The new benchmark for budget smart rings

If you’ve been following consumer tech recently, you’ll know that the conversations around good smart rings have skyrocketed. We’re just halfway through 2024, and it seems like this is the year they gained mainstream popularity.

The interesting thing about this segment is that it’s not particularly new — just that incumbents have been late to the party. So, while the Samsung Galaxy Ring might be the most well-known product in this category, it is far from the only player in the market. RingConn is one of the many others. After launching its first smart ring earlier this year, the company is back with an evolutionary upgrade that has improved everything and then some — the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring.

Price, availability, and specs

The RingConn Gen 2 smart ring is priced at $299, which is $20 more than its predecessor. However, until September 14, the ring will be available on Kickstarter for an early-bird price of $209. Shipping is expected to begin in late September, and will eventually be available on Amazon.

There is no recurring subscription, which is always appreciated. Color options include silver, rose gold, gold, and matte black. The ring is available in sizes 6 to 14, but if you’re unsure about yours, the company can send you a free sizing kit.

What’s good about the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring?

Size 8, no hate

As it currently stands, the RingConn Gen 2 is the thinnest, lightest, and narrowest smart ring (for the smallest size) available, with a thickness of 2mm and a weight between 2 and 3g based on the size. These might not sound like big upgrades, but they help the device feel like a normal ring.

As someone who hadn’t worn rings regularly, I was impressed at how easy it was to forget that I had the RingConn on. The lighter weight also helps keep the ring in place — an occasional problem I faced with the heavier first-generation ring. And I have slender digits, so most smart rings seem quite thick — but not this size 8 option.

For any fitness tracker, comfortably wearing it for days at a length is paramount. That’s the only way to capture the right quantity and quality of data. This aspect is the ring’s biggest win because of its slight form factor, compared to wrist-worn fitness trackers. Think about playing sports or sleeping.

Battery life is another big win on this front. The RingConn Gen 2 can last over ten days on a single charge. That statistic is impressive, but considering that the ring is so much more compact, even more so. The battery size changes with the ring size, so if you get a larger one, you can expect better battery life.

If you’re on the fence about fashion rings, you’ll also be glad to know that the RingConn Gen 2 looks much more like a normal ring or band. I thought the glossy gold finish would look tacky or attract too much attention, but in reality, most people assumed I was just wearing a regular gold ring. I was also surprised by how scratch-resistant this variant is. My older matte silver RingConn smart ring had a ton of scratches from my outdoor activities and workouts, but the new gold colorway has stayed pristine. There’s also upgraded 10ATM/100m and IP68 water resistance.

RingConn has been very careful with its wording for its smart rings, by always calling them health monitoring devices and not fitness trackers. I completely support that as rings are way more suitable for keeping on for hours than a smartwatch. So, while the exercise tracking capabilities are limited, the fact that it will record your bodily functions constantly for over a week at once is the tiebreaker.

The RingConn app, which works with Android and iOS, is well-designed, simple to navigate, and filled with insights. Upon launching, the phone will connect with the ring, download the data, and upload a copy to the cloud. The entire syncing process takes about ten seconds to complete — much faster than the first-gen ring.

The first screen you’ll see is the Insights page, which shows your current overall Wellness Balance calculated based on your level of sleep, activity, stress, and other vital signs like heart rate. You can swipe left or right to check the insights from other days.

You also get the option to start exercise tracking here. It is still in beta for some reason, even after five months. Current options include outdoor running, indoor running, cycling, and walking. Mind you, the ring does not have a built-in GPS, so if you plan on tracking your runs or biking, you’ll need to have your phone on you.

The next page shows trends, weekly reports, progress, aggregated data, and general advice on how to fare better. It doesn’t seem to be personalized, but the suggestions are actionable. If you enjoy geeking out over data, you’ll love this section. The last page on the app is to connect the ring, change settings, and install firmware updates. It’s all straightforward to follow.

The RingConn Gen 2 is the first smart ring with sleep apnea detection (FDA approval pending). A feature also present on the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, it tracks abnormalities in your breathing patterns and monitors instances when breathing stops momentarily. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects over a billion people worldwide and can be an early sign of hypertension, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, etc. Needless to say, it is an important and welcome addition.

Sleep apnea detection is not automatic; it must be manually enabled before sleeping and toggle off after. It probably isn’t natively enabled to conserve battery life as it did consume more power. In my testing, there were no anomalies detected. However, though handy, don’t rely solely on the feature for medical advice.

What’s bad about the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring?

Not much has changed

The RingConn Gen 2’s main issue is its limited exercise tracking functionality. Users are restricted to four basic exercises in total, there’s no automatic detection, and the accuracy is about 90% reliable, as per my understanding. I was quite excited to entirely replace my smartwatch and use just a smart ring for everything, but perhaps that will take a few more years.

While there are some advantages to the ring form factor, such as improved sleep and health monitoring (fingers have more capillaries than wrists), there are also some inherent disadvantages. Being on your finger (ideally, the index finger) means the smart ring will get in the way while performing activities like exercising with dumbbells, playing racket sports, or even doing household chores like using a knife or scrubbing your face. I have become used to doing these tasks with the ring on, but depending on your lifestyle, it might be too big a compromise.

I quite like RingConn’s charging approach: a charging case that can recharge the Gen 2 ring more than ten times over allows for a truly off-the-plug experience. The company claims that it should enable about 150 days of usage. As per my current charging experience extrapolation, that seems believable. But the charging case is very basic. It seems unchanged from the one that shipped with the Gen 1 ring, meaning it’s still flimsy and cheaply built. Considering I use it only about once in ten days, it’s not a big deal.

Should you buy it?

Looking at how the smart ring market has matured over the last few years, the RingConn Gen 2 is an above-average performer with an under-average price. It does many things well — such as sleep tracking, comfort, long battery life, health advice, etc. — it has become an indispensable part of my daily life.

Insight into how your body functions is the first step in improving your overall health. So, any device that helps record the associated data is a useful addition. And this is not just for people who are deep into fitness. An in-depth look into overall wellness can benefit everyone — you might just learn something new.

Yes, smartwatches are more accurate and useful for exercise tracking, but their shortcomings are a smart ring’s advantages. With that in mind, the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring gets a recommendation from me.