The best smartwatches and fitness trackers do an excellent job tracking your health — they wouldn’t be the best if they didn’t. But for those who are looking for even lower profile options, it’s a bit of desert out there right now. The Oura Ring has been popular enough to last three whole generations, but it only provides wearers comprehensive health data with a monthly subscription. California-based Movano Health is looking to flip the script with its new smart ring, designed especially for women.
The Evie is able to monitor heart rate variability, SpO₂, resting heart rate, and skin temperature variability in addition to being able to track ovulation, periods, menstrual symptoms. On top of these stats, the Evie will also provide detailed information on active minutes, steps taken in a day, sleep stages, moods, etc.
Movano Health says it will relay the data in the form of “actionable insights” through a mobile app. These insights, it claims, will enable women to make the necessary lifestyle changes to lower their chance of dealing with chronic diseases.
owever, it won’t be making money in perpetuity off of that data: all of it is included with the sub-$300 purchase price of the Evie smart ring. Compare that with the latest Oura Ring, charging $299 for the ring itself plus $6 a month for the data analysis.
The ring itself is made of polished aluminum and will be available for purchase in three finishes, which were unspecified in the press release. Consumers can buy the Evie smart ring in sizes ranging from 5 to 11, Movano said.
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not cleared Movano’s claims about the Evie smart ring though the company says it is “planning to seek” clearance — if approved, the Evie will become the first medical-grade smart ring in the market.
The ring went through a hypoxia trial in October, returning clinical SpO₂ and heart rate readings in line with FDA accuracy standards. This should allow the manufacturer to market the Evie as a pulse oximeter, giving it a significant advantage over contemporary smart rings and even fitness trackers.
Movano will offer hands-on demonstrations of the Evie smart ring for visitors to CES 2023 in Las Vegas next week. The manufacturer did not provide a precise timeline for the Evie smart ring’s availability, only saying it will be available in mid-2023.
Recent reporting suggests that Google may soon let users control augmented reality glasses using a smart bracelet or ring, so we could be headed to a future where smart rings are more commonplace than you might think.
