Smart Rings are suddenly making their presence felt in the world of wearable tech. Will they ever present a challenge to the evolving ecosystem of smart watches?
By Magandeep Singh
When Back to the Future released, it was a hopeful glimpse of what the future could hold for my generation. Alas, the future didn’t live up to expectations. We barely got hoverboards and the cars definitely don’t fly yet. The only consolation we now have is in the form of rudimentary gear which we can wear and feel somewhat integrated into the digital world. It’s an e-leash frankly, but in a connected world, people like to be informed and updated all the friggin’ time.
I can just about imagine how people must have felt about wristwatches when they were first launched. “What do you mean wear time on my hand?”, “Why do you need to know the time all the time?”, “Isn’t that what the clock tower at the townhall is for?” Today, many of us are possibly feeling the same way about connected devices—what’s the need to always be online? Well, I am, at best, a semi-believer in smart gear for the moment, mostly because I love my classic wristwatches too much.
But the arrival of smart rings could certainly tilt me further in this new direction. I’ve done my fair bit of toying in the last few months with watches and rings (both of the smart kind) and here are my takeaways. Admittedly, the data isn’t entirely evenly stacked for a toe-to-toe comparison. Both device formats seem to have their relative advantages for the moment. The biggest issue for me has been that there is no single unifying platform which displays all this scattered data in one consolidated composite manner. Some of my apps migrate data between each other but with the new breed of smart rings, they are yet to be inducted into the hallowed network of the more established fitness apps. Till that happens, the data will always feel disjointed and therefore, incomplete.
As for my daily routine, I wear a Garmin Fenix to sleep and also for my morning fitness activities. Connect and Strava apps, combined with Google Fit, manage to show me a decent snapshot of my general fitness status. Post my morning shower, I switch to a regular classic timepiece, something that simply keeps time and displays it elegantly. If I happen to be trying out a smart ring, then I wear it through the day and maybe even to bed. For the moment though I think the smart rings are still a few generations short of being taken seriously for full-time adoption. It is a good beginning.
Smart Ring
Advantages
- Smallest footprint of smart devices yet. (eg Ultrahuman Ring Air)
- Great for data like steps, HR and especially sleep metrics. (eg Oura ring)
- Can hold battery for a decent period. (Five days of usage on one charge with the Circular Ring).
- Doesn’t look odd as it replaces something that everyone was already wearing.
Disadvantages
- Still bulky for a ring. Need to be slimmer.
- Not detailed enough for serious sports enthusiasts.
- No haptic feedback and this one point make them quite inutile for the moment. Silent vibrating alarms remain sorely missing from 95 per cent of the ring brands.
- Get scratched easily.
- No screen or alternative visual display method.
Smart Watch
Advantages
- Nice big screen to see all the data. (eg Fossil Gen 6)
- Can now even make calls and send messages (like the Apple Watch series 9 LTE).
- Doesn’t look odd as it replaces something that everyone was already wearing.
- Great data for sports people – from HR and blood pressure to detailed metrics like cadence, FTP, (on Garmin Fenix 7 or the new Samsung Galaxy watch Ultra) and much more.
- Seamless integration with other devices like phones and tablets.
Disadvantages
- Needs frequent charging, sometimes more than once a day.
- Not the easiest to text on and calls are subpar at best.
- Don’t expect anyone to complement you on one!
- Can get outdated quickly for a relatively expensive device.
Reproduced with permission from Mansworldindia.com
