The Smart Ring: the next leap in wearable technology?

It’s relatively under the radar… but it could be the next big hit

Circa 2014.  At the start of the year there were rumors that Apple was developing something big.  Something that hadn’t been developed yet. Something as revolutionary as the phone.  A technology of convenience that would keep phones at the pockets. And many competitive announcements later, Apple came up with the smartwatch, something that was already in the market, but was boosted by the Apple name.

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Circa 2014.  At the start of the year there were rumors that Apple was developing something big.  Something that hadn’t been developed yet. Something as revolutionary as the phone.  A technology of convenience that would keep phones at the pockets. And many competitive announcements later, Apple came up with the smartwatch, something that was already in the market, but was boosted by the Apple name.

The Apple Watch and the other smartwatches are still evolving, and many still haven’t adopted them, but the smartwatch popularized if not first introduced the concept of Wearable Technology.  An Internet of Things concept attached to the daily objects worn on the body. By today there are already smart shirts, smart shoes, smart glasses (though Google Glass predated the Apple Watch and ultimately failed) and smart jewelry.

Of those wearables, one held promise.  Unlike smart clothing that tracked steps, calories burned and other health related functions, the function of this wearable grew varied.   Perhaps not as popular now as the smartwatch, this wearable has grown a niche market for itself.

The smart ring.   

Its a convenient article of technology.  You wear it on your finger and promptly forget it until the time you need to use it.   It is secure because it is close to your body, your finger in fact. And because of its similarity to proximity to the smartwatch, many have brainstormed on the unique functions that the smart ring could adopt.   Many tried, but many more companies closed.

Still, there are notable attempts at the smart ring that succeeded and currently stand out in a niche market:

Video courtesy of OURA

The Oura Ring

Most of these smart rings find difficulty in funding, due to the character of their exposure and hence their popularity.   So they turn to crowdfunding, where the money comes from patrons who become interested in the technology and often promised the product in return for their investment.

One such crowdfunding success is the Oura Ring.   Similar to the usual health function as the other wearables, this ring offers accurate sleep data.   Unlike other smart rings that do multiple things, the Oura focuses primarily on sleep and nothing else.   Eventually though they began to introduce other functionalities but the core of the function remained sleep.

And how well have they performed this function?  To many reviewers, the Oura Ring stands out in accuracy of sleep data compared to the other wearables, even similar smart rings.   The company that provides the Oura prides itself with it’s superior measuring capabilities, and when the next generation of their smart ring was released, it was to merely improve the existing function.

UPDATE 2024: I have the tried the first Gen Oura and the second Gen Oura. At first, the Oura was only intended for the iOS but eventually an Android app was provided. The 1st Gen was bulky on the finger, and while it did not have more detailed specs as the current Gen 3 Oura, it did have the accurate metrics we see today: Readiness, Activity and Sleep. It was in Sleep that I focused on, measuring how much Deep Sleep I had and when I entered into REM sleep (a later REM time would explain my drowsiness). The one downside to the first Generation Oura was the problem with the connection. I had to connect and reconnect several times. Another problem was the battery life. I had to constantly charge it, or it would not be able to retain the data.

When I lost the ring (not lost; it was broken when I dropped it), I acquired the Gen 2 smart ring. It was a big improvement on the first Gen (longer battery life, although if you let a few days to pass you would miss the data of those last few days). It also helped that apart from the three metrics, there were additional interpretations of measurements, like apparent problems in your Health due to low Readiness, which was affected by lower Sleep. Connection was still a problem, but not by much. Finally, it was water proof, so I could carry it even while I took a bath. It was still fragile; when a node/bump cracked when it fell, it no longer functioned.

I was thinking about getting the 3rd Gen, as it had been a few years since I first used the 2nd Gen. But what put me off was having to pay a monthly subscription apart from the already steep price I had to pay before. From experience, though, the Oura does deliver, so if you are willing to fork up the extra dollar, you can give it a try.

You can get the Oura Ring through this link.

Motiv

The more popular–in fact, the most well known–smart ring in the market is the Motiv.  It adopts the functions of the usual wearables and focus on health. The Motiv often compares with the Fitbit, and in fact the ring was once called “Fitbit on your finger.” It tracks steps, heart rate, and competes with Oura to track sleep.   In the latest iteration they even expanded usage to security access, and accredited themselves with FIDO.

It falls short of its goals in measuring sleep, and many have compared the accuracy of its tracker with other non-ring wearables.   Still, it remains the most popular smart ring that promises the convenience of not being burdened by health sensors on the wrist or on the phone, and is listed in popularity among the likes of Fitbit and the Apple Watch.

You can go to the Motiv website in this link here

Or you can get a Motiv Ring from Amazon here

Orii

A relatively new (by that I mean three years ago) smart ring to capture the interest of the crowdfunding public, the Orii was plagued by delays and problems in development, but delivered in what it promised.

By all intents and purposes it has the same function as the Bluetooth earbud or headphone (and can even be classified as a hearable) but is more nuanced in it’s execution.  The function is innovative: using bone conduction technology, it allowed the user to take and make calls by placing the finger on the ear and in a particular position can discreetly answer a call.

It worked, because it was different from the usual health tracking done by other wearables and smart rings.  It was unique at its time, because it also allowed the user to access the AI of their choice–Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant with the literal press of a button.  It sold itself as a technology of discretion and it succeeded.

Update 2024: This was the second smart ring I was able to try. I got it from Indiegogo, and although the first ring was stolen, I was able to acquire another though grayer unit. The app connection was a swing and a miss, although when it finally worked I was able to enjoy the full functionality. The first basic function I tried was call. When a call came, I would tap twice on my temple (it took a lot of estimation where the bone conduction; I ended up folding my ear and pressing down) and receive it. The sound was decent, but compared to ear buds there was still a lot to go. I tried using music, but keeping your finger pressed to your ear/temple while receiving low sound didn’t make sense. Neither was messaging, as either the voice that dictated the messages did not pause or it stumbled on my language (which was not supported).

Still, the Orii is still in my drawer, a novel concept, but one that did not sustain its purpose.

I received the Orii via the crowfunding site Indiegogo, and it has a website, but the product purchase is missing.

Video courtesy of Xenxo Official

Xenxo S-Ring

Introduced a year ago, the Xenxo began its life as a simple security wearable.   A wearer who feels in danger can press a small button in the ring which would send out an SOS signal to loved ones.   But then, as one of the creators explained, they thought what else they could put in the ring. Why stop there?

If not the first, at least one of the first, the Xenxo was a multifunctional smart ring.   They adopted the taking and receiving calls function of Orii, the health tracking of the Motiv.   They even adopted functions of other lesser known smart rings. NFC storage. Payments. Security access.

The Xenxo is not the best case of a multifunctional ring.   It added features that were not related to its core function.  Neither were these functions interlinked with each other except as features of the ring.   But the value of the Xenxo was as a proof-of-concept. It was possible to make a ring that performs more than the primary function.   That, unlike the Motiv, Oura and even the Orii, whose AI connectivity felt tacked on, the Xenxo nearly emulated the multifunctional processes like the smartwatch, or even the smartphone.

You can get a Xenxo S-Ring in their Indiegogo page here: LINK

Video courtesy of Lazy Co.

The evolution of the smart ring: Aina

A few weeks ago, an exciting new technology was introduced in the crowdfunding Kickstarter: the AI ring.  This was not the AI that gets accessed from the phone and perform functions available from the phone AI. This was an AI native to the ring, that performs functions less like the AI on the phone and more like a full blown that is connected to the Internet of Things.

It adopted the same multifunctional character of the Xenxo, except now it was centrally integrated in the AI.  At the core of it is an AI that gradually acquires enough information to predict the proper action to make given a preset set of conditions, like connecting to the Coffee maker when it’s morning, or prompt for action whether to call an Uber on a given time.

The development of this ring is a great stride in wearable technology, particularly smart ring technology, that rely on passive sensor technology.   It is like wearing Alexa on your finger. The potential of this technology is endless.

UPDATE 2024: I was excited when I first ordered the Aina on Kickstarter. Sadly, though, manufacturing problems and delays forced its cancellation, and I had to refund my order.

The future of smart ring technology

If we look at the evolution of the smart ring from the vantage point of 2019, we could say that the AI ring is the peak of wearable capability, particularly of the smart ring.   But hindsight is limited by our time. For one, AI has been present for a long time in IoT devices like refrigerators even before the beginning of the maturity of wearable technology.

And can we say that wearable technology has truly matured?  We can call the recent leaps in advancement as the first step, a great stride since the day of unifunctional health-wise purpose.   But we are in the early years of this and other wearable technology.

Although, if this is how it begins, I can’t wait to know what happens next.

Update: since 2019, the wearable market has seen its share of ups and downs. Motiv, for example, was bought out by a security company and has stopped its production of its main consumer product.

But two smart rings are worthy of note that have been introduced in late 2019 and early 2020:

Amazon Echo Loop

We have already seen the Aina Ring introduce an AI ring designed specifically for the ring and not to access AI connected to the phone, for example. Amazon, the giant behind Alexa, has entered the wearable market with not one but several wearables.

One of them is the Echo Loop, which is basically Alexa in the smart ring. While this completely changes the AI ring dynamic, the ring itself is still available by invitation only. If you feel like trying your hand on one of these rings, check it out HERE

Circular Smart Ring

Similar to the Xenxo, but the focus is more on the fitness side than the security one. The Circular Smart Ring fills in the void that Motiv has left, packing sensors for vitals, heart rate, blood pressure and more.

It’s a more comprehensive health assistant than the Motiv, and though the name is not qui

You can order the ring while it’s still available in Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Also check out its website HERE

UPDATE 2024: In January of this year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring during its Unpacked event. While it might not be revolutionary, it will invigorate the smart ring market dominated by the expensive but gold standard Oura. And who knows? Maybe Google and/or Apple might follow suit, like Apple did with its Watch. No, there’s nothing to say yet about it, but there is some optimistic anticipation

Watch this space.