Summary
- Smart rings are the latest wearable trend, offering functionality in a comfortable and stylish package.
- Smaller brands like RingConn are leading the way in popularizing smart rings, with unique features like sleep apnea monitoring.
- The RingConn Gen 2 boasts impressive upgrades like thinner design, longer battery life, and multiple fitness-tracking features at a competitive price.
Smart rings are all the rage this year, and rightfully so. We haven’t had a new category of wearables that has the potential to go mainstream in a while. Offering most of the functionality of a fitness tracker in a good-looking package that is more comfortable than a smartwatch was bound to be a hit.
Beating Samsung at its own game
While Samsung’s new Galaxy Ring might be the most popular offering in the market today, most of the work in popularizing smart rings was done by smaller brands such as Oura, Ultrahuman, RingConn, etc. Now approaching maturity, manufacturers are already looking at ways to differentiate their smart rings. RingConn’s latest does something that very few wearables today can — sleep apnea monitoring. The other popular product to offer this functionality is the Samsung Galaxy Watch.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep-related disorders, where a person’s breathing temporarily stops due to the narrowing or closing of the airway. Related to complications such as hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and depression, it is estimated that close to a billion people suffer from OSA today. Needless to say, this ailment deserves more attention.
The RingConn Gen 2 is the world’s first smart ring with sleep apnea detection capability and claims over 90% accuracy. The company suggests that a ring form factor is more suited for the cause as fingers have more capillaries than wrists, and rings move around lesser than than a watch. It expects to receive FDA clearance for OSA monitoring soon.
Upgrades galore
Other specifications of the RingConn Smart Ring Gen 2 are no slouch either. Compared to the original RIngConn Smart Ring, the new one is thinner at lighter, starting at 2mm and 2 grams. At that thickness and weight, it beats most smart rings available today. The battery life gets a boost as well, going from less than a week to 10–12 days on a single charge. The charging case will offer over 150 days of total battery backup.
Compatible with both Android and iOS, the RingConn Gen 2 IP68 ingress protection, with 100 ATM water resistance. It comes with a host of fitness-tracking features such as sleep analysis, exercise tracking, stress monitoring, continuous heart rate and blood oxygen tracking, and menstrual cycle predictions.
Available on Kickstarter starting in August, the second-generation RingConn Smart Ring is priced competitively at $179 — no subscriptions needed. Color options include black, silver, and gray. The company tells Android Police that its predecessor will not be discontinued and is likely to be permanently discounted in the near future.
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