ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Circular Ring 2 is available for $249.
- Its build is similar to its competitors and is subscription-free.
- The lower price comes with a health features and companion app that fall short.
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The smart ring space is flooded with companies clamoring for the title of next best health tracker. While there are several companies with high quality products, others don’t quite make the cut.
Unfortunately, that’s the case with French company Circular’s latest smart ring, the Circular Ring 2. I recently spent over a week with it to see if it would be a worthy competitor to the high-profile brands, but my initial impressions suggest not.
Also: Your Circular Ring just got a big health upgrade
However, don’t let this one brand deter you from using a smart ring for health tracking. I’ve included three options people can shop as alternatives to the Circular Ring, as well as some tips for finding a reliable, trustworthy product worth your money.
Circular markets its Circular Ring 2 as a health companion with the typical suite of health tracking metrics: ECG and atrial fibrillation detection, blood pressure and glucose tracking, and a unique-to-Circular smart alarm that detects the lightest sleep stage to wake users up in. It’s also subscription-free, which rivals its biggest biggest competitor, Oura, which gatekeeps the bulk of user data behind a $70 a year subscription.
If its software weren’t so laggy, perhaps I would have been able to try out these features in the first place. I spent 14 days having the ring get accustomed to my sleep, activity, and overall lifestyle. During this period, Circular doesn’t offer up any analytics; saying that it’s still getting to know me.
Also: Why your Oura Ring’s battery life is dying quicker
This is far too long, especially compared to other smart rings that dive into analytics on day one. If metrics aren’t 100% accurate off the bat, other smart rings adjust scores and data according to user’s baseline as it’s worn further. Most people aren’t patient enough to wear and charge a ring for 14 days with no feedback.
When I finally started getting data to sync with the Circular Ring 2, metrics varied considerably from the Oura Ring 4 I wore alongside it. I wondered how the data could be so disparate, and I’m still wondering, because the ring has yet to upload that data to the app.
Every morning I wait for my night of sleep data to move from the ring and to the app. It takes several minutes for this process to initiate, but as it inches closer to 100, the app frequently crashes.
Also: The best smart rings I tested
A brief look at the Circular Ring Reddit proves my grievances have company. Many users have complained about app syncing issues, prompting Circular to address these issues in a recent post, ensuring firmware updates will solve the problem.
As with any emerging technology, there are bound to be more issues as Circular refines its product. For now, though, I would avoid purchasing this smart ring until Circular addresses these synchronization issues. I look forward to retesting the ring once it is complete with the features it advertises.
What I suggest instead
RingConn Gen 2 Air
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
If you’re interested in tracking your sleep, activity, and stress with a smart ring, I’d recommend the RingConn Gen 2 Air, a subscription-free product that’s affordable but capable. The ring sells for $150 less than the Oura Ring 4, and in my testing produced similar sleep scoring and tracking results.
Also: I tested this Oura Ring 4 rival that’s functions similarly but at half the price (and no subscriptions)
One of the Gen 2 Air’s biggest feature highlights is its marathon battery life of eight to nine days, but it’s still one of the more feature-limited smart rings on the market. For example, its AI health partner was more of a gimmick than a working, generative software feature.
Still, the Gen 2 Air’s approachable price point and bevy of usable features makes it a great introduction to the product line for anyone who doesn’t want to break the bank.
Oura Ring 4
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
If you’d prefer a more advanced smart ring, I’d recommend the Oura Ring 4, which is the best smart ring for sleep scoring, symptom tracking, and general health metrics. Not to mention its intense commitment to privacy, of which its competitors have yet to match.
I test several smart rings and smartwatches, but have kept the Oura Ring on my finger the longest. Oura is constantly researching and developing new features and improving on existing ones (like it’s much contested step counter). Oura, like any other smart ring, monitors vitals like heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature, and respiration rate, tracking these biomarkers as you sleep and work, and using them to generate scores for sleep, activity, and recovery.
Also: Withings’ smart thermometer is FDA-cleared – and checks more than your temperature
Its Symptom Radar feature is a helpful one during cold and flu season, and I already used it once this season to monitor the progression of a head cold. It also recently launched a Cumulative Stress feature, which illustrates stress’ long-term impact on the body.
The only issue I’ve seen several users complain about is Oura’s deteriorating battery life over time. Several Ring 4 users report the battery life shortening a year after continual use. Luckily, Oura will send users new rings if they report this issue.
ZDNET’s buying advice
We’ll be keeping an eye on the Circular Ring 2 for significant product updates, but as of now, I recommend opting for one of the other rings mentioned first.
When shopping for a health tracker (or frankly, any product that’s going to run you over $200), I highly recommend glancing at product reviews from writers (like myself) who have gone hands-on with dozens of competing products, while cross-referencing reviews with Reddit to learn what actual users are saying.
As a note, it seems like many users on the Reddit page purchased their Circular Ring through Kickstarter. Those who did report that they are still waiting for their ring to ship and have yet to receive notifications about its estimated arrival. Kickstarter itself does not issue refunds.
