Note: This review was first published on 24 June 2024.
Ah smart rings, the evolution of smart wearables that was bound to happen. Now, I know you’re going to say these things aren’t new, and the current market leader, the Oura Ring, is already into its third generation. However, I’d counter that it’s still a nascent, untapped product category that hasn’t gotten mainstream attention. Only recently did Samsung announce they were developing a smart ring, then Honor followed suit, and then the Apple rumour mill swung into action. And suddenly, we may be on the cusp of having a whole new must-have tech gadget by next Christmas.
I decided to get ahead of the curve (pun intended) and test out one of the latest smart rings you can actually buy, the RingConn, coming full circle (haha) since encountering the Mota Doi way back at CES Asia 2015. Would you believe that it’s been nearly ten years since I first set eyes on the smart ring concept to testing one for my very first smart ring review?
The TL;DR version:
If all you need is health tracking, the RingConn Smart Ring provides a compelling argument over a smartwatch with advanced sensors, insights and incredible battery life.
Note: You can get the RingConn Smart Ring in Singapore from the authorised distributor at weareready.sg, Lazada, and Shopee.
The RingConn is classy, stealthy and incredibly lightweight. Sensor lights are not overly bright and distracting.
As it turned out, RingConn exhibited at CES 2024, but far from being just another concept, it's a finished product that can be bought in Singapore right now. One of the key propositions was the fact that the RingConn does not require a subscription, unlike the Oura Ring. This intrigued me as I am not a fan of features locked behind a paywall. If you’ve followed my smartwatch reviews in the past, you’d know I often rag on Fitbit Premium for this.
In a month of wearing the RingConn, I must say that I’m more impressed than not. If this is where smart rings have evolved to, then I’m quite happy to eventually ditch the smartwatch altogether.
Design
But I digress, let’s loop back to the beginning. The RingConn is as smart a device, as it is smart looking. Made of titanium with a PVD coating, it is both classy as well as scratch resistant. It is incredibly lightweight too, at just 3g-5g (depending on size). It is IP68 rated on paper, but I’ve put it through the ringer by exposing the RingConn to water, soap, creams, food, and the occasional diaper poop explosion (oh, the joys of fatherhood) with no ill effects thus far.
The titanium shell with PVD coating gives the RingConn a premium matte finish.
I've worn the RingConn anywhere you can think of and exposed it to the elements, dirt, food, soap...you name it. It has survived.
This may well set the benchmark for future smart ring tests as unlike a smartwatch, I really don’t expect to remove the ring every time I get my fingers dirty, especially something this small that has a high chance of getting lost outdoors. I expect it to be a 24/7, wear-and-forget affair, and to this end, the RingConn succeeded remarkably well.
The RingConn comes in standard ring sizes 6 to 14; they even sent me a helpful sizing kit to choose the right size. But I must caution that because of the protruding sensors, I found that I was torn between one size too tight and one size too loose. Wearing my usual ring size meant that I keenly felt the sensor bumps, which can be uncomfortable at times. Wearing one size larger meant that the ring now had enough room to rotate around my finger freely. While it's not lose enough to fall off, I’m constantly wondering if data accuracy is impacted when looking at my stats.
I found myself between ring sizes. It was either slightly too tight, where I would feel the bumps.
Or it was loose enough that the ring would freely turn around on my finger so the sensors were no longer in their "optimal" locations.
According to RingConn, the smart ring should be worn with the sensors at the bottom of the finger for the most accurate readings. Of course, since everyone’s fingers are different, you may or may not encounter the same issue as me. Plus, we all have 10 fingers to choose from.
Features and App Experience
The RingConn is surprisingly feature-rich for something this small. It has four optical PPG sensors (green and red), four temperature sensors, and a 3D accelerometer. It tracks heart rate, SpO2, stress (through heart rate variability), sleep, skin temperature, respiratory rate, activity (steps, exercise, calories burned), and even menstrual cycle prediction (through skin temperature variation).
Basically, the RingConn can go toe to toe with just about any smartwatch or activity tracker I’ve tested, and then some. For example, even some of the latest flagship smartwatches like the Oppo Watch X do not feature a temperature sensor or female health tracking, and RingConn’s app is so much more insightful compared to Xiaomi and Oppo’s bare minimum apps. It even has widget support to display your stats at-a-glance, although I’ve had to manually refresh the app to get the latest stats to show up from time to time.
The RingConn app gives you all the charts you'd want for sleep, stress, heart rate and activity, just like any accomplished smartwatch.
Some advanced features include nap detection during the day and skin temperature-based period predictions.
The RingConn app can connect and share data with both Apple Health and Google Fit. Hopefully, more app integrations are offered in future updates.
As mentioned at the beginning, you get access to all the advance analytics for free. While it doesn’t gamify your activity and sleep scores like Fitbit and Samsung, it does provide personalised health breakdown, insights and recommendations. RingConn does something it calls Wellness Balance, that charts all available metrics into a daily health report. Wear the RingConn longer than a week, and you’ll start getting weekly trends analysis too.
There are no Sleep Animals like some smartwatch brands, but RingConn does offer progress badges and progress sharing with family and friends.
What I loved most about the RingConn app is how it lists key activity triggers in chronological journal-like entries such as reaching my daily step goal, when I took a nap, or when I was stressed. You can add manual entries too. The way information is presented here feels very personal, and I read each day like a health diary.
Wellness Balance report and a very intuitive health journal.
All these features, and you still get a full 7-day battery life. And get this, because the ring is so small, the 500mAh charging case that comes with it can recharge the ring 18 times over. If you deplete the ring completely, it takes about 90 minutes to fully recharge, but I've settled on a routine where I pop the ring in the case when I shower for a quick top up, and it's been going for the entire month now. This is the first gadget I have ever tested in my entire career as a tech journalist that I have not had to plug in a cable after a month of 24/7 use.
Caveat and Conclusion
Now, before you ditch your smartwatch and go running out to get a smart ring, I do have to set some expectations. If you actually want the full smartwatch experience with apps, notifications, contactless payment, or real-time sports tracking, then the RingConn isn’t for you. The RingConn has no display, on-device controls or haptic feedback whatsoever. And while it can track activity, it has no GPS either so it must rely on location data while being tethered to your phone. It has very limited exercise modes, though RingConn does seem to be adding new modes with firmware updates. You’ll get serviceable stats for a casual run or bike ride, similar to starting a run from Strava, but power users will still benefit from a proper sports tracker.
Exercise tracking is listed as "Beta", though in the time I've used the ring, there have been firmware updates that added new modes. Without GPS, location data requires an active connection with your phone.
Lastly, for S$419, the RingConn doesn’t come cheap. You can get an advanced wearable like the Huawei Watch GT 4 from just S$250 or a full Wear OS smartwatch like the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro for under S$300 these days. However, if you’ve ever had a smartwatch and hardly use any of the apps or functions because you have your phone with you all the time anyway, then the RingConn provides a compelling argument for smart rings as a dedicated health tracker that’s lightweight, unobtrusive and frees up your wrist to wear standard watches again. Bonus, it works on both iOS and Android.
The RingConn Smart Ring is available online through weareready.sg, Lazada, and Shopee. You can also get it in person at the following Singtel Shops at 313@Somerset, Tampines Mall, and Causeway Point.
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