RingConn Smart Ring Review: Undeniably Smart!

In a nutshell

Although I've tested many wearable devices, this is my first real experience with a smart ring. The first thing I realized is that these are primarily health monitoring devices. If you want to blend wellness and fitness features, I suggest focusing on smartwatches or fitness trackers for now.

Additionally, the RingConn Smart Ring doesn't function as an extension of your smartphone, which I see as a plus. It lacks NFC capability and doesn't have space for an integrated GPS, so you'll need your phone for contactless payments or route tracking.

However, the device offers advanced biometric monitoring and features an intuitive app integration, making the RingConn Smart Ring incredibly useful for health enthusiasts wanting to understand their daily health metrics. How does RingConn deliver? Keep reading this review to find out.

Design and Durability

RingConn opted for a squarish circular shape with flat edges, providing stability on the finger. For this test, I chose the Midnight Black color with a matte finish, as glossy finishes are more prone to scratches. However, as someone who frequently wears rings, I ended up scratching my RingConn due to contact with other rings .

Usage marks are unavoidable since smart rings come into direct contact with everything we touch, from bicycle handlebars to door keys. In this regard, I agree with Shervin Shaikh from the channel Shervin Shares—scratches add a bit of personality to smart rings.

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Pros:

• Comfortable and lightweight.
• Squarish circular shape offers stability.
• Sizing kit available.

Cons:

• Prone to scratches.

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The RingConn features two prominent sensors and a third bump for the battery connectors, all located at the bottom of the ring. The sensors are plastic-coated, and unlike other smart rings, there is no notch to indicate proper placement. Nevertheless, it's easy to recognize when it's misplaced.

Initially, I was skeptical about the size, as most smart rings look massive. However, the RingConn is incredibly light at 2.6 mm thick and made of titanium.

Fit and Comfort

For a smart ring to be effective, fit and comfort are paramount. I appreciated that RingConn offers a comprehensive range of sizes (nine in total) and ships a sizing kit to help you find the best fit. This is crucial since the user experience depends on proper fitting.

Although there is a sizing guide on the RingConn store, I recommend ordering the sizing kit first to try different sizes on various fingers and find the best fit. For optimal accuracy, manufacturers suggest wearing it on the index finger, which is typically our thickest and least intrusive finger, providing the most comfortable experience.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the design and durability of the RingConn Smart Ring. It fits well and utilizes the natural space between my index and middle fingers. It's extremely lightweight, I love its color and matte finish, and best of all, I hardly notice I'm wearing a piece of ingenious tech. It's undoubtedly the most comfortable smart device I own.

User Experience and Features

The RingConn Smart Ring is compatible with both Android and iPhone, offering an exceptional user experience with its comprehensive data presentation and diverse scoring metrics. Its companion app seamlessly integrates with popular health platforms such as Apple Health and Google Fit, providing an insightful overview of our health data .

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Pros:

• Comprehensive and user-friendly app interface.
• No subscription fee.

Cons:

• -

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The RingConn Smart Ring provides a comprehensive array of metrics, including sleep quality, activity levels, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), skin temperature, and SpO2 levels. This wealth of data can be invaluable for making informed health decisions. However, it's important to remember that devices like smart rings are geared towards wellness. While their readings can be highly accurate, they are not medical devices and should not be taken as such.

That said, the companion app focuses on using data insights to promote healthy behavior changes, encouraging users to adjust their routines for better health outcomes. Its integration with platforms like Apple Health and Strava makes syncing data across different devices and applications simple and efficient.

Regarding updates, the RingConn research team mentioned that they regularly update the ring's software, although they didn't specify the frequency of these updates. However, they confirmed that the software has been updated more than 40 times since the app's launch.

On the downside, while there is an API available, it is not open to end-users, which can be frustrating for those who want to create advanced integrations, such as through the Shortcuts app on Apple devices. Additionally, there is no browser dashboard, so personal data must be exported directly from the app.

Finally, RingConn is a Chinese company that stores user data outside mainland China, in UK servers. According to the company, this data is encrypted in the cloud and access is restricted to high-level internal databases, ensuring compliance with GDPR data protection regulations. This means that in case of loss or damage, heart rate, blood oxygen, activity data, temperature, and other basic metrics will be securely stored. Basic metrics are synchronized with the app, which then syncs to the cloud for advanced data calculations, such as sleep measures.

• Stay healthy, stay secure: Protecting your health data for a safer tomorrow

Wellness & Fitness Features

When it comes to performance, the RingConn Smart Ring offers detailed sleep and recovery data. While data accuracy can vary among different wearables, the RingConn reliably shows valuable trends over time, which are more useful for health insights than day-to-day variations. However, in my two weeks of testing and comparing the smart ring's results with my Apple Watch Series 9, I found that the RingConn metrics were generally more generous. However, the HRV stats were usually lower. I'll explain why below .

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Pros:

• The Wellness Balance score is a valuable addition.
• Tracking movement in bed while sleeping is a useful feature.
• Offers a comprehensive analysis of activity.

Cons:

• Fitness tracking features are still under development.
• Fitness tracking heavily depends on having your phone with you.

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Fitness tracking

Currently, the RingConn Smart Ring lacks real-time fitness modes, which might be a drawback for those seeking immediate fitness feedback. However, the app does feature some modes in beta, indicating that more comprehensive fitness-tracking capabilities are on the horizon.

At this point, users can benefit from Outdoor, Indoor Running, and Outdoor Cycling modes. However, to use these features, you will need to have your phone with you the entire time. Unfortunately, I am currently recovering from a knee injury and was unable to conduct further testing. I will update this section as soon as I recover.

Wellness Balance score

As mentioned at the beginning of this review, the RingConn Smart Ring excels in tracking vital signs. For those primarily interested in health monitoring, the RingConn offers valuable insights, starting with the Wellness Balance score. Though still in beta, this score is already useful, indicating your overall state based on activity levels, stress levels, vital signs, and sleep performance.

In my experience, the app was quite accurate in assessing how I felt both physically and mentally throughout the day. The categories range from Excellent and Good to Improvable.

After calculating your score, the AI model provides insights, exercise suggestions, and indicators for areas of improvement. The last part can be less user-friendly, as it lists various metrics that need improvement. However, you can slide to the right to get a more detailed view of these metrics. This feature is especially helpful if you are focused on improving specific areas of your health.

Sleep analysis

The sleep analysis provided by this smart ring is one of the most advanced readings I have ever tested in a wearable. Above all, it is the most comfortable gadget I have ever used for sleep, which is largely due to its form factor rather than the device itself.

In the app, we can see a comprehensive breakdown of various health parameters from the sleep analysis. For instance, the data includes heart rate, HRV (heart rate variability), SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation), respiratory rate, and skin temperature. Additionally, it offers detailed insights into sleep quality, sleep stages, and overall sleep efficiency. These metrics collectively paint a thorough picture of your nightly rest and overall health.

One major benefit of this detailed data is its ability to highlight patterns and trends in your sleep. For example, consistent monitoring of your heart rate and HRV can help you understand how well your body recovers overnight, while SpO2 levels provide crucial information about your breathing quality during sleep.

Tracking sleep stages and efficiency can pinpoint issues like insufficient deep sleep or frequent awakenings, allowing you to adjust your habits or environment for better rest. This holistic approach lets us make informed decisions about our lifestyle. For example, it was interesting for me to compare the changes in temperature while I slept and the quality of my sleep.

Using my reference device to compare the REM and deep sleep values, I found that the RingConn is consistently a bit more generous. For instance, on June 25, the smart ring showed 2 hours and 27 minutes of REM sleep and 1 hour and 35 minutes of deep sleep, while the Apple Watch Series 9 recorded 1 hour and 22 minutes for REM sleep and only 13 minutes for deep sleep (yes, it was a bad night for me). However, it's not always the case.

It was intriguing to see how the HRV stats from the smart ring and the smartwatch can differ. In this case, the Apple Watch gave higher readings. I think this is because measuring heart rate variability requires being still, which is harder for a device on your finger. A wrist-worn device is more stable. That's why the RingConn smart ring records HRV mostly at night when we're almost motionless.

Activity metrics

As part of the wellness approach, the RingConn smart ring provides a detailed analysis of your daily activity. On June 24th, I managed to achieve an activity score of 98, with 119 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activities and 540 active calories burned.

The app's visual breakdown of calorie expenditure between basal metabolism and active calories helps to understand energy use. With 14 hours of standing and 171 minutes of movement, it’s evident that I stayed active throughout the day.

The app categorized my activity intensity and compared it to the previous week, highlighting progress and encouraging consistent activity levels. This monitoring lets us make fitness plans that meet our needs, for example.

Stress, Vital Signs, and More

Finally, the RingConn Smart Ring extends beyond sleep monitoring and activity tracking to include stress levels, vital signs, period forecasts, and overall trends.

On June 26th, my stress level averaged a score of 47, which is considered normal. The app breaks down our stress index throughout the day, allowing us to identify periods of higher stress and potentially adjust activities or practices to mitigate these peaks, helping to recognize and manage stressors proactively.

In addition to stress, the RingConn also tracks vital signs. From the average heart rate to the resting heart rate, it's possible to connect the dots and understand how good our cardiovascular health might be. The app also predicts menstruation cycles, helping in planning and managing health-related activities around this period. It even lets you add factors like alcohol or medication that might impact the menstrual cycle analysis.

Finally, the trends section consolidates key metrics like sleep, stress, activity, and vital signs, providing a comprehensive view of our health over the past week. This holistic insight allows us to spot patterns, set goals, and make informed decisions about our health—and why not, lifestyle.

Charging and Battery Life

The RingConn Smart Ring offers an impressive seven days of battery life on a single charge, even with all sensors active. This extended battery life ensures continuous health and wellness tracking without frequent recharging. Additionally, a full charge from 0 to 100% takes about 87 minutes, making it convenient to quickly power up the smart ring and return to your daily routine .

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Pros:

• Impressive 7-day battery life.
• Ingenious travel charging case.

Cons:

• -

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Moreover, the RingConn Smart Ring provides an ingenious charging experience with its convenient travel case. This case can hold up to 150 days' worth of charges, alleviating any worries during extended trips.

• Also interesting: The smartwatch charger dilemma: Is standardization feasible?

This feature is particularly valuable for those frequently on the go, as it minimizes the hassle of finding charging points and ensures the ring remains functional throughout the entire journey. The compact size of the charging case, resembling an earbuds case, fits even in a small fanny pack.

According to the RingConn research team, to maintain the ring's battery longevity, avoid leaving the device uncharged for extended periods. When not in use, place it in the case, but disconnected from an energy source.

RingConn Smart Ring

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