Rings have traditionally been the symbol of union. It represents everlasting love and a vow between two people. In wedding promises, it is stated that “in sickness and in health,” Well, in this article, we are going to talk about a ring that is a comprehensive suite of health, the Smart rings. In this era, rings don’t simply mean everlasting love between married couples but have different symbolisms between the people who exchange them. Right now, let’s dive in-depth into the world of the top smart rings.
What is a Smart Ring?
A smart ring is a compact wearable electronic device with sensors and NFC chips, primarily designed to track daily activities and support mobile devices. Unlike smartwatches and fitness bands, smart rings offer a convenient alternative. However, their applications extend beyond basic step tracking and smartphone extensions.
What does a smart ring do?
Smart ring devices have many applications, with health and fitness being the most prevalent in today’s market. However, they also serve practical purposes such as digital payments, online security, and access control. As the smart ring market continues to evolve, we expect to see a proliferation of additional use cases.
This section will explore several typical practical applications of smart rings. It’s worth noting that many smart rings offer multiple functionalities. For example, a single smart ring may track your sleep patterns and daily activities. Other smart rings provide these features and additional capabilities, such as contactless payments and online security.
Sleep Monitoring:
Smart rings designed for sleep tracking, such as the Sleep Tracking Ring by Motiv, monitor various aspects of sleep patterns, including duration, disturbances, and sleep cycles. By analyzing this data, these devices can provide insights and recommendations to help users regulate their sleep patterns according to their circadian rhythms, the body’s natural 24-hour clock.
Smart rings have become famous for sleep monitoring due to their minimalistic and non-intrusive design compared to other sleep-tracking wearables like smartwatches or wrist-worn fitness bands. Several brands offer smart rings in this category, including GO2SLEEP, Oura, Motiv, and THIM.
Fitness Tracking
Fitness tracking is a prevalent feature found in many intelligent ring devices. These rings can monitor daily activities such as step count, distance walking, and calories burned throughout the day.
Health & Wellness Monitoring
Numerous smart rings shine in the domain of health and wellness management. Leveraging advanced technology, these rings can monitor diverse health metrics, including blood oxygen levels (SpO2), blood pressure, glucose levels, and more.
Furthermore, specific smart rings are equipped to assess a user’s stress levels through electrodermal activity (EDA), a method similar to that used in lie detector tests to evaluate emotions and cognitive responses via skin reactions. The Moodmetric Ring, for example, offers this functionality, aiding users in stress management.
Contactless Payment Solutions
The smart ring market has seen a rise in contactless payment solutions, led by products like McLEAR and K Ring. These rings allow users to make tap-to-pay transactions below the local floor limit on Visa and MasterCard contactless payment terminals worldwide.
Several banks in regions such as the U.K., Japan, France, Netherlands, Russia, and Australia now offer contactless payment rings to their customers. These rings facilitate credit and debit payments on Visa- and Mastercard-enabled payment terminals without needing a smartphone or bank account number. Users must hover the bright ring over a point of sale (POS) terminal to complete the transaction.
Enhanced Online Security
The emergence of online security features in smart rings is a significant development. For example, the Motiv Ring incorporates two-factor authentication (2FA) for web logins through its app and preset gesture controls. An evolving feature in smart rings is biometric authentication, offering a more secure online navigation method than traditional passwords and PINs. Motiv is conducting beta tests for fingerprint scanning and facial recognition as authentication methods.
Biometric authentication methods are developed based on a user’s electrocardiogram (ECG) and gait or walking pattern. ECG-based authentication, like face recognition and fingerprint scanning, provides enhanced security against hacking, identity theft, phishing attempts, and other cyber threats.
Remote Control
Many smart rings offer features enabling you to control your smartphone and other compatible devices remotely. Whether setting alarms, receiving messages or call alerts, or managing music playback, smart rings are convenient tools to reduce screen time and enhance productivity.
Smart Key
Smart rings like the Token Ring can function as contactless keys. Equipped with an optical sensor, the Token Ring allows users to unlock doors to their home, car, or office without needing traditional physical keys, access cards, or badges. Removing the smart ring from your finger automatically locks the door or restricts access, providing a robust security system to safeguard your home, car, office, gym, or other connected spaces. These rings are matched with HID SEOS digital access systems.
Transit Pass
Numerous NFC smart rings are designed to quicken travel passes or tickets for public transportation, allowing users to tap to pay at card reader terminals located at transit gates. These smart rings operate as stored-value cards (SVC), enabling users to access their travel funds without needing third-party support from credit or debit accounts or a network connection. For instance, K Ring facilitates this service.
How Does a Smart Ring Work?
Understanding the inner workings of smart rings reveals a fascinating blend of technology compressed into a remarkably compact design. Behind the sleek exterior lie several key components, each contributing to the ring’s functionality. These components typically include an NFC chip, sensors, a Bluetooth chip, a battery, a microcontroller, and a light indicator.
NFC (Near Field Communication)
NFC technology enables wireless communication over short distances using magnetic field induction. Devices equipped with NFC can communicate by being brought within a few centimeters of each other or by physical contact. This feature ensures secure transactions, making NFC a widely adopted technology in smartphones, laptops, transport cards, access cards, POS terminals, and digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Sensors
Smart rings integrate various sensors to monitor parameters based on their intended functionalities. These sensors might consist of a heart rate monitor (usually infrared or optical), a 3-axis accelerometer for monitoring activities like walking, running, and sleeping, a gyroscope for detecting movement and balance, an EDA sensor for tracking emotions and stress levels, and cognitive responses. Additionally, there’s a SpO2 sensor for glucose and measuring levels for blood, and an NTC thermistor for monitoring body temperature.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth technology lets Smart Rings synchronize sensor data with a companion smartphone app. This synchronization allows smart ring brands to present reports and recommendations in a user-friendly format. While some smart rings provide raw data recorded by the sensors, others analyze the data to offer personalized recommendations to users.
Smart Ring Advantages and Disadvantages:
While smart rings offer a range of benefits, they also come with their own set of drawbacks. Here’s a breakdown of their advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
Functionalities: Smart rings may not offer the same extensive functionalities as smartwatches, but their usefulness depends on individual needs. They excel at providing continuous daily tracking, making them a comfortable option for users. However, smartwatches may be more suitable for real-time metrics, albeit less convenient for sleeping.
Battery Life: Compared to smartwatches and fitness bands, smart rings consume less power since they lack screens. Despite packing smaller batteries, most smart rings can last 3 to 7 days on a single charge, surpassing the battery life of other wearables.
Mobility: Smart rings are compact, lightweight, and less obtrusive, offering enhanced comfort during wear. Their small size makes them ideal for tasks like contactless payments and fitness tracking, providing a frictionless and intuitive user experience.
Design: Smart rings are discreet and elegantly designed, often made from hypoallergenic clinical plastic. Some models even feature replaceable metallic shells in various colors, catering to diverse aesthetic preferences.
Privacy: Unlike some smartwatches that may inadvertently disclose information through audible alerts or on-screen displays, smart rings offer greater privacy and discretion.
Disadvantages:
Cost: High-capability smart rings can be expensive due to design challenges. For example, the Motiv and Oura rings can cost $200 and $300, respectively. However, basic-functionality smart rings like the McLEAR contactless payment ring or NFC Ring are more budget-friendly, priced at $90 and $18, respectively.
Bulkiness: While some smart rings are sleek and slender, others may have a bulky design. However, smart ring companies typically provide sizing kits to ensure users get the correct fit.
Smart rings offer convenient functionalities and enhanced privacy, their cost and design variations may influence users’ preferences and purchasing decisions.
The Top Smart Rings:
Finding the ideal smart ring depends on your specific needs and preferences. Currently, there’s a diverse array of options available across various categories. Amazon offers several NFC smart rings, and branded smart rings are gaining popularity. Here are some notable choices:
Oura Smart Ring
The Oura Ring is a premier sleep-tracking bright ring designed to monitor circadian rhythm and nightly rest. Equipped with sensors that track daily activities, pulse, and body temperature, it provides comprehensive sleep analysis. With a whopping battery life of up to 7 days per charge, the Oura Ring becomes one of the top smart rings available in the market today. It comes in silver, black, and matte black finishes, available in three styles.
The 27/4 Motiv Smart Ring
A top smart rings to choose for the fitness category, featuring a slim and lightweight design. It monitors daily activities and tracks metrics like steps, distance, calories, and both resting and active heart rate. Additionally, it records sleep patterns, including sleep onset and wake times. Doubling as an online security tool for website logins, it’s waterproof up to 50 feet and offers a battery life of up to 72 hours, fully charging in 90 minutes.
Token Ring
The Token Ring is a contender among the top smart rings to buy because it is a prominent choice for digital payments and contactless access. Utilizing an optical sensor, it automatically locks when removed, ensuring secure access and payments. It can store credit card accounts for payment at POS terminals and functions like a digital wallet. Available in brushed silver, black carbon, and rose gold finishes.
ULTRAHUMAN Ring AIR
The ULTRAHUMAN Ring Air is a smart ring that tracks your circadian rhythm, movement, body and sleep data, and glucose levels. It is one of the top smart rings because it is the lightest to wear in the world, with no subscription fees, a sleek design, and a personal coach to help you improve your metabolic health. It is made of titanium with a hypoallergenic coating and comes in a matte black finish. It syncs with the Ultrahuman app to provide you with detailed insights and recommendations.
Try to wear smart rings today!
If you want to keep track of your health and fitness without wearing a bulky smartwatch, you might want to try one of the top smart rings on our list. A smart ring is a small device that fits on your finger and measures things like your sleep, activity, and wellness. There are many smart rings to choose from, but some of the best ones are the Oura Ring, the Ultrahuman Ring Air, the Motiv Smart Ring, and the Token Ring. These are some of the top smart rings that offer accurate tracking, a comfortable design, and useful features.
