There are 24 hours in the day but is your wearable capturing all of them? With the launch of the SL-1 smart band, from $199.95, smart ring brand QALO hopes to deliver non-stop health tracking that combines 24/7 data in an understandable, actionable package. No blank spots, no missing hours.
Geared towards intense movement and workouts — but with the capability to track sleep and stress — the QALO SL-1 is the latest wearable aiming to make health tracking more accessible. It joins the FitBit Air and Oura Ring 5 in arguing that the best sleep trackers of 2026 have all been screenless.
I've been hands-on with the SL-1 smart band and yes, when you're lifting a kettlebell, it's more comfortable to wear than a pricey smart ring. But a lot of us don't lift kettlebells that often, so I spoke to Jake Curreri, CEO of QALO, about the SL-1, non-stop tracking and how wearables might change lives.
QALO SL-1 Smart Band: How it works
QALO is best known for its silicone rings (aka the functional wedding ring.) A brand that puts convenience and athletics at the heart of its production, wearables were the obvious next step. That's where Curreri comes in.
"I've founded several startups in the digital health and fitness space, and then on behalf of one of my companies, consulted with Nike Innovation Labs," he explains.
Brought on to steer QALO into the growing wearables market, Curreri asked a simple question: "What do we want to focus our users' attention on?"
The answer came in three parts.
"Sleep was foundational. Vitality was foundational. And movement was foundational."
'Empower you to make a change in habits you otherwise might not have made'
QALO turned three interests into one easy metric; the Q score. QALO's proprietary 1-100 score synthesizes key metrics to form a snapshot of your day. (Think of it as their version of FitBit's popular readiness score.)
"You don't need a ring or a band to tell you your sleep was terrible," says Curreri. "The important part is how that impacts your overall health."
He explains that having that data equips people, particularly those working in high pressure situations, to understand their readiness. "It's one of the ways we built the product to make health tracking fit into people's lives, rather than asking people to change their lives around the wearable."
But, of course, QALO doesn't want you to simply sit back and watch low scores roll in.
"We really want it to be something that you can easily digest, and then make changes based off of," explains Curreri. "For example, going to bed before 10:30 versus after 10:30."
Alongside your score, the QALO app also delivers "optimal zones", based on the data it collects. From your personal baseline, the app can tell you if you're "high, low or in the optimal zone" for a number of metrics.
"[It's] just enough insights not to overwhelm you, but to empower you to make a change in habits today that you otherwise might not have," says Curreri.
"It truly not just changes lives, it saves lives."
'A continuous, always-on, health monitoring experience'
If QALO is looking to deliver data you can use, the release of the SL-1 hopes to increase the tracking that informs that data.
"The smart ring [released September 2025] and the smart band are designed for interchangeability," says Curreri. "The smart ring fits very well for sleep. The smart band fits very well for day to day activities."
He explains that QALO didn't want to be tied down to a "single form factor" but to provide a "continuous, always on health monitoring experience."
This versatility not only increases the data collected, but can also expand the awareness of the user. You might think fitness tracking is your focus, but learning about sleep explains your off days. Or, you might be the Fittest Man on Earth, but you still want to reach your step goals.
Engineered towards high-intensity movement and hands-on work, the SL-1 is designed to take over where a smart ring can't follow. Think construction work and weight training. (Although if you only want to make one investment, the SL-1 can be used all day long.)
I've been testing the Smart Band and it's made me realize how often I take my Oura Ring 5 off. Everyday activities like cleaning and cooking are often done sans-ring, leaving holes in my data. The SL-1 can plug those gaps, giving me the clearest picture of my metrics. Including just how stressed I get when cleaning the oven.
'It's important for us as wearable companies to push the envelope'
The launch of the SL-1 expands the usability and data collection of the wearable system. But the next frontier for QALO might lie less in new types of trackers, more in expanding just what metrics your wearable can gather.
The SL-1 includes women's health metrics, an area historically overlooked by fitness trackers. Curreri describes the "free, fully integrated cycle tracking solution" as the "bridge between fitness and medical."
So what more metrics should our wearables be tracking that they currently aren't? That's not for us to know just yet, but Curreri notes QALO is looking ahead.
"It's important for us as wearable companies and wearable visionaries and leaders at the intersection of health and fitness, to push the envelope."
QALO SL-1 Smart Band: Price and availability
The QALO SL-1 Smart Band is available right now from $199.95 at QALO. This fall, it will be sold from select Walmart stores (the QALO Smart Ring 2 is currently available from Walmart.)
Unusually for a wearable, the QALO smart ring and band are completely subscription free — no extra charge to see your scores.
This subscription-free philosophy is something Curreri describes as important to QALO and notes that expanding access to wearables backs the brands mission to deliver more data to everyone.
"We can do something pretty magical by both pushing the research component of it, but also pushing the business model."
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