I tested a subscription-free smart ring that rivals Oura – and it’s on sale for the holidays
what’s the deal
The Ultrahuman Ring Air is a competing smart ring that tracks your sleep and fitness, and it’s got a $52 discount on QVC. You can buy this medical device for around $297. We recommend that you jump on this deal quickly as it may end soon.
ZDNET key insights
- The Ultrahuman Ring Air is the brand’s first foray into the smart ring space and is available for $349, no subscription required.
- The ring is great for avid fitness enthusiasts and recreational exercisers who want to use their health data to optimize their wellness routines.
- The app’s user interface could be improved for easier access to daily logging features.
As one of the hottest new smart rings on the market Ultrahuman Ring Air offers features and data collection that go a step further Hooray for individuals who want to optimize their health. I tested one side by side Oura Horizon Ring for the past month, I’ve been wearing both 24/7, documenting everything from my morning coffee to my late-night cocktails. Suffice it to say, the Ultrahuman ring will excite people dialed into their health and fitness.
While Oura seemingly appeals to anyone looking to invest in a smart ringThe Ultrahuman offering, while more specialized, is probably better. If Oura Ring is the girl next door, Ultrahuman Ring Air is the Bitcoin-mining, Soylent-drinking neighbor based in Silicon Valley. But while it will set die-hard fitness enthusiasts on the right path, this ring will also help anyone, even recreational exercisers, optimize their bodies to a tee.
Unlike Oura Ring, which requires a monthly subscription of $6, Ultrahuman Ring Air is free. The Ultrahuman comes in Matte Grey, Matte Black, Silver and Gold. Of all the smart rings I’ve tested, it’s by far the thinnest, most discreet and undemanding. Additionally, the matte gray finish didn’t scratch or smudge even after a month of use, which I can’t say about other smart rings with shiny metal surfaces.
also: We have entered the era of the smart ring. Here’s why it’s going to shake up the wearable market
From the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep, Ultrahuman sends you notifications to make the most of your available energy and body clock. With all this scientific knowledge about my body, I couldn’t help but feel like I was ruining my health—or playing God.
Within an hour of waking up, the Ultrahuman pings me about my “residual adenosine levels.” What about mine? I had to look it up too. Adenosine is a naturally occurring chemical associated with alertness. He tells me to hold off on stimulants like caffeine for about two hours after I wake up to flush adenosine out of my system and increase caffeine’s effect on my energy levels. It also reminds me to expose myself to bright light or exercise during this window if I want an earlier bedtime and wake up time.
I get pings like this during the day. Ultrahuman tells me when my tolerable stimulant window, the window where I can consume caffeine without it disrupting my sleep, is nearing its end. Not only that: Ultrahuman also tells me how much caffeine certain stimulants contain, how long they stay in my system, and whether they exceed my caffeine intake window.
As the day goes on, Ultrahuman pings me to stretch my legs and when would be the ideal bedtime for adequate sleep. All of this is calculated based on my wake times, sleep times, and recovery data.
also: I tried the Samsung Galaxy Ring and it beat the Oura 2 in meaningful ways
The Ultrahuman Ring Air measures heart rate, skin temperature, heart rate variability (HRV) and resting heart rate to collect data for sleep, recovery and movement. It also measures VO2 Max, or how the body uses oxygen during training.
Ultrahuman presents all this data in an easy-to-understand format through the app with scores (and explanations) for the big three: sleep, movement and recovery. For example, when I got a sleep score of 95, it told me that I fell asleep faster and stayed asleep most of the rest time. Along with my high sleep score, I got a recovery score of 90 and the ad told me that my score was in great shape, so “I might want to push your cognitive and physical fitness goals a little more.” On a day when my sleep score was 49 and my recovery score was 64, the app instructed me to go for a long walk and try a “sleep-free deep rest session” during the day.
Other health data such as HRV, VO2 Max and resting heart rate are tracked and daily data is aggregated and displayed via graphs with daily, weekly and monthly trends – represented by green and red indicators. All of these data points come with explanations of what each indicator means about a person’s overall health and shed light on their complexity.
Another health feature that the Ultrahuman ring offers is to record the food it consumes ChatGPT– artificial intelligence – food review. I log the food I eat throughout the day, and its food-optimizing AI provides what it calls cyborg insights — no, really — about how to avoid glucose spikes when I eat certain foods. When I signed up for a bag of potato chips, it told me to pair the chips with cheese or another protein, like a hard-boiled egg, to slow down glucose absorption. He also told me to drink water before and after eating the chips and take a brisk walk after eating them to lower my glycemic response. While I’ve rarely taken this advice, it’s a useful feature for fitness and people looking to optimize their diet and health data.
also: The brilliant new features of the Oura smart ring surpass even its titanium surface
Of course, you can also log your workouts, which is what I often did when training for a half marathon. However, the ring won’t automatically detect that you’re exercising if it logs off. I hope Ultrahuman improves this in future updates. I loved being able to see a map of where I ran, my average heart rate, max heart rate, calories burned, and average pace. Plus, it also showed my training zones, something essential for tracking long runs.
The final feature that makes this ring perfect for exercise lovers is the Discover tab, which offers video classes for everything from Pilates and strength training to HIIT and yoga. There are also podcasts for meditation and soundscapes for falling asleep.
You can wear the ring for about five days before the battery dies. I tested its battery life against that of the Oura by charging it to 100% on a Tuesday afternoon and seeing how long each would last with normal wear and activity. On Sunday morning, the Oura Ring was at 7% and the Ultrahuman Ring Air was at 6%. However, I will note that the Ultrahuman ring is hot to the touch after charging.
also: Oura Ring users can now sync data with Strava – here’s how to turn it on
In the next update of Ultrahuman Ring Air, I would like to see improvements to the app’s user interface. It could take a few notes from the Oura app, which offers sleep, readiness, stamina and activity at the top of the Home tab, which aggregates that data at the bottom. Ultrahuman’s bottom tabs include Home, Metabolism, Zones, Discover, and a bare-bones profile. I’d also like to see a more accessible logging feature where you don’t have to scroll all the way down the app to use it for food, exercise tracking, weight and more.
Shopping advice ZDNET
Who should buy this ring? I can imagine that anyone interested in fitness and health metrics will get a lot of use out of them Ultrahuman Ring Air. And given how often my sleep duration and Ultrahuman sleep and recovery scores mimicked Oura’s results, I wouldn’t be afraid to call it a non-subscription Oura dupe with competitive data and battery life.
In the end, I was impressed with the Ultrahuman Ring Air. It’s exciting to see a new product like this become a competitive fitness smart ring that’s broad enough to capture an audience of dedicated fitness enthusiasts, but with data presentation, health metrics, and AI suggestions that could satisfy the average Joe. as well.
When does this contract expire?
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