RingConn Smart Ring Review
Small, mighty, and getting better each dayDisclaimer: RingConn sent us a unit of the Ring free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.
It has only been a short amount of time since rings became the new “it” thing in the wearable space, but I can definitely see the appeal. For years now, we’ve experienced new products and announcements from smartwatch and fitness tracker makers. As a jewelry piece, rings have always been considered less obtrusive and minimalist compared to its wrist-placed counterparts. But does wearing a smart ring make sense at this current time? This is where the RingConn Smart Ring has entered the chat. Let’s take a closer look.
Retail Price: $279.00
look and feel
There’s a multi-step process when it comes to setting up a smart ring and RingConn makes the experience feel personalized and simple. When you purchase a RingConn Ring, you’re first sent a sizing kit that includes mockups of the Ring in multiple sizes and a sample color palette. It’s recommended you try wearing your preferred sample size for a bit to ensure you’re comfortable with the designated circumference. While my wedding rings are technically a smaller size, I opted to size up my Ring due to its bulkier design and the flexibility to swap the Ring on different fingers when I desired. For women, I also recommend sizing up to account for bloat and that time of the month we all have. After submitting your data, RingConn will then ship out the Ring you configured.
All RingConn Rings are PVD coated regardless of the color variant that you choose. They’re made from titanium and have a non-allergenic and non-metallic inner molding. They’re also IP68 dustproof and waterproof. My version is the Pale Gold color in a Size 9. Included with the Ring is a charging case, charging cable, manual, and a creative poem. The Ring has a matte finish to it that is quite muted in appearance with the exception of the top and bottom edges that have a glossier effect under its design. You will notice and feel the protruding sensors on the inside of the ring which is protected by a clear covering. Sensors include those for heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature and also a 3D accelerometer. Despite the protruding sensors, I found the Ring to be quite comfortable on my finger, albeit a little bulky in appearance. An issue with these first generation smart rings is how huge it looks on a finger in order to accommodate room for the sensors within the device. Sadly, the RingConn is no exception as it succumbs to that same fate. As a woman, I hope future iterations will develop a slimmer band with less noticeable sensors on the inner side. It isn’t uncomfortable to wear, but I’m just not accustomed to wearing thicker bands like this. I have no doubt that RingConn will improve on design as OEMs continue to shrink chips and sensors with evolving technology. While I still do notice the size of the Ring at times, after wearing it for over a month now I can honestly say it doesn’t bother me as much anymore, until I’m reminded about the size when someone comments about how big it looks on my finger.
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Titanium material with PVD coating
IP68/5ATM dustproof and waterproof
Width: 7.8mm
Thickness: 2.6mm
Weight: 3-5 grams (varies by ring size)
Temperature sensor
3D Acceloremeter
PPG Sensor
Bluetooth 5.2
EMF-Safe for Airplane Mode
Portable charging case has 500 mAh battery
Connectivity
The Ring connects to both Android and iOS and supports synchronizing with Google Fit or Apple Health. Setting up the ring is very easy and I use the RingConn app virtually everyday to check my stats. There’s actually quite a bit for me to say about the app. First, it’s absolutely free to use and has no subscription fee behind it. Secondly, in the past month or so that I’ve been using the Ring, I’ve noticed that RingConn has continued to optimize the app and that it is very stable on iOS. There’s a new exercise beta mode which was not here before so that you can log your workouts. There’s also upcoming features for Sleep Apnea and Sleep Coaching, and new languages being added constantly. This in itself excites me to know that RingConn is continually innovating its user experience to create a better product. They’re also working on other accessories like a Ring Protector and Charging Dock. These are good signs for a growing product.
I’m also absolutely impressed with how accurate some features of tracking have been in my experience, particularly sleep tracking. I’m not typically able to track my sleep because I don’t like the feeling of a watch or tracker on me while I’m in bed. The reason RingConn appealed to me so much was because of the ring factor. I can manage having a ring on, but a watch will keep me awake all night. It took me a couple days to adapt, but I am now able to sleep with my Ring everyday and I have found sleep tracking and naps to be recorded rather accurately. I also found that the other sensors, like my heart rate, SpO2 and HRV reflect similarly to my other tracking methods as well throughout my day. The Ring can also track things like stress level and will show you a daily score of how it progresses throughout the day. For the most part, I agree with the stress score and noticed that in parts of my day where I had a meeting I was presenting in or was traveling, I would see spikes in my heart rate that would correspond to a higher stress rate at that current moment. While this information is neat to see, I didn’t particularly see a whole lot of fluctuation in my stress score and normally don’t look at it as much as I thought I would. You can also set goals for various tracking points that RingConn will measure for you and let you know if you’ve hit. It’s the best of a smartwatch, but without the intrusive screen.
There’s also some ways that I can see RingConn improving the app connectivity in the future. I do recommend opening up the RingConn app at least once daily so that the Ring can sync successfully to the app. The data will not sync in the background and it does take a minute or so for the Ring to sync daily. It will take longer if there’s more data gathered up to sync. Additionally, there is a lot of data that RingConn collects. Note that users are able to export their data to CSV if they so choose, but I am hoping RingConn offers more substantial feedback and tips in the future. When you’re in the summary view of that designated day you’re viewing, there’s a beta Wellness Balance view that appears. The insights and suggestions in this view, along with all the other subcategory views (Activity, Stress Management and Sleep) feel generic and don’t offer enough personalization to be useful to the user. Based on other fitness tracking experiences, it’s not too far fetched to envision a more in-depth level of user experience in this manner.
All Charged Up
The charging case itself is travel-ready and has a 500 mah battery that charges via USB-C and can support 15-18 charges.
Battery Life and Charging
RingConn advertises up to 7 days of battery life and I got pretty close to this with a maximum of 6 days off one charge. It takes 90 minutes to get to a full charge from zero, but my preferred charging method is to top the ring off by placing it into the charging case for the 15 minutes or so that I shower so that my ring is fully charged everyday. When the ring is placed in the charging case, a white light will indicate that it’s charging. The charging case itself is travel-ready and has a 500 mAh battery that charges via USB-C and can support 15-18 charges. Within the RingConn app itself, you can also check the battery status and its estimated remaining battery life. Battery life has been fantastic for me on my Ring and charging it with the portable charger makes it even easier. It’s life is similar to that of a fitness band.
DOwnsides
Despite the overall great design and functions of the Ring, there’s a few downsides I experienced which lead me to conclude that a smart ring may not be the right choice at this time for certain people. I mentioned earlier that sleep tracking was accurate, but there is something else to be said about activity tracking using a ring. Since I like to check my sleep stats after waking up, I’ll open the RingConn app while I’m in bed and notice that the app will report I already walked over 100 steps when I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. It may be a result of how I sleep or move around by swinging my hand, but activity tracking on my Ring is less accurate than other wearables I’ve tried that reside on my wrist. While watches pick up extra steps as well, I’ve found the ring to be even more sensitive to picking up more excess.
On that note, this may not be the top choice for someone who wants to track their fitness activity on a more granular level. In their user manual, RingConn recommends removing the ring to avoid wear and tear when performing strength training or using heavy tools. I am unable to wear this ring when lifting weights at the gym due to its protrusion on my finger. This means that realistically, I can’t rely on my Ring to track my fitness stats during a workout. In fact, the only exercise you can track right now in beta is outdoor running, so in this sense, RingConn is still a long way from the accuracy and capability that other fitness trackers can do in regards to getting a full picture of your day to day vitals. I see this improving in the future as the form factor and sensitivity of the sensors improve, but it’s just not quite there yet when we have much more refined trackers in form factors like smartwatches and fitness bands. For me personally I’ve done enough workouts to have a good idea of how my activity reflected my workout but for those who want to check their stats after, the truth is that we are still a little away from accurate and efficient tracking.
And finally, if you’re someone who is sensitive to how light appears at night, it is noticeable how bright the sensor lights can glow in a dark room. This may be annoying if you’re wearing the ring trying to sleep and don’t have that finger under a blanket or pillow.
final thoughts
Overall, I found the RingConn Smart Ring to be an intentionally created product that covered most of what I thought I would want in a smart ring. There’s room for improvement but we have to view this as first gen-ish technology that the brand will continue to improve on. Despite some pitfalls like inaccurate activity tracking at times, and being unable to track my weighted workouts, I learned a lot about myself and my habits thanks to my Ring and I look forward to seeing more iterations of it in the future.
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