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Circular air above humans: After the lawsuit filed by Oura Ring, the Ultrahuman Ring became Air Banned in the United States. That wasn’t the case at the time of my testing, and later we gave it our ‘Best Smart Ring If You Like to Work Out’ award. However, if you own a ring or have purchased one, you can still use it exactly as intended. Ultrahuman is currently working on a new design and plans to launch it as soon as possible.
The Ultrahuman Ring Air debuted in June 2023 and teamed up with Verizon to be the first airline to sell a smart ring. The Light Ring, which costs $349, is available for iOS and Android and uses infrared photoplethysmography, or PPG, sensors to track sleep, recovery, stress levels, caffeine intake, calories burned, steps, and even the reproductive health of those who menstruate (cycle, ovulation, and pregnancy insights). There is no additional subscription fee to use the Ultrahuman Loop, so that’s a plus. Unlike the Oura and Evie Ring, the Ultrahuman Ring Air has a more masculine look and a thicker band. So, if you like more dressy jewelry, this may not be the smart ring for you.
I wasn’t a fan of the app design for this episode because it looks busy, making it difficult to read. Between the app’s dark background and each data tag with a different background color, it’s displayed in a way that has a lot of information to digest at once. Master data tags are not always in the same order. For example, when you open the app, the caffeine tolerance window appears as a line graph at the top, showing the window that says it’s okay to drink caffeine. Immediately after that comes the dynamic recovery data, then sleep and sleep debt, followed by the data on the exposure window as a countdown, and that’s just the first half of the page. The application would probably benefit from a more consistent and simplified approach when displaying all this data. However, someone who loves data might like this, but I think it could be presented in a more understandable way.
I was also reminded that wearables can be inaccurate: When I compared sleep data and other data markers across rings, they were never the same. In some cases, the readings were close, in others they varied greatly.
One feature that caught my attention is this smart ring’s ability to record different types of workouts. Unlike other smart rings I’ve tested, the Ultrahuman Ring Air seems to have a better version of exercise tracking, but it could still use some improvements. I think it could take advantage of the Oura Ring’s automatic motion detection feature, and even take it a step further so that it can accurately detect what type of exercise you’re doing based on your exercise habits. The Ultrahuman Ring Air also lets you create areas that you can share with other friends who own the ring. Zones aims to share your movement statistics for the day as a means of communication. If you own an Ultrahuman M1 Live Glucose Monitoring patch, you can also connect your data to the loop, which can give you a more detailed reading.
I mainly used this ring to record some of my strength training. As I mentioned, the Ultrahuman Loop has a long list of workouts you can choose from to sign up for, ranging from outdoor running, functional strength training, outdoor walking, housework, cross-training, hiking, Pilates and many more. The Ultrahuman Loop data mainly looks at your average heart rate, recovery heart rate, calories burned, and the heart rate zone you are in (zone 1 to 5). This can be useful in some circumstances, such as if you are pregnant and don’t want to overexert yourself or follow your training zone.
At some point, I wanted to see how similar loops were to collecting data while running. I usually use my Apple Watch to record my runs, so I know how to calculate my distance and speed. I compared the results of the Oura and Ultrahuman Ring Air to my Apple Watch, since the Evie Ring can’t record any exercise in real time. Oura and Ultrahuman Ring Air captured similar data (heart rate, speed, distance), but it was surprising to see that while each wearable device provided its own estimates of these factors involved, the Ultrahuman Ring was the most inaccurate.
For example, the Apple Watch recorded a pace of 10 minutes and 25 seconds per mile for 30 minutes, but the Ultrahuman Ring AIR recorded the pace at 17 minutes per mile. This is a huge difference and makes me question its accuracy if I were to rely on it as a wearable device. While the Oura Ring took it at 10:32 minutes/mile, which is closer to the Apple Watch’s reading. If you don’t mind the ring not capturing the finest data when it comes to operation and just want a basic reading, you might not mind the Ultrahuman Ring Air. But if you’re training for races and care about getting accurate metrics, you’re better off using another type of wearable.
As far as sleep tracking goes, I don’t think it recorded my reading as accurately as the Oura Ring. Similar to Oura, Ultrahuman Ring Air uses its own sleep results. The Ultrahuman ring seems to give me a more generous reading than the Oura. With the Oura Ring, I can tell the difference if I’m not well rested. Besides the ease of recording my workout in real-time, I liked that the Ultrahuman Loop provides a caffeine window that’s easy to follow. I’m sensitive to caffeine and usually don’t drink a lot of coffee to begin with, but I referenced Ultrahuman’s recommendations and tried to stick to that window. I’ve noticed when I drink caffeine outside the window, it’s hard for me to calm down.
Like the other rings on this list, the Ultrahuman ring went through a few updates during my testing period, but I didn’t notice anything significant from the data I received.
If you are a fitness enthusiast, you may like the Ultrahuman Ring Air. But before I stop using the smartwatch, I would like to see some improvement in some of its health features.
Evie ring: the Evie ring It is the first smart ring on the market designed with menstruating women in mind to help them track their sleep and other health factors. The ring retails for $269 (the cheapest on this list), is compatible with iOS and Android, and comes in three colors: silver, rose gold, and gold. No subscription is required to use this episode. The design of the ring is also more elegant than the Oura and Ultrahuman rings, but it all depends on your personal preferences. The charging case is ideal because you can take it anywhere, it holds up to 10 additional charges before needing the charging cable and is a good way to store your ring when not in use. It has a battery life of four days, although I think it’s more like three days, similar to the other Rings.
What’s supposed to make Evie unique is that it can automatically track your menstrual cycles, track your sleep, heart rate, exercise, and more. However, unlike Oura or Ultrahuman, where you are provided with suggestions to improve certain aspects of your health based on the data you collect, Evie seems to be lacking in this department. Although it can record your PMS symptoms daily, whether you have a heavy or light flow, exercise or even read sleep data, Evie doesn’t make recommendations based on this information. It works more like a health diary than a wearable piece of technology.
I didn’t find that Evie did anything different to make it stand out from the other two episodes I tested — even with the various software updates it went through. The app itself is basic and easy to follow but lacks design. I’ll give credit that one of the recent updates includes an AI-powered chatbot, which asks you about any health goals you’re considering and makes recommendations based on your answers. I found it to be more general than I would have liked since the ring has to be aware of your habits based on the data it collects. You can easily lie to a chatbot, and that defeats the point of wearing a smart ring that monitors your health habits.
Like the other episodes, I had to record the workout after the fact because it only records certain activities. It also tracks how active you are, your steps, and the calories you burn throughout the day. This is nice, but I can just wear a smartwatch and get the same data. As for the features targeting menstruating women, I didn’t think it was anything revolutionary. I can easily use Apple Health to track when I ovulate or record my menstrual cycle. I would have liked to see Evie take it a step further. For example, skin temperature readings can provide more information than just telling me my average for the night. It left me wanting more since tracking body temperature is how some people can tell they’re ovulating or more fertile — especially if they’re trying to get pregnant.
The Evie has potential, but until you revamp the software and readout functionality, you’re better off getting a different smart ring that’s actually ahead of the curve.