Life is rife with dichotomies. Good and evil. Black and white. Up and down. Left and proper. And, apparently, Ultrahuman and Ringconn ;-). My earlier submit detailed my experiences, observations, and conclusions from per week or so evaluating the Ultrahuman’s Ring AIR good ring, following up on final month’s good ring introductory overview write-up. This one will cowl its also-scheduled-for-shipment-cessation-on-October-21 competitor, RingConn’s Gen 2.

What do I imply by dichotomy on this regard? Properly, a number of of the Ultrahuman weak factors had been, in distinction, RingConn’s strengths. What did I like essentially the most concerning the Ultrahuman good ring? It’s the identical factor I preferred least about RingConn’s different machine.

Colour shortcomings

Let’s dive into the main points, beginning with that final nitpick bit, because it matches the ordering cadence from final time. Right here once more are all three good rings I initially examined, concurrently positioned on my left index finger:

The RingConn Gen 2 is on the proper, with the Ultrahuman Ring AIR within the center and Oura’s Gen3 Horizon at left. Colour choices particularly chosen for my evaluations are as follows:

• RingConn Gen 2: Future Silver
• Ultrahuman Ring AIR: Uncooked Titanium
• Oura Gen3 Horizon: Brushed Titanium

As talked about final time, the Ultrahuman ring is the closest match to my marriage ceremony band on the left-hand ring finger. The Oura Gen3 Horizon is subsequent within the similarity line, though, as you’ll see in near-future detailed protection of it, the differentiation from my band is extra apparent when it’s standalone on the index finger. And the sketchiest match, a minimum of from the standpoint of the marriage band’s physique colour, is the RingConn Gen 2, though in trade, it alternatively does a good job of accentuating the marriage band’s shiny edges:

The irony right here is that the unique RingConn Gen 1 did are available in a duller Moonlit Silver colour possibility, which doubtless would have been a more in-depth match, however for some unknown motive, the corporate determined to not proceed it into the next-generation providing:

Other people are apparently displeased with the shinier evolutionary pattern, too, and have dulled their Gen 2s utilizing abrasive-side kitchen sponges, Dremels, information, and the like. I’m impressed with the outcomes, though I’m admittedly unsure I’ve obtained the moxie to observe of their footsteps:

Battery life and different bonuses

From this level ahead, just about all the pieces else got here up roses. I’d purchased my ring, gently (and briefly) used, off Mercari (no, I by no means seemingly be taught, however this time the result was optimistic) again in mid-June for ~$200 inclusive of tax, transport, and so on., representing a 33.3% (or extra) low cost off the traditional sale worth. Initially, the battery cost stage solely dropped ~5% per day, translating right into a whopping practically three weeks of estimated between-charges working life (though I by no means let it fully drain to see if the discharge charge was actually linear or not). Even now, roughly three months later, the drain continues to be notably lower than 10% per day. And it recharges very rapidly.

To the most effective of my recollection, the ring (initially launched in August 2024) has additionally obtained just one firmware replace your complete time I’ve owned it, which put in efficiently and drama-free. I actually do like RingConn’s direct (vs inductive) charging scheme, which reliably mates the ring to the dock (courtesy of magnetic attraction between the 2 units of contacts) and preserves present dock investments in the event you change ring sizes:

And the high-end Gen 2 comes with an official (from-RingConn versus third-party) battery case, handy to be used when touring (for lengthy durations, thoughts you, given the ring’s inherent prolonged between-charges working life):

Customary charging docks, factory-bundled with the lower-priced Gen 2 Air (which I’ll cowl subsequent), may also be bought individually for each Gen 2 good ring fashions.

The lower-priced, apnea-less different

The mainstream Gen 2 good ring I examined usually promote for $299 or extra (minus occasional promotional reductions) on Amazon and elsewhere, and is available in three colour scheme choices:

• (aforementioned) Future Silver
• Matte Black
• Royal Gold

For $100 extra ($399 complete), there’s additionally a (fourth) Rose Gold colour possibility.

RingConn additionally sells a $199 “Air” model of the Gen 2 good ring. There are, so far as I do know, solely two variations between it and the costlier different:

• Solely two colour choices this time: Galaxy Silver and Dune Gold, and
• No sleep apnea measurement and evaluation capabilities (which can mirror a diminished sensor or different purposeful allotment, or may be a software program function lock-out)

The latter level is one for which I’ve private curiosity, so I’ve spent a good bit of time assessing it. For one factor, the RingConn Gen 2 is the solely good ring I’m conscious of available on the market that gives this function. I examined it a bit; right here’s the report I obtained on September 5, for instance:

which intently correlated with the info that got here instantly from my Resmed CPAP machine:

That mentioned, the comparative outcomes for the following night time weren’t fairly as synonymous, though they had been nonetheless “within the ballpark”:

What you’re in search of when evaluating outcomes, a minimum of at first, is the AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index) quantity, which Resmed’s software program alternately refers to as “Occasions/hr” in its abstract display screen. Right here’s an summary description, from the Sleep Basis web site:

The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) quantifies the severity of sleep apnea by counting the variety of apneas and hypopneas throughout sleep. Apneas are durations when an individual stops respiratory and hypopneas are situations the place airflow is blocked, inflicting shallow respiratory. Regular AHI is lower than 5 occasions per hour, whereas extreme AHI is greater than 30 occasions per hour. The AHI guides healthcare professionals of their prognosis and in figuring out efficient therapy.

A key level to notice right here: I used to be utilizing my CPAP machine each nights, which is why the AHI was so low within the first place. To that time, a sleep apnea-assessing good ring is IMHO of limited-to-nonexistent worth when you’ve been identified and therapy is in course of, since additional apnea is suppressed (assuming your therapy routine is efficient, that’s). Anyway, the therapy tools is probably going already reporting the info it’s essential to assess effectiveness. Save the $100 on this case. Conversely, although, as an early-warning indication of potential apnea, which you don’t but notice you’re affected by? Given the big variety of people who find themselves reportedly sleep apnea-afflicted however don’t but notice it, from examine outcomes I’ve seen, in addition to how considerably apnea can health-compromise an individual, I’m gung-ho on RingConn’s good ring for that situation.

Oh, and earlier than occurring, right here’s the report that RingConn’s app generates after it’s gotten a minimum of three nights’ price of sleep information level units to comparatively assess:

Different observations

A lot of what follows echoes what I mentioned concerning the Ultrahuman good ring in my earlier submit and/or in final month’s preliminary overview piece. Nonetheless, for completeness’ sake:

• It (like others) misinterpreted keyboard presses and different finger-and-hand actions as steps, resulting in over-measurement outcomes, particularly on my dominant proper hand.
• Whereas the Bluetooth LE connectivity extends battery life versus a “vanilla” Bluetooth different, it additionally notably reduces the ring-to-phone connection vary. Virtually talking, this isn’t an enormous deal because the information is considered on the telephone. Choosing up the telephone (assuming your ring can be in your physique) will immediate a speedy close-proximity preparatory sync.
• In contrast to Oura (and like Ultrahuman), RingConn gives membership-free full information seize and evaluation capabilities. The corporate additionally sells non-obligatory prolonged warranties.
• And the app may even mechanically sync with different well being providers, resembling Google Match and, extra not too long ago, its Android Well being Join successor. That mentioned, I’m wondering (however haven’t but examined to verify or deny) what occurs if, for instance, I’m carrying each the ring and my Well being Join-cognizant (both instantly or through the Well being Sync middleman) smartwatches from Garmin or Withings. Will the service endpoint be clever sufficient to acknowledge that it’s receiving concurrent information from two totally different sources and both discard one information set or reconcile them, moderately than simply including them collectively?

And with that, a number of hundred phrases shorter than its Ultrahuman predecessor (which on this case positively isn’t a foul factor from a RingConn standpoint), I’m going to wrap up this write-up.

It seems I’ve obtained two totally different Oura posts arising; I ended up choosing up a gently used Ring 4 to complement its Gen3 Horizon precursor. Plus, two totally different good ring teardowns, as properly. So, keep tuned for these. And till then, please share your ideas within the feedback!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Imaginative and prescient Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the corporate’s on-line e-newsletter.

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