreame's touch controls are similar to those found on the forthcoming Aivela Ring; however, Dreame's actually work. When I saw the Aivela Ring at CES 2026, the touch functionality was experiencing hiccups.

3. Similar health tracking in a slimmer package

The Dreame Smart Ring promises similar health monitoring features to the Oura Ring 4, including continuous heart rate tracking, blood oxygen saturation monitoring, heart rate variability insights, sleep analysis, fitness/movement monitoring, and women’s health tracking.

However, it boasts these holistic tools in addition to haptic alerts and custom touch controls, in a slimmer package than the latest Oura Ring. The space-grade ceramic Dreame Smart Ring is 2.5mm thick compared to a thickness of 2.88mm for the Oura Ring 4 and a thickness of 3.51mm for the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic.

The size 11 review unit I’m testing weighs 5.38 g, which is a little heavier than the standard Oura Ring 4 (3.5-5.2 g), but lighter than the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (5.1-8.1 g).

Of course, until I’ve had a chance to thoroughly assess the accuracy and usefulness of Dreame’s holistic tools, there’s no knowing whether they perform as well as Oura’s comprehensive suite of wellness features, which also happen to be the best in class.

Ultimately, if the Dreame Smart Ring proves to be both a capable wellness tracker that also offers reliable haptic and touch features, it will make all other health-tracking-only smart rings — not just the Oura Ring 4 — feel technologically behind by comparison.

Stay tuned for a full review.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to shop for your first smart ring in 2025 — and start your health-tracking journey
• Just got a new Oura Ring? Here's how to set it up like a pro
• The new Pebble smart ring has a built-in mic and costs just $75 — here’s why I can’t wait to try one

I wear the Oura Ring 4 to track my sleep and fitness, and it has proved itself as the best smart ring on the market for accuracy and insights into my health and wellbeing, as far as I'm concerned.

At the end of last year, I quit drinking alcohol as part of a social experiment. Aside from the potential physiological benefits of quitting alcohol, like losing fat and improving markers such as heart health, I was also concerned about the psychological impact on my well-being.

Could it boost productivity and focus, improve mood and sleep and level up my resilience to stress? After more than a month of tracking using the Oura Ring 4, here are three things I noticed fast, and why this process has absolutely changed the game for me going forward.

I quit alcohol: 3 things I noticed fast using my Oura Ring 4

Here is what I noticed in a short time tracking my health with the Oura Ring 4 and its partner app.

1. Stress resilience

The Oura Stress Resilience feature is measured by your Oura Ring, starting two hours after you wake and measuring throughout the day. This assesses your ability to withstand and recover from physiological stress in the long term, focusing on recovery during the day and night.

During the day, moments of calm and exercise can help you build resilience for the future, while at night, sleep quality, adequate REM and deep sleep, latency and the number of hours you rest also help the body recover properly, all contributing toward how well your body copes with potential challenges.

Your resilience score ranges from “Limited” to “Exceptional” — the latter something I haven’t experienced once in almost five years… until now. I haven’t just leveled up once during this experiment, but three times, and from a score of “Adequate” to “Exceptional” in just 30 days. My readiness also hit a new high of 92/100.

Oura tells me, “Your resilience has gone up to rare heights! Recently, you’ve balanced moderate physiological stress with some great nighttime recovery.” Oura also recommends I add an extra break or two into my day to improve things further.

The science tells us there is a strong relationship between stress and alcohol long term, and it can have an enormous impact on your ability to handle life stressors and your ability to recover emotionally, mentally and physically.

Alcohol temporarily reduces feelings of stress because it stimulates the brain's GABA receptors and increases GABA activity (this is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in your central nervous system, which promotes calmness), causing sedative effects like reducing anxiety.

However, it can have the opposite effect on stress in the long term, raising cortisol levels and potentially, inflammation.

Evidence shows that prolonged and excessive alcohol consumption can become a stressor by dysregulating the brain reward and stress systems. You can see how a cycle might develop: Drink to reduce stress and feel calmer, then become more stressed over time... and so on.

Another interesting piece of research published by Neurobiology of Stress in Science Direct suggests a link between stress resilience and alcohol consumption. Developing better stress resilience could act as a protective measure against using alcohol and reducing overall alcohol consumption.

I found this fascinating, as I only ever drink socially with friends and family at dinner or events. Yet, my resilience started skyrocketing when alcohol was removed from my lifestyle completely. I'm known within my close circle not to handle stress very well (at all), so this was a great result.

2. Resting heart rate and Heart Rate Variance (HRV)

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a longer-term trend that looks at how your body responds to factors such as training, stress, or travel. It measures the intervals between heartbeats, and a positive or high HRV is generally associated with better stress recovery, telling you a lot about your overall heart health and longevity.

Research published in Semantic Scholar suggests a high HRV is linked to better working memory and greater cognitive flexibility.

But while HRV balance is a measure of your long-term recovery status, nightly HRV is a metric of, as Oura puts it, “temporary stressors.” Nighttime HRV can dip from things such as workouts, alcohol, illness, or high temperatures, and even your menstrual cycle can cause variations in HRV depending on which phase you’re in.

Other metrics that contribute to HRV include body temperature, resting heart rate, recovery index, various sleep factors and activity levels.

Oura tells me, “Compared to your longer-term trend over the past 90 days, stress management has improved notably — keep using the practices that are working — and your sleep health remains consistently looking good while heart health is thriving.”

I’ve now reached an optimal HRV balance, and my lowest resting heart rate has decreased to an average of 52 beats per minute (BPM) for February, down from 55 bpm in January and peaking at 59 bpm in December.

A low heart rate is associated with higher fitness, so if you plan to measure these metrics with your Oura Ring, look out for positive HRV trends and a lower resting heart rate. Oura will signal to you how your resilience is looking.

3. Sleep

Since quitting alcohol, I have seen my sleep scores skyrocket, particularly my REM and deep sleep, which account for dream-state, cognition and processing and restorative sleep, respectively.

I finally hit my highest sleep score since first slipping on my Oura Ring nearly five years ago: 93/100. Over the days and weeks, my sleep numbers have been steadily increasing, including an all-time high REM and deep sleep of 1 hour and 50 minutes and one 1 and 33 minutes, respectively, just days ago.

Another sleep metric to improve is breathing regularity, which measures dips in blood oxygen levels during sleep, indicating breathing disturbances. While Oura doesn’t diagnose sleep apnea, measuring over time could help you find out if you might suffer from the condition, so it’s well worth checking and speaking with your physician if you’re concerned.

I often have breathing disturbances; Oura helped me detect sleep apnea a while ago, but I’ve noticed this happens way less when not drinking alcohol. It turns out that alcohol can significantly worsen symptoms, which was news to me and might be for you, too.

According to the Sleep Apnea Organization, alcohol acts as a relaxant that can “worsen airway obstruction in sleep apnea,” while also inhibiting the nervous system’s response to breathing issues when asleep, with research into the relationship between the two showing strong associations.

Bottom line

When I spoke to a recovery expert not long ago, she told me something that stuck with me. She said we need to focus less on the numbers on our wearables and more on how we feel.

If your Garmin tells you you've just had an awful sleep, giving you a low sleep score as a result, but you feel great, should you listen to your watch or your body? So, with this in mind, how do I feel after more than a month of not drinking alcohol?

In truth, I feel incredible, and I really didn't expect it. As I mentioned, I am a social drinker. My job in the fitness industry means I can't afford to nurse a sore head on too many occasions, especially when I'm coaching or exercising on any given day.

But aside from sleeping and recovering better, I feel more level-headed, calm and balanced with my moods, which is something I never thought I'd say as someone with ADHD. And it's a bonus waking up each morning to positive metrics on my Oura Ring that are trending up by the week.

I plan to report back in another month's time, hopefully, with even better news.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — here’s why it's the best smart tech I have invested in
• This Oura Ring alternative tracks my sleep like a dream - and now it's on sale for Prime Day
• No smart watch could make me switch from Oura — here's why

Samsung’s annual winter launch event, Galaxy Unpacked 2026, is rumored to take place on February 24, where we will likely get our first look at the next-gen Samsung Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup. Far less likely to appear is the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2.

Despite launching all the way back in 2024, the Samsung Galaxy Ring remains one of the best smart rings you can buy today. Still, rumors of a replacement have been swirling around ever since the model began shipping in July 2024.

Unfortunately, we likely have to wait until late 2026 or even 2027 for the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2. Here are the three biggest reasons why.

1. Samsung insiders say so

According to a December insider report from the Korean JooAng Daily, the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 will not launch at the 2026 Galaxy Unpacked event (likely) in February alongside the new S26 smartphone models. The main reason? A fresh patent dispute with smart ring powerhouse, Oura.

2. Samsung is locked in a legal battle with Oura

Legal kerfuffles between major brands are nothing new; who could forget the wild ride that was the Apple vs Masimo patent debacle?

Now, it’s Samsung's turn. Oura filed a patent dispute in November 2025 with the International Trade Commission, alleging that Samsung and other smart ring manufacturers are infringing on an array of the brand’s tech. Oura is seeking both damages and an injunction halting the sales of these products.

However, on December 1, 2025, Samsung countersued, claiming that Oura is the one actively infringing on Samsung’s patents, including those for generating workout goals, charging tech, and more.

Ultimately, until this patent disagreement is properly sorted, it seems highly unlikely that Samsung will release a new Galaxy Ring model, given that a loss in court could mean yanking the brand-new ring from store shelves.

3. No recent spec or feature leaks

Aside from reports of Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 delays, there has been little to no new information regarding the design, features, or specs of the wearable in the last six months. Generally speaking, when a new smartwatch or ring is just about to debut, the rumor and leak mills are abuzz.

Right now, that isn’t the case.

On the flip side, Samsung is known for surprises

Of course, there’s always a chance Samsung will surprise us with an early preview of the Galaxy Ring 2, despite the universe suggesting otherwise. After all, the original Samsung Galaxy Ring was a ‘one more thing’ style surprise announcement at the winter 2024 Unpacked event, though it didn’t end up shipping for another six months.

Could history repeat itself? We should know for sure in less than 30 days.

More from Tom's Guide

• Gesture controls, haptic feedback and lawsuits — 7 things that will happen with smart rings this year
• These are the 7 coolest wearable tech gadgets I tried at CES 2026
• How to shop for your first smart ring in 2025 — and start your health-tracking journey

The Oura Ring remains the best smart ring on the market right now, and the release of the Oura Ring 4 last year, plus the latest Oura ceramic range and a brand-new charging case, are all welcome additions.

Whether you’ve just set up your new Oura Ring or you’ve been a smart ring wearer for some years, the number of features available can be overwhelming to navigate — some you might not even know exist. There are a few features I can’t live without, but the journey is different for everyone; the sleep and health data that matter to you may not to others.

That said, I just discovered several features that I want to share with you, and I think they’ll boost everyone's Oura Ring experience this year. Here’s what hidden features you need to know about your Oura Ring, and how to use them.

5 hidden Oura Ring features you should know about (if you don't already)

• Use the + menu located on the lower right side of the app home screen
• Tap add an activity
• Select the activity (in this case, it would be housework)
• Edit the start time, duration and intensity of the activity
• Hit done.

• Tap the battery icon located upper right of the app home screen
• Toggle the slider on for airplane mode
• Hit confirm
• Check that there is an airplane icon in the upper-right corner of your home screen
• To turn off: Place your ring on its charger, wait for it to connect, then allow any syncing to finish and remove.

• Tap the three lines at the top left of your app home screen
• Hit settings, then location permissions
• Toggle on Oura location features and choose if you’d like to enable them in low power mode
• The last location of your device will appear from when it was last connected. Note: If the ring is not connected, its location may change without showing up.

• For iPhone users:
  • Touch and hold your phone's home screen
  • Hit edit at the top left of your screen
  • Tap to add widget
  • Scroll to the Oura app
  • Select the data you want to show
  • Confirm add widget
  • Next, touch and hold your phone's lock screen
  • Select customize
  • Tap the lock screen
  • Hit the + button under the time
  • Scroll down to the Oura app
  • Choose which widgets you want to allow
  • Hold and drag each one to the screen
  • Hit done.
• For Android users:
  • Touch and hold a space on your home or lock screen
  • Tap widgets, then scroll to the Oura app
  • Tap or drag the widget you want.

• Manually select a tag by tapping the + sign at the bottom right of the home screen
• Select add a tag and choose from available options, or add a custom tag. When you complete a meditation session or workout, a tag will automatically be created
• You can also tap the + button, select an unguided session to follow, and a tag will be added afterward
• If you sync with other workout apps, your workout will automatically be imported with a tag
• You can add tags via the timeline on the home screen at any time.

What's your favorite Oura tip or trick? Let us know in the comments below!

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — here’s why it's the best smart tech I have invested in
• Oura Ring's AI-powered 'Advisor' is rolling out
• The Oura ring accessory I’ve waited years for is finally here

I checked out more than a dozen new smart rings last week, while covering CES 2026, the world's largest consumer tech show, chatting with another half dozen brands about new models launching this year.

As a result of those conversations and booth visits, several themes emerged surrounding the future of smart rings. From haptic feedback to gesture controls to lots of litigation, these are my seven biggest predictions for smart rings in 2026.

1. Custom gesture controls are coming

Up until this point, the best smart rings have been centered around holistic, fitness, sleep, and women's health tracking, but that's about to change. I spoke with a handful of brands actively building customizable gesture controls into their smart rings.

One example is the Aivela Ring Pro, which was created by a former Apple product designer and offers a total of 14 programmable gesture controls alongside impressive wellness tracking insights.

The Aivela Ring Pro supports both standard gestures, like tapping the side of the ring to start or stop music, sliding your finger to scroll through your TikTok feed, or pressing and holding the side of the ring to begin recording a workout, as well as "air" gesture controls, like drawing a heart with your finger to like a post on social media.

The Even Realities R1 is another noteworthy ring with gesture controls. However, unlike the Aivela Ring Pro, which is designed to control just about any piece of tech in your life, the R1's gesture controls are primarily for navigating the brand's (excellent) G2 smart glasses.

And just like the Aivela Ring Pro, the Even R1 also offers comprehensive wellness tracking tools.

2. Say hello to alerts via haptic feedback

I chatted with two different brands launching smart rings in 2026 with haptic feedback. In the case of the RingConn Gen 3 — expected to launch this summer — the device's smart vibrations can be set up as a gentle means to wake a user or as an alert for health notifications.

RingConn also says the ring will be able to alert you to new insights via subtle vibrations. However, there's no word yet on whether users will have full control over the feature. I could imagine a finger vibration every time you get a new text message could get old fast and potentially be a major battery drain.

3. Unlock blood pressure insights

Look out, Apple, the best Apple Watch models aren't likely to be the only wearables with hypertension tracking in 2026. In addition to haptic alerts, RingConn is also bringing blood pressure insights to the forthcoming RingConn Gen 3 model.

While not exactly the same as Apple's hypertension alerts, blood pressure insights on the Gen 3 will monitor a user's long-term blood pressure trends, helping users track whether their cardiovascular health is improving or not.

This is not a blood pressure monitor, nor is it a diagnostic tool for hypertension. However, it does represent a major expansion of what smart rings are capable of, health-monitoring-wise. Moreover, I fully expect the other major smart ring players to follow suit with similar features.

4. Choose from even more subscription-free options

The Oura Ring 4 remains the best smart ring at the start of 2026. (I'm especially fond of the Ceramic models.) However, in addition to the cost of the ring itself, which starts at $349, you need to spend another $69 a year for an Oura app subscription.

If you loathe subscription pricing, I've got good news. You can expect even more Oura Ring alternatives in 2026 that are completely subscription-free. These include the Aivela Ring Pro, the Pebble Index 01, and the Even Realities R1.

The RingConn Gen 3, meanwhile, will also remain subscription-free, just like its predecessors.

5. Major smart ring players will have a comeback

Toward the end of 2025, the U.S. smart ring market took a massive hit: the latest Ultrahuman Ring Air was yanked from store shelves and barred from being sold by the manufacturer. The reason? A successful lawsuit on the part of Oura, claiming Ultrahuman, along with RingConn, violated the brand's patents with their latest products.

While RingConn settled with Oura for an undisclosed amount, Ultrahuman opted to take its smart ring off the U.S. market and regroup.

This is, of course, not the end of Ultrahuman in the U.S. In addition to continuing to support U.S. customers who bought Ultrahuman smart rings before the band, all signs point to the brand figuring out a way to work around the patent issue with a new or altered model.

This could mean removing certain pieces of tech or turning off certain features, similar to what Apple had to do with its blood oxygen tracking feature on various Apple Watch models after the infamous Masimo legal debacle.

However, there's also a chance that Ultrhuman will build around the issue and find new means of accomplishing the same holistic feats, all without touching on Oura's patents. Whatever route the brand takes, my money is on a new Ultrahuman smart ring for 2026.

6. Additional patent lawsuits will be filed

Of course, the Oura vs. RingConn vs. Ultrahuman legal drama is most likely not the end of the lawsuits between smart ring rivals. In fact, you can count on additional litigation in 2026 from the major players.

Unfortunately, the mass filing of patents as a means of beating the competition is essentially par for the course when it comes to consumer tech brands in 2026. Really, the only question is, which smart ring company will be the first to drop fresh litigation this year, and how soon will it come?

7. Battery life will keep getting better

The Pebble Index 01 is one of the most intriguing new smart rings I demoed at CES 2026. It doesn't have any health or fitness tracking features, but it does offer a single, customizable clicky button that can be set up to do any number of tasks, like record voice memos.

What's even more remarkable about the Index 01 is its ring's battery life. It's designed to last the entire product life of the ring, two to three years.

While we likely won't see any traditional health-focused smart rings with unlimited battery in 2026, longevity is, across the board, improving. The RingConn Gen 3, for instance, is rated at 13 days per charge, a notable increase over its predecessor's 10-day battery, and way better than the Oura Ring 4's eight-day battery.

More from Tom's Guide

• These are the 7 coolest wearable tech gadgets I tried at CES 2026
• How to shop for your first smart ring in 2025 — and start your health-tracking journey
• 5 wearable tech predictions for 2026 — from futuristic Fitbits to the ever-elusive Apple Ring

Rumors of an Apple smart ring have been circulating for as long as I can remember. With numerous patents filed over the past decade, each hinting at a potential finger-based wearable from the Cupertino King, there’s still no hard evidence that such a device will ever see the light of day.

But what if the Apple Ring wasn’t launched by Apple at all, but rather by former Apple product designers? That’s where the Aivela Ring Pro enters the chat. With former Apple industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger leading the charge, the Aivela Ring could be the next best thing to an actual Apple Ring.

Combining health and fitness tracking features with gestures that can be used to control just about any piece of Bluetooth-enabled tech in your life, I just got my hands on an early version of the Aivela Ring Pro, and I’m impressed. Here’s everything you need to know.

Aivela Ring Pro: Price and availability

The Aivela smart ring launched on Kickstarter in September 2025 and quickly reached fully-funded status. However, you can still secure an Aivela Ring Pro for $179 via early-backer pricing if you move quickly.

Compatible with Android and iOS devices, the Aivela Ring Pro is subscription-free.

The ring has already begun shipping to early backers, with units continuously released in batches. Check the Aivela Ring Pro Kickstarter for more details on availability.

Aivela Ring Pro: Design

I tried on the Aivela Ring Pro, and it’s impressively lightweight and fairly sleek-looking. The exterior is titanium, while the interior is resin to maximize on-skin comfort. Users can choose from sizes seven through 14.

Depending on your size selection, the Aivela Ring Pro weighs between 2.4 and 3.6 g, which is definitely on the lighter side compared to the best smart rings I’ve tested. Water resistance is 100 meters, which is par for the course and more than enough protection for bathing and swimming.

Finishes include matte black, rose gold, silver, and gold.

Aivela Ring Pro: Health tracking

When it comes to health and fitness tracking, the Aivela Ring Pro has the basics covered and then some. The ring monitors your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation levels (SpO2), body temperature, movement, sleep quality, and ovulation cycles (for women).

Like the best fitness trackers, including the Oura Ring 4, the Aivela Ring Pro provides a daily sleep score out of 100, along with a "vitality" score similar to Oura’s readiness score.

Users can also view a breakdown of their sleep cycles and nightly movement, while keeping tabs on daily calorie intake, workouts, step count and more.

The companion app even includes an AI coach you can chat with via text for personalized insights, tips, and wellness plans. It also generates custom two-minute "podcasts" aimed at breaking down your health data.

Aivela Ring Pro: Programmable gesture controls

The coolest feature of the Aivela Ring Pro is support for gesture controls. A small "optical finger navigation" sensor on the exterior of the device is what makes the magic happen.

In total, the Aivela Ring Pro supports eight standard gesture controls — like tap, swipe, double-tap, double-tap-and-hold, etc. — along with six "air" based controls, like making a heart pattern with your ring-worn finger.

In theory, these gesture controls can be programmed to do just about anything, from scrolling through your phone’s TikTok feed by swiping the side of the ring to starting a workout tracking session in Strava with a double-tap.

Other examples include controlling music or podcasts, flipping through slide decks, or snapping photo/videos. Better yet, with support for both Android and iOS devices and the ability to control everything from earbuds, smartphones, TVs, and more, the customization possibilities are nearly endless.

Aivela Ring Pro: Battery

The Aivela Ring Pro battery is rated at seven days per charge, which is fairly competitive. By comparison, the latest Oura Ring 4 offers an eight-day battery life rating.

Meanwhile, the battery recharge time for the Aivela Ring Pro is an impressive 30 minutes or so.

Aivela Ring Pro: Outlook

To put it bluntly, the Aivela Ring Pro promises a lot, from competitive holistic tools and battery life to a comfortable and lightweight design to supporting loads of gesture controls for all your favorite tech gadgets.

The question is, can it deliver on the user experience side? When I demoed the Aivela Ring, it was admittedly a little buggy in terms of gesture control support. While I did observe a brand rep showing off the ability to browse TikTok by swiping the OFN sensor, it took several tries. (To be fair, shoddy internet could be to blame, as we were in the dark depths of the Venetian Convention Center in Las Vegas during CES 2026.)

Ultimately, I love the idea of nonchalantly tapping my smart ring with my thumb to skip to the next track on Spotify or turn on my smart TV. Combine that with reliable holistic tracking, and you’ve got a winner in my book. Stay tuned for a full review of the Aivela Ring Pro.

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• I just went hands-on with the RingConn Gen 3 — and it beats even the Oura Ring 4 in several crucial ways
• I got barefoot at CES to test the Withings Body Scan 2 — and unlocked tons of longevity insights in just 90 seconds

I’ve worn my Oura Ring religiously for the past five years. It’s my go-to sleep tracker, and the only device I trust for tracking my cycle each month — heck, the clever little ring knew I was pregnant before I did.

Yet for years I’ve been waiting for one accessory in particular to drop — a charging case I could keep in my handbag or weekend bag, meaning I wouldn’t have to risk losing my charger on the move. Oura ring wearers will know that the charger is based on your ring size, so even if a friend has one, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Today, Oura’s new case goes on sale, but it only works with the latest Oura Ring 4 or Oura Ring 4 Ceramic, so older Oura ring wearers will have to skip this one.

Oura’s charging case — all the information you need

The little pocket-sized charging case is made from a durable, splash-resistant aluminimum material, to keep your ring safe on the go. If you take your ring off in the gym to avoid it getting scratched, it’ll be safer in here than tossed in your gym bag.

Like the charger you get with your ring, it’ll be compatible with your ring size, so you’ll need to double check the size of your ring before buying. It has five full ring charges on board, so you could easily take this on vacation with you and leave your charger at home. The case itself re-charges using a USB-C cable in just 90 minutes.

There’s a little light on the front of the charging case that’ll glow amber when the case itself is low on charge, white when it’s charging, and green when it’s good to go.

The new charging case costs $99/£99 and goes on sale today, January 7 in the US and UK from Oura.com.

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• Oura just launched the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic in four new colorways — and I’m obsessed with the new ‘Tide’ color
• Apple put a heart rate monitor in the AirPods Pro 3, so where is the Apple Ring we've been waiting for?
• Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2 — which smart ring should you choose for tracking your health?

We’re little more than a week away from the start of CES 2026, the annual consumer electronics trade show that takes place every January in Las Vegas, and is a bellwether for the tech that will make its way into your home at some point in the near future.

The Tom’s Guide team has been going to and covering CES for decades — we’ll be there in force this year, too — so we have some insight into what we expect to see this time around. From AI to TVs to smart home, here are some of the biggest trends we think will make their appearance.

AI

If you thought artificial intelligence was big last year, just wait to see how much it will show up at this year’s show. While AI chatbots are proliferating in their own right, we expect that AI will be integrated at an even greater level into consumer electronics of all types this year.

Samsung’s keynote, which takes place on January 4, will highlight the company’s “vision for the DX (Device eXperience) Division in 2026, along with new AI-driven customer experiences,” according to a press release.

The next day, January 5, sees LG’s own keynote, where it “will unveil a portfolio of AI-powered solutions that combine world-class devices and solutions with advanced AI core technologies.” LG is somewhat cutely rebranding its AI as “affectionate intelligence,” so as to better connect it with consumers who will actually use it in the company’s products.

On January 6, Lenovo will deliver its keynote in the Sphere, where Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang will introduce “Lenovo’s latest product launches, innovations, proofs of concept, and the company’s AI-driven innovation strategy for the coming years.”

The highlight, though, could very well be the Nvidia keynote, which will be delivered by CEO Jensen Huang on January 5. Thanks to its GPUs, Nvidia has been at the center of the AI revolution, so the company’s vision for the hardware that powers artificial intelligence will have profound implications for its growth. The keynote will take place from 1 - 2:30 p.m. PT, and can be livestreamed.

Of course, I expect just about every product shown at CES to say it uses AI in some capacity — a few years ago, the buzzword was "machine learning" — so I'm curious to see which is legit, and which is trying to hop on the latest bandwagon. — Mike Prospero

Smart glasses

Year after year, I keep waiting for the moment where AR and AI glasses merge into truly smart frames. And after watching the development of this closely through every CES (and seeing what the future holds at Augmented World Expo), I think 2026 will be the year we finally start to see this happening — all kicking off in Vegas.

Think about it, the tools you need to do this are already being shown:

Subtle display tech: Waveguide displays will be all over the place at CES.

The chips to run it: Expect some developments from the likes of Qualcomm to run these glasses.

Sensors: A whole lot of companies are reaching out to show me their breakthroughs in sensor tech to make smart glasses smarter.

The software: Android XR is drawing near, and other companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

And as I’ve found out over the years, it’s through these smaller companies that the big players get their components to power the likes of Meta Ray-Bans. On top of that, AR glasses specifically will move forward too in terms of affordability and display quality — ready to be the best way to play games/watch movies on a long haul flight. — Jason England

TVs

Samsung, LG, Hisense and TCL are set to debut some incredible new screens at CES 2026. What about everyone else? Well, sadly, Sony has stopped bringing TVs to the show and Vizio has been oddly MIA since its acquisition by Walmart earlier this year. Still, the big four have us covered.

The display technology making all the waves this CES is MIcro RGB, an innovation on Mini-LED that trades out the standard blue or white backlight for sub-100μm red, green, and blue LEDs. This change is anything but simple and requires some seriously heavy lifting from the TV’s processor, however the result is significantly improved color.

In addition to the brands’ new Micro RGB TVs, I’m hoping to see new OLED models from LG and Samsung — neither have announced new models yet, but I think it’s almost guaranteed to happen given that the latter has brought new OLEDs for the last three years straight.

My only concern going into CES? I’m worried that, given all the hype around the cutting-edge Micro RGB tech, some brands might not bring any new budget TVs for us to look at. It’s not the end of the world if that happens, but as someone who loves helping you guys get the best price possible when shopping for a new screen, I’ll be slightly disappointed if I don’t see any. — Nick Pino

Wearables

While the major full-featured smartwatch brands like Apple and Google tend to skip CES, you can definitely expect new releases from more fitness-oriented smartwatch makers, including big boys like Garmin and the more budget-friendly brands like Amazfit.

I also expect to get my first look at many of the upcoming smart ring releases for 2026 (not named Oura). I can’t confirm any specific new models, but I am looking forward to meeting with brands like Circular, Luna Ring, Ringconn, and Ultrahuman.

I’m additionally excited to see what smaller wearables brands have in store, including Pebble, which launched its first smartwatch all the way back in 2013 but is back with some cool new products under the direction of the original founder in 2025.

Finally, I’ll be on the lookout for any and all consumer health tech products that can help you monitor your well-being, improve your health, or assist you in reaching fitness goals in a minimally invasive and/or seamless manner. From smart rings and trackers to stick-on sensors and bodily fluid analyzers, there is no shortage of tech in this category to feed my curiosity. Stay tuned for the best of the best. — Dan Bracaglia

Laptops

One thing is becoming clear as I talk to more and more people in the know: for better or worse, 2026 is going to be the year of the laptop. The upgrades will be significant, redesigns aplenty look set to arrive, and what’s inside will be a huge talking point at this year’s CES.

Every year since everybody seemed to snap up a notebook in 2020, companies have been throwing any and all reasons at you to buy a new system. So far, many of you have held off (the average timeframe someone keeps a laptop is up to five years after all), but now is set to be the best time to upgrade.

Huge developments in chip technology coming in the form of Intel Core Ultra 300 Series (Panther Lake), AMD Ryzen AI 400 series (Gorgon Point) and AI Max series (Strix Halo), and Snapdragon X2 Elite are set to push the latest systems to another level. OLED will dominate displays, and you’ll hear a whole lot about power efficiency to boot.

But probably most surprising is the huge leaps in integrated graphics. For PC gaming on the go, a dedicated Nvidia GPU was always a requirement, but with what I saw testing Intel and Qualcomm’s latest chips, we’re getting to a point where you could get a thin and light notebook that just so happens to game really well, too! — Jason England

Computing

Laptops are going to have a moment at CES 2026, but that moment will be part of what is set to be a rather complex story that will kick into overdrive in Vegas.

Of course, there will be a lot of new announcements. The CPU Wars will be an absolute bloodbath, micro RGB could come to monitors, Wi-Fi 7 will take another step forward in mesh systems, and you’ll see a bunch of new peripherals, components, desktops and much much more.

But there will be one key question bubbling under the surface of everything announced. How will the RAM price crisis impact what you have to pay? Even more than that, will computing companies feel forced to compromise specs in order to keep some semblance of affordability? — Jason England

Smart Home

Last year, we saw a few new innovations in the world of robot vacuums. Most interesting was the Roborock Saros Z70, which has an arm that extends out of the vacuum itself to pick up things like socks off the floor. While it didn’t work so well in the real world, it was something novel. I expect we’ll see even greater innovations with robot vacuums this year, as designs evolve even further. While it wasn’t as radical, Dreame last year introduced a vacuum that could climb two-inch thresholds. Could robot vacuums get to the next level, literally and figuratively, with models that can go even higher?

I also expect that we’ll see an influx of Matter-compatible home security cameras, as the Matter standard was just updated to allow for their use. That’s going to mean that you’ll see a lot more cameras that will be able to work within the Apple Home ecosystem as well as Alexa and Google Home.

And, while we've already seen most security camera makers incorporate AI into their devices to better identify people and things that appear on the footage, I expect that we'll see even further refinement for more granular details. — Mike Prospero

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung TVs in 2026: Here's what I expect from OLED, Micro RGB and more
• Exclusive: Hisense is betting on RGB TVs to shake up the industry — and make rivals nervous
• LG just announced its first Micro RGB TV — and it's a massive upgrade for Mini-LED

A year ago, I purchased my Oura Ring 4, and it has been sitting on my left index finger every single day. My hands have perfectly molded to its presence, and I actually feel like something is missing when I take it off to charge it.

I’ve become somewhat obsessed with tracking my metrics with one of the best smart rings, and I think that can only be a good thing. But you’d never know, because the ring is discreet and has no screen to distract me, or the person I’m talking to.

With a smartwatch, our wrists demand our constant attention, but a ring takes that away while still effectively tracking metrics like heartbeats, sleep cycle, readiness and temperature. I can get an in-depth look at these metrics in the Oura app at the end of the day, so, for me, the best way to connect to my health is to disconnect from the screen.

I don’t want a screen

I may be cynical, but when I had an Apple Watch, I would always keep it on silent as I hated notifications coming through. It would constantly vibrate on my wrist, light up, and was frankly distracting.

For many people, this kind of access to the outside world is ideal and keeps them connected to loved ones. But as someone who is easily distracted, this became more of a hindrance for me. I would constantly turn my wrist each time the watch vibrated, and even though it’s just a glance, it would lead me to pick up my phone and ultimately forget about the task I was doing.

Since the Oura Ring is screen-free, I’m able to stay present in my daily tasks and remain connected to my body’s data, just minus the glowing wrist. It‘s also one of my pet peeves when I am sitting talking with someone, and they keep looking at their smartwatch. I’d even go so far as to say I find it pretty rude.

Extended battery life

Since the Oura Ring is screen-free, the battery life is far longer than that of a wearable with a screen. After all, screens drain a lot of power.

I only have to charge my Oura Ring once a week and still get all the data and features even when the power is running low. This means I get fewer data gaps where I have to take the ring off for charging.

In-depth insights

I actually purchased my Oura Ring along with the Oura subscription because I had a major surgery in 2024, and I wanted to get back to exercising while still prioritizing my recovery. This was the best choice I could have made because, since returning to hiking, running and Pilates, the ring has become my advisor.

I can get in-depth insights into my readiness when I work out. This allowed me to build the best routine to start getting strong while also paying attention to how much recovery I needed to give my body.

Oura has even been able to alert me when I’m about to get sick; when I had the flu, I knew a few days before to start taking it easy based on my temperature readings. And the temperature readings are also great for cycle tracking.

So, I won’t be taking this ring off any time soon, because staying screen-free and keeping track of my personal health now couldn’t be simpler.

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So, you just got your hands on an Oura Ring 4? Congratulations, you now own the most powerful, reliable, and all-around best smart ring on the market today. But before you start your fitness tracking journey, you'll want to ensure that the device is properly set up and paired with your smartphone.

Fortunately, the Oura Ring 4 setup process is fairly painless. More importantly, you can complete it in roughly 30 minutes if you follow my illustrated steps below. Do this, and you'll be tracking your health with the Oura Ring like a pro in no time.

How to set up your new Oura Ring

1. Download the Oura app and enter your email address
2. Unbox your new Oura Ring and place it on the charger next to your phone
3. Tap "Set up ring" and grant the Oura app access to Bluetooth devices
4. Tap on your ring when it appears on the screen and confirm pairing
5. Verify your email account with Oura
6. Choose how you'll log in to the Oura app
7. Sync your phone's data with Oura's and update the firmware if prompted
8. Select your country of residence and add your personal info
9. Choose health data syncing options and notification settings
10. Answer the brief health survey and check off the activities you enjoy
11. Put on the Oura Ring and verify that the sensors are working
12. Explore the Oura app and wear the ring for the next few months

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Congratulations. Your new Oura Ring is fully set up and ready to keep tabs on many aspects of your well-being, from sleep quality to heart health to physical fitness to ovulation tracking. Prepare for a world of holistic insights and tips unmatched by any other smart ring manufacturer.

Of course, to make the most of your new finger-based fitness tracker, be sure to wear it at all times. Battery life should be good for around a week of use per charge. And, when it does need a power-up, a full recharge takes about an hour in my experience.

More from Tom's Guide

• The Oura Ring is still my favorite smart gadget in 2025 — 3 must-try features you might not already know about
• How to shop for your first smart ring — and start your health-tracking journey
• How to use the Oura Ring sizing kit to ensure a perfect smart ring fit

It feels like the best smart rings and wearable gadgets are ever evolving, which can make it hard to know which is the best wearable for you and your sleep, health and fitness tracking.

I’ve personally always stuck by the Oura Ring, and currently wear the Oura Ring 4. What I love most is that it doesn’t really matter which ring you have when it comes to the app content, which offers most of the same features to every member.

The brand doesn’t believe in becoming a sitting duck either, and while the competition continues to heat up as we shift toward 2026, Oura has been busy developing.

The Oura Ring is still miles ahead of the competition, in my opinion, but if you are thinking about buying an Oura Ring for the first time or simply aren’t sure if you're using your ring the best way, here are my three must-try features you should consider using more often and during the holidays.

1. AI-powered heart rate and recovery tracking

Oura users can record their workout heart rates, access live readings and track heart rate data, including Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and resting heart rate. This isn't really news.

What is less commonly known is that your Oura Ring could be key to better recovery if you know which metrics to focus on. Your heart rate reveals insights into stress resilience and your overall cardiovascular health, and Oura can assess how your heart rate data looks over the weeks, months and years, especially your resting heart rate, which I recently tested for myself.

How to use it:

• Open the Oura app
• Tap the three lines in the top left corner
• From the menu, select Trends
• Tap Heart Rate Variability
• Toggle between days, weeks, months and years and view your data as a trend on the graph.

You can also ask Oura’s AI advisor to find and summarize the data for you (which I did). On your Today tab, tap the + sign at the bottom right of the app, then select Advisor. Be specific with your requests to access the most accurate data.

The Oura Ring tracks your heart rate using sensors; on the Ring 4, these are recessed and have been updated for even better accuracy, but whichever model you have, the ring measures blood flow in your finger to look at shifts in your heartbeats.

Oura can capture your lowest resting heart rate, nighttime recovery and cardiovascular balance, all of which play into resilience and recovery trends. It is well worth checking this feature out if you are interested in recovery and heart health over time.

When I tested it, Oura split my heart rate data into weekly averages and could compare weeks against each other, which is handy if you want to look at how your resting heart rate and recovery fluctuate over the holidays, which can be either faster or slower-paced for many.

I also asked the Oura Advisor to look at my sleep and stress data during the same period to see how my body was coping. Thankfully, when comparing a period of heavy workload and social activity, my lowest heart rate data remained steady, which can indicate stable recovery and consistency. On the flipside, any major shifts in your patterns can indicate that your recovery might need a closer look.

If you want to see how your body is coping with significant change or lifestyle choices, this is the feature to try.

If you plan to look at your heart rate data trends, the Oura Ring sits at the top of the accuracy range and corresponds "nearly perfectly" with ECG values, which are the gold standard for measuring heart rate.

2. Symptom Radar

A year ago, on December 5, 2024, members gained access to a game-changing health feature called Symptom Radar. I reported how much I loved the Symptom Radar feature for flagging up health concerns for me before I even knew how my body felt.

Symptom Radar assesses biometric data every morning for early signs of strain, including common cold, stress, or flu symptoms. The feature also helps you monitor which biomarkers have changed, and Oura will give severity levels: no signs, minor signs and major signs.

You can track this in-app and look at which markers look out of balance, then head to Oura’s AI Advisor to delve into the data. While it might not always come to anything (it could just be a few late nights or heavy meals before bedtime, throwing out your metrics), I have found Oura’s predictions nearly always spot on, whether it’s stress-related or a cold creeping up on me.

While it doesn’t fix the issue by viewing the data, it does help you tailor your lifestyle choices accordingly, like going to bed earlier, taking a warm bath, staying away from alcohol, or shifting your workout schedule.

How to use it:

• Tap the Today tab of your app
• Scroll to Symptom Radar
• Tap to view more

3. Stress tracking

One of the big draws of the Oura Ring is its ability to detect stress throughout the day and provide a daily and weekly report on stress levels; this also feeds into your readiness and resilience scores.

Oura’s Daytime Stress feature launched in 2023, and it’s still one of my favorite evolving features. By tracking your stress throughout the day (the data can refresh in-app every 15 minutes and starts two hours after waking), you can see how workload, social interactions, stressful situations and even workouts impact how your body deals with stress.

Oura uses biometrics like nighttime heart rate variability (HRV) and body temperature to detect stress in the body, providing feedback as restored, relaxed, engaged, or stressed. However, it's worth noting that high-intensity workouts can act like a cortisol cocktail on the body and temporarily elevate stress levels, so always contextualize this feedback for your lifestyle.

I’ve continued to use my Oura Ring to manage stress, along with the Stress Resilience tool for mapping and improving it; you can use these features to delve into trends and potential causes.

Here’s everything you need to know about these Oura Ring features. And if you’re looking for some ways to reduce daily stress in your life, you can access breathwork and meditations through Oura, too.

Bottom line

Oura doesn’t prescribe, diagnose, or cure, but these features still help to contextualize physical and mental fluctuations in your body and map your unique health journey.

Taking some time during the holidays to test these features could set you up for a happier, healthier 2026, while helping you to keep a closer eye on your relationship with exercise, sleep and stress.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
• Oura Ring 3 vs Whoop 4.0: Which is the best fitness tracker?
• Oura Ring vs Ultrahuman Ring Air.

They say size doesn't matter, but when it comes to smart rings, too small or too large can lead to discomfort and/or unreliable health data. The best way to ensure perfect sizing for your smart ring is by using a sizing kit.

As such, the Oura Ring 4, the best smart ring available today, only performs at its best when properly sized to your finger, which is why the brand offers a sizing kit with plastic dummy rings for $10.

However, you don't actually need to shell out 10 smackeroos to size up your finger. I'll touch on that, as well as how to properly test the dummy rings, below.

How to use the Oura Ring sizing kit

1. Purchase your sizing kit (and collect your rebate)
2. Choose your finger
3. Try different sizes until you find one that’s snug yet comfy
4. Wear the ring for at least 24 hours
5. Confirm your ring size and select your new Oura Ring

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Follow the above steps and proper Oura Ring 4 sizing is all but guaranteed. If that ends up not being the case, Oura offers a 30-day return/exchange policy.

Not sure if the Oura Ring 4 is the right smart ring for you? Here's my handy-dandy guide on how to choose the right smart ring for your needs and budget. Similar to Oura, most other brands, including Samsung (Galaxy Ring) and Ultrahuman, offer their own sizing kits.

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Several Oura ring owners have claimed their devices are overheating and shared pictures of the results on Reddit, prompting concerns over safety. The claims follow the report of a Samsung Galaxy Ring owner being hospitalized with burns back in September.

Oura itself has been quick to respond in the /OuraRing subreddit, where the claims were posted, to say it would be investigating the issue. One of the first posts, made on December 5, is titled "Ring started smoking" and shows five images of an Oura Ring 4 with burn marks showing on the metal case as well as a blister on the owner's finger.

The post reads: "I felt a fire on my finger tried to get the ring off fast but wasent fast enough I gotta blister and my hand smells like electronic fire wondering why this would happen iv had my ring about 4 or5 months and ive been loving it until this."

A pinned comment from Reddit user u/AllieAtOura responded: "I'm very sorry you've experienced this with your ring, and appreciate the concern this brings. I just sent you a DM, and we'd love to investigate it and have this resolved for you."

Ring started smoking from r/ouraring

Other posts share similar stories about overheating concerns. One of which involves an Oura Ring 4 getting hot enough to wake the owner up from sleep.

In that instance, another Oura representative responded with the following: "Thank you for sharing what happened, and I’m sorry to hear you experienced this. That definitely shouldn’t be happening, and I'd like to get a support case created for the right team to investigate.

Oura's products, like any of the best smart rings, contain lithium-ion batteries to function. And, while it's possible for these batteries to overheat to the point of burning, it's an extremely rare occurrence.

Oura's response

I've personally been wearing an Oura Ring 3 for over a year at this point and have never felt it get even mildly warm.

When I contacted Oura directly, the company provided the following statement: "We take any safety-related report seriously and are actively reviewing the recent posts on a case-by-case basis. While Reddit discussion threads can create the impression of scale, the two reported cases appear to be isolated incidents rather than a wider pattern, and we’re conducting thorough investigations — including third‑party analysis — to understand exactly what happened and support the members involved." 

Oura's own product safety page, which doesn't mention battery swelling or failure but does note: "If you experience redness or skin irritation on your finger while wearing your Oura Ring, remove it immediately. If symptoms persist longer than 2-3 days, please contact a dermatologist."

More from Tom's Guide

• The new Pebble smart ring has a built-in mic and costs just $75
• Oura Ring 4 review: the new gold standard for smart rings
• The best Oura Ring alternatives in 2025

I review wearables for a living, and I have a confession. I hate wearing a smartwatch to bed. However, I love the sleep-tracking insights the best smartwatches offer. What's a fellow to do?

Fortunately for me and folks like me, smart rings exist. These petite and discreet wellness trackers keep tabs on loads of holistic factors beyond just sleep quality. Most offer comprehensive women's health tracking, workout recovery insights, and basic activity tracking.

Some, like the Ringconn Gen 2, can even alert you to signs of sleep apnea. Better yet, smart rings tend to offer better battery performance than smartwatches. The Oura Ring 4, for example, lasts up to about a week per charge.

Ready to pull the trigger on your first smart ring, or shopping for a smart ring for someone else? Here's everything you need to know to end up with the best smart ring for your needs and budget

How to shop for your first smart ring

1. Set your budget
2. Decide whether you are okay with paying a monthly subscription
3. Narrow your search based on your phone type
4. Identify the features that matter most to you
5. Protruding sensors or flush ones?
6. Ensure proper sizing
7. Choose your finish
8. Begin your health-tracking journey

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

And with that, you should be all set to kick off your finger-based health-monitoring journey with the perfect smart ring. Remember, the whole point of a smart ring is to wear it at all times for the best results. Most need to be recharged every few days, though the best smart ring models last up to a week.

Worried about charging? Grab an accessory charge case to go with your new smart ring. Most brands offer them for a reasonable amount (less than $50), including Oura, Samsung, and Circular.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• The new Pebble smart ring won’t track your health, doesn’t need to be recharged and costs just $75 — here’s why I can’t wait to try one
• Garmin vs Apple — who makes the better smartwatch in 2025?

If you’re like me and have ten zillion unorganized thoughts jotted down in your smartphone’s notes app, then the new Index 1 ring might be for you. This small and lightweight wearable device, brought to you by the OG smartwatch brand Pebble, features a single tactile button, a built-in microphone and not much more.

Similar in concept to the Stream Ring from Sandbar, the Index 1 is an always-with-you, ring-based audio note taker that plays nicely with both Android and iOS devices. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Pebble Index 01: Price and availability

Preorders for the Pebble Index 01 are open now. $75 secures your ring, which is expected to ship in March 2026. After the preorder period, it will cost $99.

Pebble Index 01: Sizes and finishes

The Pebble Index 01 will be available in polished silver, polished gold and matte black, with sizes ranging from six to 13.

Pebble Index 01: Design

Pebble says that the Index 01 is no bigger than a wedding band and weighs next to nothing. The device is primarily stainless steel, while the button is silicone rubber. Water resistance is 1 meter, so you shouldn’t need to remove it when washing your hands or doing the dishes.

Pebble Index 01: Key features

When an important thought pops into your head, users need to simply press and hold the small clicky button on the Index 1 ring to record themselves. With discretion in mind, the device can pick up even a whisper.

Then, once the Index 01 is back in range of your smartphone, the audio is transferred and interpreted by an open-source speech-to-text AI (run locally within the companion app) that creates a transcription and analyzes the audio for any actions, like adding an event to your calendar or starting a timer.

By the way, the speech-to-text model used also supports over 99 languages.

Users can store up to five minutes of audio directly on the ring itself before needing to pair with their smartphone and offload it. In addition to recording audio, users can assign secondary functions to the Index 01 ring when they double-tap or triple-tap the button.

Of course, the new Pebble Index 01 ring will work seamlessly with the brand’s latest smartwatch, along with the Pebble Time 02, coming in the new year.

Pebble Index 01: Privacy

To ensure maximum user privacy, audio processing and storage occur locally on your smartphone. The ring also only records when the button is pressed and held, not simply pressed.

Pebble Index 01: Battery

The Pebble Index 01 ring uses a small, non-rechargeable hearing aid battery intended to last the life of the device, at which point, Pebble wants you to send it back for recycling and presumably, a discount on a new one.

Pebble expects the Index 01 to last users for several years. However, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the device for dictating your next novel. In total, the battery is good for between 12 and 14 hours of recording.

Pebble Index 01: Outlook

When Pebble sprang back from the dead earlier this year, I was surprised. However, the hottest smartwatch brand of 2010 quickly launched two new, tempting wallet-friendly models, which run on the now-open-source Pebble operating system, owned by Google (an eternity ago, Fibit ate up Pebble before Google ate up Fitbit).

At first glance, the Index 01 ring seems like an odd move for Pebble, but once you consider the hackability of the product beyond its initial intent, note-taking, it all begins to make sense.

The concept of an always-with-you, discreet device that can record and transfer all your deepest thoughts to easily readable text sounds genuinely useful. However, I’m a little more interested in being able to double-tap a button on my ring to unlock my house’s smart doorknob, or triple-tapping to fire up Rock Lobster on the stereo.

Ultimately, I think this sort of customization is what could potentially make the Pebble Index 01 ring take off.

More from Tom's Guide

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• Garmin’s 2025 fitness report is out — and one activity in particular exploded in popularity
• Garmin vs Apple — who makes the better smartwatch in 2025?

If you ever watched Twin Peaks and thought it might be nice to have a portable recorder you could speak all your idle thoughts into, good news: Sandbar is working on a smart ring that doubles as a voice recorder with its very own AI assistant.

It's called the Stream Ring, and Sandbar launched a pre-order page for the device this week, promising to start shipping out units in the summer of 2026. The Stream Ring starts at $249 for a matte silver version or $299 for the gold variant, and it comes with a free 3-month subscription to Sandbar's Stream AI assistant service.

You don't need a subscription to use the ring or its accompanying app, but if you don't subscribe, you will be limited in how often you can chat with the AI assistant.

The device itself looks like a simple, chunky ring with a built-in microphone and a small touchpad you hold to record yourself. You can also swipe and tap on the touchpad to control your music, and the ring can vibrate to give you haptic feedback.

The Stream Ring is water-resistant, rated to last all day on a full charge and designed to pair with an app that will initially be available on iOS, with Android and PC versions planned for the future.

That's awfully simple, of course, and there's a noticeable lack of a heart rate monitor, body temperature sensor or sleep tracker on the Stream Ring— features that are widely available among the best smart rings on the market.

But those fancier rings are often more expensive than the $249 Stream Ring, with the exception of the $199 Amazfit Helio Ring (our top recommendation for the best value in a smart ring). It sounds like the founders of Sandbar are less interested in competing with modern smart rings than they are with providing a hassle-free way for you to talk to an AI assistant in public.

"For some people, rather than tracking their heart rate, they want to track their thoughts," Sandbar cofounder Mina Fahmi told Wired in a recent chat. "This is a particularly powerful tool for that."

The Stream Ring will reportedly rely on a mix of LLM (large language models) and select the most appropriate one for a given task, with some processing done on your phone while the rest is done on the web. For example, you can ask the ring's assitant to look up a recipe for goulash, and if it finds an online recipe you like, you then can ask it to generate a shopping list for you based on the ingredients.

That does mean that you'll need reliable Internet access to use the ring's full capabilities, though the Stream Ring can reportedly offer limited functionality when you're in areas without service.

What's even more interesting is the fact that the Stream app will generate an "Inner Voice" by default that it will use to speak back to you during conversations. This Inner Voice is generated partly using your own voice when you set up Stream for the first time, though you can choose to pick a more generic voice if you don't like the effect of essentially talking to yourself.

Sandbar expects to begin shipping the rings out in limited quantities next summer here in the U.S., with plans to expand to more regions in the future.

Bottom line

I don't expect everyone will be excited about the idea of an AI assistant built into a ring, especially given how unreliable and frustrating I've found most AI agents to be when you actually want them to remember things or give you accurate information.

Even so, I'm intrigued. I don't regularly write about AI or wearables these days, but after checking out the new Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) smart glasses at Meta Connect recently, I have to admit there's something appealing about the idea of being able to quietly chat with your phone while you're out and about. However, you can also use those glasses to capture photos and record video, listen to music or podcasts and take phone calls, added functionality that helps justify their $379 cost.

What's hard for me to swallow is that the Stream Ring won't even be that useful when it debuts. I love the notion of being able to hold my fist to my face and quietly record notes, but I don't know that it's worth nearly $300 to save me from having to fish my phone out of my pocket and hold it up when I need to remember something.

Being able to control music playback and volume without having to fiddle with your phone or headphones is a nice addition to the Stream Ring, and it's possible the ring might get more useful over time since the company intends to roll out new capabilities — though you'll need an active Stream Pro subscription to check out the latest new features as soon as they're available.

But who knows? I take long walks on a regular basis and sometimes have a thought or two worth remembering. Perhaps the Stream Ring and its Stream AI assistant are more helpful than I give them credit for. Maybe it could work like a decoder ring for your inner self, helping you understand what you're thinking and worrying about and why.

There's only one way to find out, and we're working on getting one of these rings for review so we can tell you all about it. Stay tuned!

More from Tom's Guide

• I test smart rings — 5 battery maintenance tips to avoid catastrophe
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I just tested a smart ring that can control your AR glasses — and this is what wearables have been missing

If you're looking for Oura Ring alternatives, one option is now off the table thanks to a patent lawsuit between Oura and Ultrahuman. This week, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Ultrahuman infringed upon Oura's patents. This has immediate and significant ramifications for Ultrahuman smart rings.

Initially, it means that the brand's flagship Ultrahuman Ring Air is effectively banned in the United States. According to an Oura blog post, "the ITC’s final ruling enforces exclusion and cease-and-desist orders, effectively banning the import and sale of Ultrahuman smart rings in the U.S."

Ultrahuman made its own post and says that existing Ultrahuman Ring Air owners will continue to see support," with the caveat that the device needs to be purchased on or before October 21, 2025. Apparently, retailers can still sell leftover inventory past that date. If you buy a Ring Air after the 21st, Ultrahuman says you will still be supported with diagnostic and tech support.

Once the current stock of Ring Air models is gone, retailers won't be allowed to restock them.

The company also promised that a new ring is in development. “A new ring design is already in development and will launch in the U.S. as soon as possible," its post reads.

Presumably, this one would not infringe on Oura patents, though the post noted that Ultrahuman is waiting on the results of a U.S. Patent and Trademark review of one of Oura's other patents. A decision on that isn't supposed to come until December.

How we got here and RingConn

Oura sued both Ultrahuman and RingConn earlier this year, with an initial judgment in favor of Oura declaring that its competitors had infringed on Oura's patents. The ruling determined that both companies infringed on every element asserted by Oura.

Unlike Ultrahuman, RingConn decided to settle with Oura, meaning that the dispute is considered resolved. With that, Oura granted RingConn a multi-year patent license. So you can continue to buy the RingConn Gen 2 Air and other RingConn models in the US.

Oura has a reputation for suing rivals, something Ultrahuman heavily notes. In June 2024, Samsung made the unusual step to preemptively sue Oura in order to prevent Oura from filing patent claims against the Galaxy Ring. At the time, Samsung lawyers cited a pattern of Oura filing claims against other smart ring makers.

It's also similar to the now-resolved Apple vs. Masimo lawsuit over blood oxygen tech, which resulted in Apple pulling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 from U.S. shelves in January 2024. Thankfully, blood oxygen monitoring is back in the latest Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 devices.

Oura and Ultrahuman alternatives

Unfortunately, the Ultrahuman Ring Air is one of our picks for the best smart rings and the best Oura alternatives.

However, there are other smart rings that you should consider, including the aforementioned Samsung Galaxy Ring, which is great for sleep analysis and features up to a week of battery life.

You can also check out the Amazfit Helio Ring, which is great for more budget-conscious individuals. It doesn't require a subscription fee and at $199, is less than the competition while offering similar health features.

The RingConn Gen 2 Air is also sub-$200, subscription-free, and will last up to 8 days on a single charge.

Ultrahuman says it plans to make a US comeback, so we'll likely see another smart ring from it in the future. For now, you're not bereft of options.

More from Tom's Guide

• I test smart rings — 5 battery maintenance tips to avoid catastrophe
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I just tested a smart ring that can control your AR glasses — and this is what wearables have been missing

The wearable industry is turning its attention to blood pressure, with Apple Watch launching hypertension alerts last month and now Oura, the makers behind 2025's best smart ring, revealing plans to develop its own blood pressure monitoring feature.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a condition that affects the arteries and can lead to serious health issues such as a heart attack or stroke. It’s not a feature to be taken lightly, which is why Apple’s alerts received FDA approval, and now Oura’s next step is something called the Blood Pressure Profile Study. This will be a new feature in the Oura app, where eligible users can participate in research that will help the company collect data and build a software feature designed to detect hypertension risks.

Who can take part in the study

To take part in the research, you need to be based in the U.S., aged 22 or over, and using an Oura Ring Gen 3 or newer. The latest model available is the Oura Ring 4. You also need to use the English version of the Oura app. Anyone who is currently pregnant, within 12 weeks postpartum, or has a cardiac implant such as a pacemaker will not be eligible to participate. More details about the study and how to join will appear in the Oura Labs section of the Oura app.

What will the study involve

So far, Oura says that if you opt in to the Blood Pressure Profile Study, you’ll wear your ring as usual, answer a few background questions, and the company will translate signals from your body into insights about your cardiovascular health.

The company explained, “By choosing to participate in the Blood Pressure Profile Study, you can provide direct feedback and contribute valuable data that may help researchers at Oura understand new ways wearable technology could support future heart health research.”

How to stay safe with your health data

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I’ve been wearing an Oura Ring for years — it’s my go-to for checking in on my sleep, where I am in my cycle, and my overall health. It’s one of the best fitness trackers on the market, and it even knew I was pregnant before I did. So, you can imagine my dismay when I got to my car following a trip to the store with my toddler, only to find it missing from my index finger. I knew I was wearing it before loading him into the cart, and I hadn’t noticed it fall off.

The first thing to point out — yes, I think I ordered the wrong size. I upgraded to the Oura Ring 4 from my Oura Ring Generation 3 relatively soon after giving birth, not realizing my fingers might still be a little swollen. If I were you, I’d wear your sizing ring for a few days before buying an Oura Ring — I wish I had.

What I hadn’t realized, however, is that Oura has a hidden Find My Ring feature. In fact, I’d been looking under the shelves in the grocery store for at least 30 minutes before I thought to look on the app. But once I used it, I was able to accurately track my ring down, and found it under my car, saving me $500 replacing the ring and an awful lot of stress.

How to use the Oura Find My Ring feature

Find My Ring is only available on Gen 3 and Oura Ring 4 with an active membership. It’s also only available on iOS right now, so if you’re using an Android, you’ll need to download a third party app like Wunderfield.

If you’re on iOS, here’s how to find your Oura Ring, should you leave it in your gym bag, or if it falls off when you’re out and about:

• Make sure that Location Services are enabled on your phone for the Oura app.
• Open the Oura app and head to the Home tab.
• Tap the battery icon in the top right corner, and select Show latest location.
• This will display your ring’s last known location on a map. If you tap on the map, you can zoom in on the exact GPS coordinates.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring 4 — which smart ring wins?
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month — here's what I learned

I test smart rings for a living, so when I saw the recent news that a Samsung Galaxy Ring user was hospitalized due to a swollen battery, I was horrified. The thought of a smoldering, expanding smart ring stuck on my index finger now haunts me day and night.

Fortunately, there are basic practices you can follow that lower the risk of such a catastrophic event happening to you. While some of these tips may seem obvious, like avoiding extreme temperatures , others, like avoiding charging your ring to 100%, may surprise you.

Based on maintenance advice published by Oura and Samsung as well as my own experience, here are five ways to help you lower the risk of a smart ring battery disaster.

1. Understand your smart ring’s water resistance rating

Smartwatch and smart ring makers have a dirty little secret: water resistance ratings are bunk. Okay, that’s not entirely true, but 50 meters of water resistance doesn’t actually mean that you can scuba dive down to 50 meters and not worry about your Circular Ring 2 springing a leak.

Water resistance ratings are measured by how much atmospheric pressure a device can handle for an extremely short period of time. So while, yes, your smart ring may be okay for a few moments at depths of 50 meters, that’s assuming there’s no current and you're not moving.

In reality, 50 meters (or 5ATM) is enough water resistance to handle short periods of surface-level swimming, showers, scrubbing the dishes, etc. Feel free to wash your car with your smart ring on, but it’s best to remove it before any high-impact water sports, like wakeboarding or diving.

The best smart rings have 100 meters of water resistance, which is enough for the above activities. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea to wear your Oura Ring 4 while snorkeling or scuba diving…

2. Minimize contact with salt water

While some contact with salt water is NBD, it’s best to remove your smart ring before jumping into the ocean. Too much time in the brine could lead to the corrosion of electronic components or even battery failure.

That said, an occasional dip in the sea should be just fine; just remember to give the device a thorough rinse in fresh water afterward.

3. Charge often, but not to 100%

This one may come as a surprise, but it’s pulled directly from the Oura site, which recommends you don’t wait until your smart ring battery gets very low to put it on the charger. Additionally, you should avoid charging it 100% every time — a difficult habit for some of us to break.

Why follow these charging practices? According to Oura, the onboard “lithium polymer batteries actually perform the best when they’re at 25-80%.” This means that it’s more ideal to toss your ring on the charger every time you shower for 15 minutes a day, versus charging it overnight once every five to six days.

That said, charging to 100% every time isn’t the end of the world, just as long as the ring doesn’t sit at 100% for too long…

4. Don’t leave your smart ring on the charger

Letting your smart ring sit on the charger for days or even weeks at a time is a big no-no, as my grandma would say. Please do not do this. Not only will it potentially cause the battery capacity to degrade faster than it should, but it could also pose a fire risk.

Johnny Cash Ring of Fire = good. Samsung Galaxy Ring of Fire = bad.

5. Avoid high heat

Speaking of fire, you probably want to avoid getting too close to any lava flows while wearing your smart ring. Similarly, if you work in an environment where exposure to high temperatures is common, you might want to leave the wearable at home.

Also, never leave your smart ring sitting in your car during the hotter months. The combination of direct sunlight passing through the windows creates a greenhouse effect that can make it gosh-darn toasty in there — not an ideal environment for lithium batteries.

For example, Oura says you should avoid temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, which is not outside of the range your car’s interior can get during the heat of summer.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura just launched the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic in four new colorways — and I’m obsessed with the new ‘Tide’ color
• Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2 — which smart ring should you choose for tracking your health?
• Apple put a heart rate monitor in the AirPods Pro 3, so where is the Apple Ring we've been waiting for?

While brands like Oura and Samsung dominate the best smart ring space in 2025, smaller startups, including Circular, RingConn, and Amazfit, offer appealing alternatives that don’t require a subscription (unlike Oura) and play nicely with both Android and iOS devices (unlike Samsung).

Having already reviewed the Amazfit Helio Ring and the latest RingConn Gen 2 Air, I was curious to see how Circular's newest release compares. Having first checked out the Circular Ring 2 at CES 2025 in January, I finally got a review unit on my finger in September.

After three weeks of testing, I've found a lot to like about the Circular Ring 2. It's packed with lots of wellness tools you won't find on other smart rings, like ECG readings, FDA-cleared AFib detection, and blood oxygen saturation readings (SpO2). Battery life is also impressive, easily lasting a week or more per charge.

That said, a somewhat buggy app with missing features, data transfer issues, a lack of fitness tracking tools, and a steep starting cost of $379 — that's more than the Oura Ring 4, aka, the best overall smart ring in 2025 — all hold the Circular Ring 2 back from its full potential. Read on to find out why.

What are the key specs of the Circular Ring 2?

How much does the Circular Ring 2 cost and where can you buy it?

The Circular Ring 2 starts at $379 for the matte black option and increases to $449 for silver and $549 for the gold or rose gold option. This puts the Circular Ring 2 on the higher end of the smart ring cost spectrum.

By comparison, the Amazfit Helio Ring starts at just $199, and the RingConn Gen 2 is $299. Neither of those devices requires a subscription, nor does the Circular Ring 2. The Oura Ring 4, on the other finger, is $5.99 a month.

That said, Circular has plans to roll out a premium subscription model at some point, where advanced features like blood glucose tracking and blood pressure monitoring will reportedly eventually live. No word yet on pricing or when either of those will become available.

The Circular Ring 2 is available now through Circular directly.

How does the digital sizing for the Circular Ring 2 work?

The Circular Ring 2 comes in a fairly large range of sizes from six to 14. Better yet, unlike most other smart ring brands, you don't need to first shell out $10 for a 'digital sizing kit' full of plastic dummy rings.

Smart ring sizing tends to vary from standard ring sizing, and a proper fit is essential for accurate holistic tracking. While Circular does offer an old-school physical sizing kit for $5 for those who really want one, the brand instead recommends that user figure out their sizing using a feature in the Circular app.

Not only is this digital sizing process far less wasteful than the dummy rings, it's also incredibly fast and easy to perform.

It requires nothing more than your smartphone camera, your hand, and a credit card (or something that size, like a hotel room key). I tried it on the CES 2025 show floor, and it worked remarkably well. With your hand and credit card in the frame, you simply snap a photo and let the app do some AI churning.

A few moments later, you’re measurements are ready. For each finger, the two closest sizes are provided along with a chart showing where exactly your measurement lies between the two.

For example, my index finger was smack in between a size 11 and 12. However, my ring finger was almost an exact size 11. So, if I were shopping for a Circular Ring, I’d likely opt for the 11 and wear it on my ring finger rather than go with the 12 and risk it being a tad loose on my index. Indeed, I tested a size 11 for this review.

How comfortable and durable is the Circular Ring 2?

The Circular Ring 2 is a little bit thicker and heavier than most of its rivals. In my four weeks of testing, the titanium alloy exterior picked up more scratches than other rings I've tested, too.

That said, it handled several drops on a hardwood floor and knocks into rigid objects like a champ. Water resistance is 50 meters, which is enough for washing your hands or even brief periods of shallow water swimming. It's also IP68-rated against dust, grime, and moisture. However, given the recent expanding Galaxy Ring news, I might avoid wearing it in salt water.

Most of the Circular Ring 2's competition boasts 100 meters of water resistance by comparison.

Unlike the latest Oura Ring 4, but similar to the RingConn Gen 2 and Gen 2 Air, the interior sensors on the Circular Ring 2 protrude out, leaving small indentations in your finger that some users may find uncomfortable.

Wearing the Circular Ring 2 for roughly a month, the design proved tolerable, but it's far from the comfiest smart ring I've encountered (that'd be the Oura Ring 4).

How well does the Circular Ring 2 track sleep and health vitals?

The companion Circular app for the Circular Ring 2 offers an enormous buffet of wellness metrics, most on a scale from one to 100 with an accompanying rating from 'needs improvement' to 'optimal/excellent.'

These metrics and ratings, which also include AI-generated tidbits and suggestions to help you maintain or improve your scores, are genuinely insightful and even actionable.

With scores for sleep quality, immune system health, energy levels, stress levels, and overall wellness, the Circular Ring 2's daily insights left me impressed, that is, until I ran into data sync issues that resulted in missing sleep reports and other gaps in my tracking data.

This is not something that I've encountered before when testing a smart ring. As of writing, it appears that you must open the Circular app at least once daily to initiate data transfer from the ring to the app, or you lose that info. Sadly, even when I got in the habit of opening the app daily, I still encountered occasional instances where my sleep data (or other) vanished into the ether.

It took just shy of two weeks of continuous wearing for the device to fully calibrate, which is not uncommon for smart rings. During that stretch, the app occasionally asks questions to get a better understanding of your lifestyle, like 'When is your ideal bedtime?' or 'At what time of day do you feel most mentally focused?'

Once fully calibrated, I found the Circular app's morning sleep reports (when they were actually generated) to be the most useful aspect of the Circular Ring 2. They contain details on your heart rate, breath rate, body temperature, blood oxygen saturation, sleep cycles, body movement, bedtime and wake-up time consistency, and heart rate variability. That's a lot of data!

After one particularly crappy night of rest and equally dismal morning report, a message popped up on the app asking if any outside factors were at play for my poor rest, with options ranging from 'too much caffeine too close to bed' to 'too much stress,' to simply, 'alcohol' (don't worry, you can select as many that apply).

Circular doesn't advertise any sort of nap detection, which is a shame, because I live for a mid-afternoon snooze. Indeed, none of the ones I took while wearing the device registered as sleep in the app.

The Circular Ring 2 is also among only a small handful of modern smart rings with ECG readings. It's even FDA-cleared to monitor for irregular heartbeats that could indicate Atrial fibrillation (AFib), a potentially deadly condition.

The ECG reading process is quite simple (in theory). Users place their index finger on the surface of the ring while it's being worn on the other hand for 45 seconds. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, I wasn't able to get the feature to work. Each time I took a reading, the results said my ECG couldn't be analyzed. (I'll keep trying and update this review if my luck changes).

Is the Circular Ring 2 good for tracking workouts and fitness?

While I appreciate the Circular Ring 2's daily energy score and occasional workout recommendations, as a whole, fitness tools are lacking. The smart ring only autodetects simple workouts like walking and running. You can manually start a workout session from the app by selecting your activity of choice from an extensive list, but the actual data generated from the session is minimal.

For example, I manually tracked a recent weight-lifting session — though I don't recommend pumping iron while wearing a ring of any kind — and was treated to the following datapoints in my post-session report: heart rate, workout time, and calories burned.

For outdoor walks where the ring piggybacks on your smartphone's GPS data — there's no onboard GPS — you get slightly more data, including distance covered and average speed.

How long does the Circular Ring 2's battery actually last?

The Circular Ring 2 has a battery life rating of eight days in 'power' mode and five days in 'performance' mode, where frequent data syncs are prioritized in favor of longevity.

I tested the Circular Ring 2 in performance mode, and to my delight, it easily lasted a week or more on a single charge. After the first charge-up, I got nearly eight days of usage.

The clamshell-style charging case that comes with the ring holds three full recharges and connects to power by USB-C. Compared to Oura's new all-metal charging case, Cricular's lightweight plastic case feels a bit cheap; I'm not certain it could survive a three-foot drop onto a hard floor.

Speaking of Oura, this is one notable area where the Circular Ring 2 has the Oura Ring 4 beat. While the latest Oura Ring is similarly rated for eight days per charge, it didn't quite last that long in our testing.

With the case connected to a power source, the Circular Ring 2 can fully recharge in a little over 30 minutes.

Should you buy the Circular Ring 2?

The Circular Ring 2 shows a lot of promise, but as of writing, a buggy app with data sync issues holds it back. After all, with no onboard screen, a smart ring is only as good as its companion app. That's a shame, because Circular offers more metrics and insights than a lot of the competition, save for Samsung and Oura.

It's also one of the only smart rings with ECG readings, though I was unable to get the feature to actually work. Fitness tracking tools, unlike holistic ones, are limited.

If you're tempted by the Circular Ring 2's blood glucose tracking or blood pressure monitoring, curb your enthusiasm. Neither of these features has debuted yet, and when they do, they'll be locked behind a paywall of undisclosed amounts.

Still, I look forward to revisiting the Circular Ring 2 when these next-gen features do eventually roll out. Hopefully, by then, some of the kinks will have been worked out on the app stability side.

Until then, my favorite subscription-free Oura Ring alternatives remain the Amazfit Helio Ring, with the Ringconn Gen 2 Air as a close second.

Smart ring design is a bit of a snooze in 2025. Even the best smart rings all look pretty much the same: a standard circular band in your choice of several metal finishes. Not a fan of metal jewelry? Prior to today, you’d be out of luck. Fortunately, Oura’s new ceramic smart ring collection is here to save the day.

The new Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is exactly what it sounds like: the guts of an Oura Ring 4, with a fancy, new ceramic exterior. With four colors to choose from, including an eye-catching aqua/light-blue option, I'm admittedly more than a little hyped on these (and eager to get one on my finger!).

Oura Ring 4 Ceramic

This is Oura’s first non-metal smart ring, and it sure is a beaut! It comes in four colors, including Midnight (dark blue), Pedal (light pink), Tide (light aqua), and Cloud (off-white).

While the standard Oura Ring 4 starts at $349, the Ceramic models are $499.

The zirconia ceramic exterior is particularly hard and scratch-resistant. Oura also notes that the color is inherent to the material and not a finish/coating. This means that your new Oura Ring 4 Ceramic should maintain its stunning color for the life of the device.

Like the Oura Ring 4, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic will be available in sizes 4 through 15. While the onboard tech is the same, the Ceramic models are notably heavier than the metal options.

The standard Oura Ring 4 weighs between 3.3 grams and 5.2 grams, depending on size, but the Ceramic edition is between 5.1 grams and 8.1 grams. The Ceramic is also a little thicker, 3.5mm versus 2.9mm.

Oura Ring Charging Case

Once fully juiced up, the new Oura Ring Case can recharge your Oura Ring 4 or Oura Ring 4 Ceramic up to five full times. Charge time takes roughly 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the new $99 Oura Ring charge case doesn’t seem to support older models like the Oura Ring Gen 3.

The new case is also size-specific, which seems a bit odd/unfortunate. This means that if both my partner and I are Oura Ring 4 owners, we can’t share a case when traveling.

Splash and dust-resistant, the new Oura Ring Case is a clamshell-style, and features an anodized aluminum exterior with a soft silicone interior.

Oura multi-ring support

If you already own an Oura Ring 4 (or prior model) and are tempted by one of the new Ceramic models, Oura has gone about making switching between models a painless affair. With multi-ring support, Oura owners can select their ring of choice from within the app with just a few taps and switch rings or add a new ring with similar ease.

In addition to the above, Oura also announced a new recycling program that’ll make it easier and more sustainable than ever to trade in a busted or outdated Oura Ring.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Ring owner reportedly hospitalized after it swells — 'won’t be wearing a smart ring ever again'
• Apple put a heart rate monitor in the AirPods Pro 3, so where is the Apple Ring we've been waiting for?
• Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2 — which smart ring should you choose for tracking your health?

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is meant to keep you abreast of your health and is rated as one of the best smart rings, but a sticky malfunction forced one traveler to go to the hospital and miss a flight. The battery in the ring reportedly swelled so much that it became stuck on his finger, making it impossible for him to remove by himself.

The swollen ring was reported by YouTuber and tech influencer Daniel Rotar of ZoneofTech. He shared photos of the malfunctioning ring with a visible bulge and separating interior layer on his finger.

An initial post from Daniel revealed that the swelling began just before he boarded a flight from Hawaii. "Now I cannot take it off and this thing hurts," he wrote.

Rotar tagged multiple Samsung accounts with the Samsung UK one responding in the replies and asking to move the conversation to direct message.

A couple hours later, Rotar said that he was not allowed to board the flight and sent to the hospital where the ring was removed with assistance. In a reply, he said that ice and a medical lubricant were used to slide the ring off. Allegedly, lotions and soap at the airport seemed to make the swelling worse.

Later images with the ring removed show the internal area of the Galaxy Ring visibly distorted and separating from the case. Daniel summed his experience saying, "Won’t be wearing a smart ring ever again."

Swollen Galaxy Ring potential causes

Our first guess was that the ring got stuck because of travel by Rotar to Hawaii. He suggested in a reply that multiple flights, Hawaiian heat, salt water and a "previously problematic" battery all combined to cause his predicament.

The Galaxy Ring is rated to be salt water resistant for shallow swimming, but does need to be rinsed and thoroughly dried afterward.

"Disinfectants or salts in pool water or seawater may affect the waterproof performance. To maintain optimal performance, rinse with clean water after swimming, then thoroughly wipe with a soft, clean cloth before using again," the Samsung website suggests.

Tom's Guide has reached out to both Daniel Rotar for comment on the reportedly swollen Galaxy Ring. We will update when we hear back.

Samsung sent Tom's Guide a statement saying that cases like Rotar's are extremely rare.

"The safety of our customers is a top priority and we are in direct contact with our customer to learn more about their concerns. While experiences like this are extremely rare, there are a few ways to attempt removing a stuck ring, including soap and water – or submerging your hand in cold water," the statement reads.

We were also directed to an article on the Samsung website about removing stuck Galaxy Rings. Where a last-ditch option of having a professional cut the ring off is suggested

There is an orientation mark on the ring that you can cut, which avoids cutting into the battery.

"Consult a medical provider to cut the ring off. Do not attempt to do it yourself. The ring is an electronic device with an embedded battery. For safety, the ring must be cut along the indicator where the battery is not located."

We were not given any details or comments on why Rotar's Galaxy Ring might have swollen.

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I’m currently testing the Circular Ring 2, a subscription-optional smart ring that boasts eight days of battery, ECG readings, AFib detection, and a revolutionary new digital sizing process. While the jury is still out on its data accuracy, my initial impressions of the Circular Ring 2 are positive.

Of course, when assessing what could be one of the best smart rings in 2025, it’s impossible not to compare it to the Oura Ring 4, our hands-down favorite finger wearable available right now.

While this comparison is subject to updates based on the results of further testing, here’s how the Oura Ring 4 versus Circular Ring 2 plays out across six categories, including price, sizes and finishes, design and durability, health features, fitness features, and battery life.

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Specs compared

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Price

The Oura Ring 4 starts at $349 and requires a $5.99 monthly subscription for the Oura app.

The Circular Ring 2 also starts at $349 and is subscription-free for most features. However, forthcoming tools, including blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring, are likely to be locked behind a paywall. This has understandably frustrated early backers of the Circular Ring 2, which launched earlier this year on Kickstarter and was billed as completely subscription-free.

In Circular’s defense, the to-be-paywalled features were never part of the original pitch, but rather, "stretch goals" for the device. No word yet on what access to blood pressure and glucose monitoring will cost, or when either will debut; the Circular site says late 2025 for the former and early 2026 for the latter.

Still, with the majority of its core features free for all users, the Circular Ring 2 wins this category.

Winner: Circular Ring 2

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Sizes and finishes

The Oura Ring 4 is available in sizes 4 through 15 and the following finishes: Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, Brushed Titanium, Black, and Stealth. The Circular Ring 2 comes in sizes 6 through 14 in your choice of Gold, Rose Gold, Black, or Silver.

Though Circular offers its device in fewer sizes and finishes, the brand’s pre-purchase sizing process is far superior to Oura’s. Even though Circular continues to offer a physical sizing kit — check out a video of me demoing it at CES — the Circular Ring 2 can be sized using just the Circular app. Oura, meanwhile, mails a kit of plastic dummy rings for sizing.

Winner: Draw

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Design and druability

Both smart rings boast an all-titanium exterior. That said, the exterior of the Circular Ring 2 seems more susceptible to scratches, and that's based on just one week of wear.

The Oura Ring 4 is more comfortable than the Circular Ring 2, thanks to recessed sensors. The Circular Ring 2 isn’t uncomfortable, but the protruding interior sensors do leave an indentation on my finger.

The Circular Ring 2 is a little heavier than the Oura Ring 4, but the difference is fairly negligible. Durability-wise, the Circular Ring 2 boasts 50 meters of water resistance, so you can swim, shower, wash dishes, etc., while wearing it. The Oura Ring 4, on the other hand, is rated for 100 meters of water resistance, enough for high-impact water sports and diving.

Winner: Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Health features

Both smart rings have onboard heart rate, blood oxygen, and body temperature sensors, along with accelerometers to monitor movement. While the Oura Ring 4 is the gold standard for accurate holistic data from a smart ring, Circular’s data also looks promising.

Both apps offer insights into your vitals, sleep quality, and energy levels. They each also offer women’s health tracking features. However, Oura’s insights go into more detail than Circular’s, while providing a wider range of tracked metrics.

That said, only the Circular Ring 2 offers ECG readings and AFib detection. Still, for having a more comprehensive approach to holistic data, I'm giving the Oura Ring 4 the win in this category.

Winner: Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Fitness features

While the Circular Ring 2 offers a daily Energy Score that’s similar to Oura’s Readiness Score, the Oura Ring 4 is better suited for activity tracking. Neither device has an onboard GPS, so you’ll need to carry your phone with you while working out for location, pace, distance, etc. data, but the Oura Ring 4 can automatically detect and track up to 40 different workout types.

The Circular Ring 2, meanwhile, can automatically detect a few basic workouts like walking and running, but not more astute pastimes like badminton or horseback riding. You know what smart ring can? The Oura Ring 4.

Winner: Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Battery life

The Oura Ring 4 and Circular Ring 4 both advertised eight days of battery per charge. In our testing, the Oura Ring 4 lasts a little closer to six days per charge. Though I’m still testing the Circular Ring 2, real-world battery life appears to be slightly better, at seven days per charge.

The Circular Ring 2 has another advantage over the Oura Ring 4: It ships with a travel-friendly, battery-sporting charging case, which can recharge the ring to 100% in just 30 minutes.

Winner: Circular Ring 2

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Overall winner

The Oura Ring 4 and Circular Ring 2 cost the same up front, $350, but the Oura Ring costs more in the long run due to the mandatory $5.99 monthly subscription. Even still, the Oura Ring 4 is the better overall smart ring than the Circular Ring 2, thanks to a more durable/comfy design, more comprehensive wellness insights, better fitness tracking, and greater size availability.

Still, the Circular Ring 2 has the upper hand when it comes to battery life and heart health monitoring, thanks to its ability to perform ECG readings and detect potential AFib. That said, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if these features eventually came to the Oura Ring, either by way of a firmware update or an Oura Ring 5.

Overall winner: Oura Ring 4

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• Forget the Oura Ring 4 — these are the best Oura Ring alternatives in 2025
• Oura is expanding its partnership with the US military and users are stressed — here’s what that means for your data

Yesterday’s Apple event was a big one, but as a fitness editor, I had my fingers crossed for a classic ‘one more thing’ announcement. We’ve been waiting for an Apple Ring for years, and it looks like we have longer to wait until Apple takes on the likes of Oura.

There have been rumors of an Apple smart ring since they filed patents for a smart ring in 2020, and now Apple has made a heart rate monitor small enough to fit inside an AirPod, maybe we’re one step closer.

The AirPods Pro 3, announced yesterday, can track workouts using the built-in heart rate monitor, even if you don’t have an Apple Watch on your wrist.

That said, top Apple insider Mark Gurman said last October that "Apple isn’t actively developing a ring and has no plans to launch one." Why? Because it "would detract from the Apple Watch," and Apple has "no reason to cannibalize a product that still has room to grow and is the envy of the fitness-tracking industry."

It’s a fair point — Apple’s watches are extremely popular, and the Apple Watch 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 all launch with a ton of fitness features. Yet with competitors such as Samsung launching a smart ring, and with Apple already having all the capabilities to track things like heart rate, sleep, and your menstrual cycle.

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Oura, the brand behind the best smart ring in 2025, is in hot water with some users over a blog post about the brand's growing partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). With diehard Oura Ring customers going as far as canceling their subscriptions, here’s everything you need to know.

In a recent post on Oura's website, the brand announced an expansion of its partnership with the U.S. military by way of investing in a brand-new factory — predicted to be up and running sometime in 2026 — in Fort Worth, Texas.

What's the Oura U.S. military controversy about?

So, what's the big deal? A few things. First, Oura's acknowledgment that the U.S. DoD is the brand's "largest enterprise customer" didn't sit right with some users, particularly those who oppose one or more of the U.S.'s current military strategies.

But that's not all. Oura also confirmed that the controversial company, Palantir, known for what some might call aggressive surveillance/data-mining techniques, is managing the privacy and security side of things for the brand's military customers. Palantir is also known for its involvement in the ongoing U.S. immigration crackdown (among other things). So, yeah, it's not exactly a warm and fuzzy company.

Should you be worried about your Oura Ring data?

Fortunately, Tom Hale, the CEO of Oura, made it crystal clear in a TikTok post that individual customer data is handled completely separately from enterprise customer data. Moreover, to ease concerns, the brand additionally issued a statement confirming that Palantir is not a partner of Oura, but rather, "provides the security layer for some of the DoD’s projects with Oura."

Beyond that, Oura's privacy policy confirms that the brand will never share your data with a third party without consent. While these clarifications surely will calm the nerves of some users, others are still uneasy.

For further clarification on how customer data is handled and what privacy safeguards the brand has in place, I've reached out to Oura for comment and I'll update this story if/when I hear back.

Oura's partnership with the U.S. military is nothing new

It's also worth noting that Oura's partnership with the U.S. military isn't exactly new. The brand has been supplying rings to various branches going back to 2019.

According to the same post announcing the expansion, the smart ring maker was initially tapped by the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) after a deadly fatigue-related accident in 2017.

In an effort to mitigate crew member exhaustion and future tragedies, the NHRC provided service members with Oura Rings to monitor vitals. And since then, Oura has provided "tens of thousands of rings" to the U.S. military.

Oura says that the ongoing partnership is purely about helping service members perform at their best, with a focus on four key areas, including stress management and resilience, fitness and recovery optimization, fatigue risk management, and early illness detection.

Are you sticking with Oura?

Ultimately, the panic over the U.S. military gaining access to Oura Ring customer data is almost certainly overblown. With separate methods for handling standard customer data and enterprise customer data, not to mention consent-based safeguards in place, it's highly unlikely that the CIA is monitoring your resting heart rate as we speak.

That said, customer concerns about Oura's partnership with the military, more generally speaking, are valid. And if you fall into that category, I have good news: Oura isn't the only smart ring show in town. Here are the best Oura Ring alternatives in 2025.

On that note, what do you think of the Oura Ring/U.S. military hoopla? Are you ditching your Oura Ring or sticking with it? Let me know in the comments below.

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While everyone has been clamoring for a foldable iPhone, Apple has apparently been quietly developing a smart ring for years. A pair of newly discovered patents (spotted by Apple Insider) gives us a hint of what the Apple Ring might be capable of whenever it is released.

The first patent, simply titled "Ring Device," appears to cover features that you're familiar with in smart rings. The patent reads that an Apple Ring "may include near-field communications circuitry for emulating near-field communications tags based on biometric data and/or for logging health-related actions such as medicine intake."

However, beyond health tracking, the patent is also concerned with gesture controls. Technical drawings show a hand with a ring using it to control smart home devices like lamps or your television with gestures.

Additionally, it hints at voice controls where a "microphone may detect voice input and other sounds that can be used to infer the context in which the ring device is operating."

One potential way Apple could use these features by letting you control your smart home or phone with Siri via the ring. It could also utilize the Apple Watch noise level detector, suggesting that it could seamlessly fit into your Apple ecosystem.

At first blush, it could compete with the best smart rings.

Ring operation

The second patent looks to be concerned with how you would operate the Apple Ring. Drawings and the description depict a "ring device with variable rotational resistance," meaning it has elements that can be moved.

Apple justifies the moving element saying, "electronic finger rings can be employed as unobtrusive communication devices that are readily available to communicate wirelessly with other devices capable of receiving those communications."

So you could have a "rotating outer band" that could be used to communicate with "companion wearable devices such as smart watches, health monitoring devices, headphones, ear buds, and the like." Again, the patent suggests that the rotating elements could potentially be used to control smart home devices.

Potentially, the Apple Ring could be used to receive information that it would share with you via vibrations, letting you know when you've received a text or notification. Though how that is better than the Apple Watch remains to be seen.

Again, we don't know when or if Apple will release a smart ring, but these two patents give us an idea of how Apple might pitch one to consumers. It appears that such a device could be quite capable, with gesture controls being a key selling point for surpassing an Apple Watch.

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Ultrahuman has just launched a new paid-for cycle and ovulation tracking features for the Ultrahuman Ring AIR, following its acquisition of viO HealthTech. This will sit alongside the free Cycle and Ovulation, and Pregnancy PowerPlugs on the platform.

According to Ultrahuman, this upgraded package offers users the most accurate cycle tracking on any smart ring. Let’s dive into what’s new below.

One reason many women wear one of the best smart rings is to accurately track their menstrual cycle and ovulation, using the skin temperature sensor on the ring. If you’re trying to conceive, knowing the exact few days before ovulation is essential. Your basal body temperature rises during ovulation, but if you don’t have a typical cycle, this small change can be tricky to spot.

Ultrahuman is now using algorithms designed for viO’s OvuSense fertility monitors. The brand says that this algorithm is backed by 15 years of research and is more accurate than any other smart ring. They also say the algorithm “works reliably for 87% of women who don’t have a textbook 28-day cycle — including those with PCOS or endometriosis — in tracking and understanding their cycles.”

The new feature will also give women cycle flags, based on their temperature data. This can highlight hidden patterns that may be related to conditions like PCOS, or miscarriage risk, and include early or late ovulation, a short luteal phase, or the absence of ovulation during a cycle.

More from Tom's Guide

• Forget the Oura Ring 4 — These are the Best Oura Ring Alternatives in 2025
• Ultrahuman Ring Air review — a lighter fitness tracking ring without a subscription
• Which fitness trackers are the best for tracking women’s health?

The Oura ring is one of the best smart rings on the market, especially when it comes to tracking your menstrual cycle. Still, this week, the fitness tracker is getting even smarter, with new features related to pregnancy and perimenopause. The features will come in an update this week, so whether you have a new Oura Ring 4 or the Oura Ring Generation 3 on your finger, you should be able to take advantage of them.

The new features focus on two of the biggest changes in the female body — pregnancy and perimenopause. As a fitness editor, I’ve been wearing an Oura Ring for the past four years. It’s my go-to tracker for keeping track of my sleep, menstrual cycle, and overall fitness. My Oura ring knew I was pregnant before I did a couple of years ago, but I was slightly disappointed to not be able to track my pregnancy symptoms on my ring, so I’m thrilled to see these long-awaited changes drop.

Below, I’ll dive into the different features coming to your Oura ring this week.

Oura’s new pregnancy features

Your Oura ring will now give you week-by-week pregnancy insights to help moms-to-be to better understand what’s going on in their bodies. When you opt into the new Pregnancy Insights feature, your ring will highlight four key insights related to pregnancy — temperature trends, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiratory rate, plus give you context into why these key metrics might be changing.

Each day, you’ll be able to see how far you are into your pregnancy by trimester, as well as a weekly message highlighting any symptoms to expect. You can also add pregnancy-related tags — these can be habits, feelings, or physical changes, but it can help you keep track of how you’re feeling. There are 35 new tags to capture the highs and lows of pregnancy, and these include heartburn, Braxton Hicks, vomiting, and contractions.

Once you’ve told your Oura ring you’re expecting, your insights will also take this into account. Readiness, Sleep, Rest Mode, and Recovery Mode will be reflective of your pregnancy and gestational age. Oura’s AI Advisor will also remember you’re pregnant and offer advice about symptoms.

Oura’s Pregnancy Insights feature will be available on Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4 from August 12 on iOS and Android.

Oura’s new perimenopause check-in

There are over one billion women worldwide either in perimenopause or post-menopause, and despite writing about the best fitness trackers for the past decade, this is the first dedicated feature for it I’ve ever seen on a device.

Oura’s new perimenopause check-in feature will allow women to track symptoms and understand their impact.

Members will begin by completing a 12-question Menopause Rating Survey. Once they’ve completed the survey, they’ll get a downloadable PDF which includes their symptoms, biometric trends, and cycle data, which can easily be shared with a healthcare professional.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
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I've been testing the Ringconn Gen 2 Air smart ring for a few months, and I'm convinced that it's one of the best entry-level smart rings available in 2025, alongside the Amazfit Helio Ring.

Priced at $199 and subscription-free, the Gen 2 Air represents the cheaper, entry-level alternative to the $299 Ringconn Gen 2.

Despite the wallet-friendly price, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air offers impressive specs and features, like a ten-day battery life rating, 100 meters of water resistance, in-depth sleep tracking reports with a daily Sleep Score, 24/7 wellness monitoring for heart rate and blood oxygen saturation, and a lightweight, tough-built design.

It also plays nicely with both Android and iOS devices. In fact, this capable little device has three serious advantages over the best smart ring available today, the Oura Ring 4. Read on to find out exactly what they are.

But first, a quick smart ring specifications comparison table...

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Specs compared

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Price

Priced at $199, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is $100 cheaper than its higher-end sibling, the standard Ringconn Gen 2 — more on what sets them apart below — and $150 cheaper than the most affordable Oura Ring 4 option.

While the Oura Ring costs an additional $5.99 per month to access health insights in the Oura app, Ringconn doesn't charge a subscription. This means that the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is cheaper than the Oura Ring both upfront and in the long run.

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Comfort and durability

The second advantage the Ringconn Gen 2 Air offers over the Oura Ring 4 is a lighter overall design. With sizes ranging from 6 to 14, the Air weighs between 2.5 and 4 g. That's about half a gram heavier than the standard Ringconn Gen 2, which is ironic given the 'Air' in the cheaper model's name... but I digress.

More notably, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is roughly a gram lighter than the Oura Ring 4 across the board. The Oura Ring 4, which varies in weight from 3.3 g to 5.2 g, does come in a wider range of sizes than the Gen 2 Air, 4 through 15. It's also available in a greater selection of styles.

Still, the durability between the two smart rings should be a match. Both boast 100 meters of water resistance and all-metal exteriors. The Air uses comparably cheaper stainless steel in its construction compared to the Oura Ring 4's all-titanium build. However, both metals are sufficiently abrasion- and impact-resistant.

The Ringconn Gen 2 Air feels just as well-made in-hand as any smart ring I've encountered, and I have no doubt it could survive the inevitable several-foot drop from my dresser/nightstand to the hardwood floor, something that's become an unofficial smart ring durability test. Indeed, after months of wear-testing (no drops yet), it remains relatively blemish-free.

An oval shape marking on the ring's surface indicates where the sensors are, which eliminates the guesswork from putting it on in the correct orientation.

The sensors on the inside of the ring protrude slightly on the Gen 2 Air. This was something that didn't bother me at first, but after a week of continuous wearing, I found the sensors left small indentations in my finger. So, while the Gen 2 Air may be lighter than the Oura Ring 4, it's not quite as comfortable.

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Tracking sleep and vitals

Feature-wise, where the Ringconn Gen 2 Air shines is sleep-tracking. Every morning, you're greeted with a fairly detailed sleep report, similar to what you get from Oura or Samsung.

This report includes a Sleep Score out of 100, along with an overall Wellness Score, similar to Samsung's Energy Score or Garmin's Body Battery. Other daily metrics include a Relax Status and a Vitals Status, both of which are also on a scale from one to 100.

I scored an 82 sleep score on my most recent Gen 2 Air sleep report. That's considered "good," according to Ringconn. My time asleep that night was a lengthy eight hours and 40 minutes, while my "sleep efficiency ratio" was 88%. The latter is calculated by dividing the time spent in bed by the time spent actually sleeping.

Users can also subjectively rate their sleep quality from within their daily sleep report on a scale from one to ten, with seven to ten being considered "optimal."

Each of these metrics is accompanied by a short message or explainer, like “Good sleep makes you energetic” or " If you feel tired, consider taking a short nap or going to bed early.”

These aren't particularly useful.

In addition to time spent asleep versus awake, users can also see how much time they spent in REM versus deep sleep versus light sleep. Other sleep report metrics include your average heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels and skin temperature. Better yet, each of these metrics gets automatically and dynamically compared to your most recent seven-day average so that you can better spot any troubling changes.

Note, unlike the pricier Ringconn Gen 2, the Air does not offer sleep apnea detection.

Outside of sleep reports, the companion Ringconn app also provides insights into your daily activity based on steps taken, calories burned and workouts logged. It additionally tracks your stress levels based on heart rate and HRV.

The Ringconn Gen 2 Air can even alert you to any abnormalities it detects in your vitals, thanks to 24/7 heart rate, SpO2 and heart rate variability tracking.

For example, while testing the smart ring, I received just one notification of a "minor outlier" in my vitals regarding slightly lower than normal blood oxygen readings for a short period while I slept. However, I'm still not quite certain what triggered it.

For women's health, an onboard temperature sensor monitors subtle changes in your body temperature to predict menstrual cycles, a tool you'll find on most of the best smart rings.

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Fitness tracking

While the Ringconn Gen 2 Air does an impressive job keeping tabs on sleep and vitals, it's less well-suited to tracking physical activity. For example, there are only six workout modes: Outdoor running, Indoor running, Indoor cycling, Outdoor cycling, and Outdoor Walk. Like most smart rings, there's also no onboard GPS for location tracking, so you'll need to carry a paired smartphone.

The Gen 2 Air is pretty good at detecting walks and runs, I didn't test biking, but post-workout insights are severely lacking. For example, on a recent walk, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air generated fairly accurate step-count and heart rate data (compared to my Apple Watch 10), calories burned, time spent moving, and... not a whole lot else.

There's no distance, pace or elevation data, and nothing by way of workout recovery advice.

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Battery life

The third advantage the Ringconn Gen 2 Air offers over the Oura Ring 4 is better battery life, with a rating of ten days compared to eight for the Oura. Of course, both of these ratings need to be taken with a grain of salt, as real-world battery life is almost always less than advertised.

In reality, while testing the Oura Ring 4, my colleague Kate found it averaged roughly six days of battery before needing a top-off. I've been getting about eight days per charge out of the RingConn Gen 2 Air, so not quite as advertised, but still better than the latest Oura Ring.

It's worth mentioning that battery life is another one of the key differences between the standard Ringconn Gen 2 and the Air (along with weight). The pricier option not only lasts up to an advertised 12 days per charge, but also ships with a nifty rechargeable clamshell storage case that can recharge the ring between 12 and 15 times.

Ringconn Gen 2 Air review: Verdict

As a tech nerd who writes about smart rings for a living, people often ask, "Dan, what's the least I can spend on a reliable smart ring?"

Up until this point, my answer has been the $199 Amazfit Helio Ring, which is also subscription-free. However, with better battery life, a lighter design and similar wellness insights, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is my new favorite entry-level smart ring for 2025. It also comes in a wider range of sizes.

The Gen 2 Air may not offer nearly the same depth of holistic data as the latest Oura Ring 4, but it is lighter, cheaper and longer-lasting.

That said, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air lacks the sleep apnea detection of its pricier (but also subscription-free) big bro, the Ringconn Gen 2. The device is also pretty limited when it comes to fitness tracking modes and metrics, and the autogenerated bits of holistic advice could use some serious expanding.

Even still, for the smart ring curious, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air gets my recommendation.

A new report has revealed that Samsung is working on the sequel to one of the best smart rings on the market, the Galaxy Ring 2.

This news comes from Galaxy Club, who claims that Samsung has started work on its next generation of smart rings. This is great news as we loved the original Galaxy Ring that launched in 2024 and have been looking forward to a successor device. However, there is some bad news about when we could be getting it.

Galaxy Club’s report makes it clear that the development process is still in the very early stages. As such, a release this year is highly unlikely, which makes sense as there was no mention made at the 2025 Galaxy Unpacked back in January.

Considering it usually takes several months to move through the design process, we may hear more about the Galaxy Ring 2 at a Galaxy Unpacked event next year. These normally take place in early spring and late summer each year.

What hardware can we expect from the new ring?

We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about the Galaxy Ring 2, including that it could feature a solid-state battery that could drastically increase the battery life. For reference, the Galaxy Ring is stated to offer around 7 days on full charge, but we found you’ll likely get about 5 days off a full charge from regular use.

If the new battery rumor is accurate, and does improve the battery life as much as hoped, then the next generation of Galaxy Rings could outlast even the class-leading Oura Ring 4, which is claimed to last for up to 8 days (although we found it needed charging after 6).

The Galaxy Ring 2 may also use an onboard body temperature sensor, based on a recent patent filed by Samsung. This could differentiate between your skin temperature and the temperature of external objects, using a motion sensor to judge what you're trying to measure.

There are also indications that Samsung could help to make the Galaxy Ring 2 more inclusive by including sizes 14 and 15 to the range. The size 14 Galaxy Ring 2 will apparently boast a 23mm interior diameter, and the size 15 ring would have a 23.8mm interior diameter.

For the time being, we have to take any hardware rumors with a grain of salt, but the future is certainly looking bright for Samsung’s next wearable. However, let us know what you think and if there are any major changes that you want to see in the Galaxy Ring 2?

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I’ve been testing the Ringconn Gen 2 Air for the past 96 hours to see if it can compete with the best smart rings out there, including options from Oura, Samsung, Amazfit and Ultrahuman.

Well priced and surprisingly well-specced, my first impressions of the Ringconn Gen 2 Air are largely positive. With four days of non-stop wearing behind me and a full review in the works, here are five things I love about the Ringconn Gen 2 Air so far, along with two things I don't like.

Like: It’s less than $200 and subscription-free

The little brother to the flagship Ringconn Gen 2 ($299), the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is a straight-up bargain at $199. This price puts it in line with the best affordable smart ring I've tested, the Amazfit Helio Ring.

Similar to the Helio Ring — but unlike the industry-leading Oura Ring 4 — the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is also completely subscription-free.

Like: Plays nicely with Android and iOS

One of my favorite smart rings is the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Unfortunately, unless you’re an Android user — I am not — the device is off limits. And to get the most out of Samsung’s finger-based wearable, you’ll of course need to own one of the best Samsung phones.

Ringconn, like Oura, Ultrahuman, Amazfit and others, doesn’t play favorites when it comes to smartphone compatibility. The Ringconn app is available on both the Google Play and Apple App Store.

Like: Battery life should be good for a week or more

Ringconn says the Gen 2 Air should last for up to ten days on a single charge. That rating makes the wearable even longer-lasting than the best smart rings, but how realistic is it?

After exactly 96 hours of near-constant wearing, I’ve only used 25% of the battery. At this rate, ten days seems entirely reasonable. Of course, I plan to keep wearing it until the battery fully drains. Stay tuned for my full review where I'l report on those figures.

Like: It’s pretty darn comfortable

So far, I'm finding the Ringconn Gen 2 Air pretty darn comfortable. At roughly 3.5 grams, it’s no heavier than an Oura Ring 4. The thickness of the ring varies from 3.1 mm, where the sensors protrude from the inside, to 1.6 mm, where there are no sensors.

While I prefer flush sensors, like on the Oura Ring 4, the pair of 1.5mm tall nubs (which appear to be heart rate sensors) don’t bother me much. Ultimately, the size 11 fits comfortably on my index finger, while looking no different from an ordinary ring in terms of heft or design.

Like: Decent durability

The stainless steel exterior of the Ringconn Gen 2 has a few faint micro scratches from my four days of testing, which included dropping it on a hardwood floor not once but twice (accidentally, of course). The interior, where the sensors are, is epoxy resin and shows no signs of wear.

Ringconn says the device is impact- and scratch-resistant, and I believe it. Ringconn also didn't skimp on environmental sealing. With 100 meters of water resistance — the same as the Oura Ring 4, Samsung Galaxy Ring and others — you can wash your hands, shower and even swim with confidence while wearing it.

Dislike: Gen 2 Air weighs more than the Gen 2

I strongly dislike confusing product names, and so the following must be said: Despite what may seem logical, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air actually weighs more than the standard Ringconn Gen 2.

According to the brand’s site, the Air weighs between 2.5 and 4 grams, depending on size, while the standard Gen 2 is between 2 and 3 grams, again, depending on ring size.

I weighed both models on my own scale, and the silver size 11 Ringconn Gen 2 Air weighed in at 3.5 grams, while the black size 12 Ringconn Gen 2 checked in at 2.5 grams.

Dislike: No sleep apnea detection

The standard Ringcon Gen 2 is one of the few smart rings in 2025 with sleep apnea detection. Unfortunately, the feature is absent on the more entry-level Gen 2 Air. Though this isn't terribly surprising, it is a bummer.

Along with a lighter design and use of titanium alloy instead of stainless steel, sleep apnea detection is one of the key differences that sets the $299 flagship model apart from the $199 entry-level option.

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The Acer FreeSense smart ring is not something I’d expect from a company that specializes in laptops, monitors and even electric bikes, but there it was being showcased at Computex 2025 — and I got a chance to check it out.

Acer’s first-ever smart ring comes with all the health monitoring features you’d expect from the best smart rings, including health, sleep and fitness tracking, AI-powered insights and a lightweight, durable design with up to seven different sizes (in both Black and Rose Gold colorways).

But there’s one key feature that sets it apart from its major competition in the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring: price. There’s no subscription fee to get full access to all your health data, and it’s available starting at $199. Already, the FreeSense Ring offers a lot of value.

Can this smart ring tango with the best wearables around? After a brief demo during Acer’s showcase in Taipei, here’s what I learned about the Acer FreeSense Ring.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Specs

Acer FreeSense Ring: Price and Availability

Talking to a representative, I was told the Acer FreeSense smart ring will be available for around $199 to $250, and it’s set to be released sometime in August.

The price is still being worked out, but this is the ballpark Acer is aiming for. At $199, this places it at the same cost as the Amazon Helio Ring, which is the best value smart ring on the market right now.

In addition to being subscription-free, the FreeSense Ring has a lot going for it, but this isn’t just due to its pricing.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Design

When picking up the FreeSense smart ring, I could tell this would be a wearable I would barely notice being on. I wasn’t able to try on the ring itself, as it was tethered to a cable and the models on show didn’t come in my size, but Acer’s ring certainly offers some lightweight, minimalist style.

Speaking of sizes, it’s available in sizes 7 to 13. This is less than the Oura Ring 4 (4 to 15) or Samsung Galaxy Ring (5 to 15), but more than some other value-focused smart rings, like the Amazfit Helio (8, 10 and 12).

Weighing just 2-3 grams (depending on ring size) and with dimensions of 2.6 to 8mm, this is as light and compact as a smart can get (not unlike the Ultrahuman Ring Air and the RingConn Gen 2).

I’m a fan of the look and feel of the FreeSense, and it’s sure to get you through all the rough and tumble of physical activity and the like. It’s made of titanium alloy, vacuum plating and PVD coating, coming in black and rose gold (the former is very much to my liking), and comes with an IP68 rating so dirt and scuffs shouldn’t be a problem. That also means a water resistance of up to 50m, which shouldn’t be a problem for the majority of swimmers.

Overall, it looks and feels like a general ring, with a design that doesn’t feel like it’s anything more than what it boasts — something you’d want in a smart ring.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Health features

One of the first things I asked was what this smart ring can track, and the Acer FreeSense Ring includes everything you’d expect. It collects heart rate monitoring, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels and sleep quality, along with fitness tracking such as your steps. How accurate is this? We’ll have to take a proper look, but this is a smart ring through and through.

One thing that was emphasized to me was its sleep analysis, which can tell you the different stages of sleep you go through via its sleep stage analysis. So, everything from your REM to your deep sleep. As you might expect, this should be accurate enough, but may have slight differences, such as the Oura Ring 4 vs Ultrahuman Ring Air. From what I’ve seen, it appears to be more focused on sleep rather than workouts, but it’s tricky to tell without using it (the best smartwatches are known to do a good job).

There’s still a lot to learn about what the Acer FreeSense Ring can do and how accurate it can deal with your biometrics, but without a subscription fee, that makes it all the more enticing for those who want a 24/7 analysis of their health with just a one-time fee.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Battery

The Acer FreeSense Ring can last 4 days on a single charge. This isn’t the longest a smart ring can go for, as the Oura Ring can last up to 8 days, while the Galaxy Ring can get you up to 7 days. Still, it’s long enough without having to worry about its charge, and should be similar to the Amazfit Helio smart ring (also around 4 to 5 days).

Interestingly, though, I was told that a one-hour charge could get you its full battery life of up to four days, which already beats Amazfit’s ring (up to two hours). Battery capacity wasn’t mentioned, but it’s already looking like this smart ring can last a good while before needing a boost.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Companion app

So, what can the ring work on? Well, everything, it seems, as the Acer FreeSense smart ring comes with a companion app that compatible with iOS and Android. That’s already better than the Samsung Galaxy Ring, which only works with Android, and it means no matter if you have the latest iPhone 16 or Pixel 9a, it’s app will work just fine.

From the interface that I saw, you can expect a user-friendly design displaying all the health metrics on the home tab. However, seeing as it’s powered by AI (what isn’t these days?), you will also get personalized insights on the health data that is recorded. So, it will tell you if you’re getting enough sleep, what you need to do to get good rest, if your heart rate is too high and the like.

One thing that goes beyond health features is the smart ring’s gesture features. For example, I was able to wave “hello” in order to take a picture on a tablet. This means it works on smartphones, too. Don’t worry; there isn’t just a blur of your hand shaking while the picture is taken, and you can wave and get prepared to the snap. I didn’t experience any other gestures, but there’s sure to be more than just the one. No word on special insights like the Galaxy Ring’s sleep apnoea detection, but I’d expect it to offer similar features.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Outlook

There’s still a lot to learn about the Acer FreeSense Ring, but as far as smart rings go, this is clearly in the running to be one of the best value smart rings you can get. I mean, at $199 and no subscription fees, it’s on its way to be a wearable that many people interested in finger-wielding devices should put on their radar.

It’s global release is set to arrive sometime in August (no specific date just yet), so we’ll have to wait and see how well it performs. One thing’s for sure, this is unknown territory for Acer, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs, and if it offers some special compatibility to the brand’s PCs (like its gesture features).

Stay tuned for more to come while we’re on the ground at Computex 2025.

More from Tom's Guide

• Acer's going all-in on OLED laptops at Computex 2025
• I’m watching MSI drop bombs at Computex 2025 — but these are the 5 products I’ll be talking about all year
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like

The Acer FreeSense Ring was just unveiled at Computex 2025 in Taipei. A subscription-free alternative to the Oura Ring 4 — the best smart ring available today — the FreeSense boasts all-day bio-metric tracking with ‘AI-driven’ wellness insights.

Of course, that’s the sales pitch for pretty much every new smart ring that hits the market. So what sets Acer’s first foray into the world of finger-based wearables apart from the pack? Read on.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Price and availability

We don’t know when the Acer FreeSense Ring will be available or what it will cost, but we will update this story as soon as we learn more. That said, we can confirm that it's subscription-free.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Sizes

The Acer FreeSense Ring will launch in seven sizes, from 7 to 13. That’s a considerably smaller selection than the Oura Ring 4, which comes in sizes 4 to 15 and the Samsung Galaxy Ring, available in sizes 5 to 15.

Still, the Acer FreeSense Ring beats the best value smart ring, the Amazfit Helio Ring, which only comes in sizes 8, 10 and 12.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Design

Constructed from titanium alloy, the FreeSense boasts a PVD coating for durability and weighs between 2 and 3 g, putting it on the lighter end of the smart ring spectrum. Other devices that weigh about the same include the Samsung Galaxy Ring, the Ultrahuman Ring Air and the RingConn Gen 2.

The interior appears to be epoxy, which is fairly common for smart rings. From the product shots, the sensors seem to protrude out slightly from the interior, which could make it less comfortable to wear than those with flush interior sensors (like the Oura Ring 4).

Water resistance is 50 meters compared to 100 meters for the Oura Ring, Galaxy Ring and most others. Still, that's more than enough water resistance to make it splash and showerproof. Maybe just avoid diving with it, though.

The FreeSense is additionally IP68-rated, which means you shouldn’t need to worry about dirt, dust or grime mucking up the inner workings.

Two styles of the Acer FreeSense Ring will be available for launch, including a glossy black and a matte rose gold (shown above).

Acer FreeSense Ring: Health features

The Acer FreeSense Ring tracks heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and blood oxygen levels. It also measures sleep quality, though details on how are vague. All we know is there will be some form of sleep stage analysis and presumably details on how long you slept.

Holistic data is processed via a companion mobile app — no word yet on phone OS compatibility — and presented to the user alongside custom-tailored wellness insights and recommendations.

Acer FreeSense Ring: Outlook

Without spending hands-on time with the ring and companion app — and with so many key details missing, including battery life, price and compatibility — it’s tough to tell whether the Acer FreeSense is destined for our best smart ring buying guide, or is just another example of a brand half-heartedly dipping toes… er, fingers, into a shiny new market to test the waters, without fully considering the competition.

That said, I like the fact that the FreeSense Ring is lightweight and subscription-free. And while the 24/7 wellness-monitoring sounds promising, as do the AI-backed insights, I’m definitely curious to know more. After all, wellness tips come in many forms. Will Acer's custom-tailored holistic suggestions be genuinely useful or half-baked?

On that note, my TG colleagues on the ground at Computex 2025 are on red alert for any opportunities to check out the Acer FreeSense Ring IRL, as well as the newly announced Acer AI Transbuds. Stay tuned.

More from Tom's Guide:

• I just went hands-on with this new smart ring — and it beats the Oura Ring in 3 big ways
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I just went hands-on with the new Circular Ring 2 — and it's the most impressive smart ring at CES 2025