Elegant Wearables: Where Fashion Meets Function

The Best Smart Rings, Tested and Reviewed

A svelte smart ring can track important health metrics and doesn’t need to be charged every day. By Simon Hill, Adrienne So

Smart rings slip easily onto your finger to track your activity, health, and sleep—forget smartwatches and fitness trackers. No distracting screens, no huge watch banging you on the face while you sleep, and considerably less charging time make smart rings a smoother, more elegant way to keep tabs on your body with data regularly offloaded to your smartphone.

Once the preserve of wealthy wellness fans, smart rings are becoming more affordable. Finnish pioneer Oura is under pressure from upstarts like Ultrahuman, established fitness-tracking brands like Amazfit, and even tech giants like Samsung. We expect to see more entrants in the coming months, but for now, these are the best smart rings you can buy.

What You Need to Know

When buying a smart ring, there are several things to consider. Size is a key factor, as some smart rings come in standard sizes, but there is some variation, and half sizes are rare. Most manufacturers will send you a free sizing kit, enabling you to wear a dummy ring for 24 hours to ensure you get the right fit. It’s essential to choose a ring that is snug to enable the sensors to measure accurately, and it will work best on your index finger (though the middle or ring finger can work).

The finish of the ring is also important. All the smart rings we tested combined tough titanium with a sensor array on the inside, but the coatings and colors vary. If you are hard on rings, a silver or gold finish will likely suit you best, as there is less risk of damage.

Care and Charging

If you want to avoid damage, you should remove your ring when working with tools, weight lifting, washing pots and pans, or even cleaning the sink. Smart rings are water resistant, so you can swim or shower without taking them off. Charging times vary, but you should avoid letting the battery run down completely, or you run the risk of losing data.

Features

Most smart rings will track your sleep, heart rate, and temperature. If you want to keep an eye on your sleep and health unobtrusively and comfortably, smart rings are ideal. Fitness tracking varies, with most smart rings offering basic step counts and movement, some offering manual workout tracking, and only the Oura and Galaxy Ring offering automatic workout recognition.

Smart Rings or Smart Watches?

In the past few years, we’ve fielded many questions about why someone would get a smart ring instead of, or in addition to, a regular fitness tracker. Better battery life, sleep tracking, cycle tracking, and fashion are just a few reasons why you might consider a smart ring.

Best Smart Ring Picks

We have been wearing smart rings continuously for several years, so we have a good handle on what makes a smart ring worth buying. Here are our top picks:

Best Overall: Oura Ring 4 (9/10, Tower-Post Recommends)

Best Ring Without a Subscription: Ultrahuman Ring Air (7/10, Tower-Post Recommends)

Best Budget Smart Ring: RingConn Gen 2 Air (no subscription)

Best Smart Ring for Samsung Owners: Samsung Galaxy Ring (7/10, Tower-Post Recommends)

Honorable Mentions

We have tested several other entrants to this nascent category, some good, some bad, and some in between. Here’s the lowdown on some of your smart ring alternatives:

The Movano Evie Ring is a relatively affordable, subscription-free smart ring that has a blood oxygen sensor and can track periods. However, its features are underbaked compared to its competitors. The RingConn Gen 2 is a relatively affordable, subscription-free smart ring that has improved sleep tracking and battery life, but workout tracking is still a major weakness. The Luna Smart Ring is a new titanium smart ring with five days of battery life that purports to offer many new AI features, but it would not stay connected to the app and has accuracy issues. The Amazfit Helio Ring is badly out of shape, with inaccurate heart rate measurements and limited sizes.

The Verdict

Smart rings are a convenient and elegant way to track your health and activity, and they’re becoming more affordable. When choosing a smart ring, consider size, finish, care, and charging. Our top picks are the Oura Ring 4, Ultrahuman Ring Air, RingConn Gen 2 Air, and Samsung Galaxy Ring.