[caption id="attachment_91144" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] But which is the best smart ring? This review of the Ultrahuman Ring Air aims to find out...[/caption] Ultrahuman Ring Air Review Here, we have a detailed review of the latest Ultrahuman Ring Air, a good look at the best value smart fitness tech a finger can wear right now, with NO subscription. The new Ultrahuman Ring Air marks a big step for the made-in-the-USA tech firm and one giant leap for Fingerkind. Ultrahuman made its FIRST 'wearable tech ring' in India in 2023—and it worked! Its sleep and activity tracking is now one of the best solutions for consumers and athletes alike. The next-generation Ring Air is lighter and technically even more capable, and started shipping in May 2023. Uniquely, Ultrahuman's glucose monitor shares the same app, offering the potential for deeper wellness insights than any other platform. This review is highly detailed, so please skip to the section that most interests you...or sit back and enjoy the whole journey. If you've come here solely for the 10% discount, use the code the5krunner at Ultrahuman's site to receive a more substantial discount if you've a ring to trade in. Let's start with a summary; the table of contents is immediately after. [wp-review id="87783"] Ultrahuman - An Overview Ultrahuman are a holistic wellness company. Its products cover body metrics (Ring Air), blood glucose (M1 CGM), home air quality (Home monitoring), and Blood Vision (longevity impact blood tests). Ring Air is a second-generation product from the company, made in the USA. The New Ultrahuman Ring Air Ring - What's Changed? The most significant change was the introduction of new styles and colours, along with a 1-gram weight reduction, now down to around 3 grams, depending on the size. There was a slight drop in battery life to 6 days, most likely due to the lighter format and upgraded internal sensors. The app is continuously improving and changing. Let's cover those new aspects in more detail Design & Colours The ring comes in one design, a plain band, five colours and ten standard sizes. I went for the Raw Titanium in a size that fits my smallest finger. Sizing Choose a size from the free sizing kit (here). From an accuracy perspective, it doesn't matter which finger you wear it on. Ensure the fit is snug, and be mindful if you routinely get swollen fingers. Fit & Aesthetics It looks good, and I can hardly feel it. It's a plain band. You can rotate the ring on your finger, which shouldn't affect the data it captures. It looks the same regardless of how you rotate it. That said, the ring's inner face has a slightly flattened edge; ideally, this will be worn on the fleshy underside of your finger. Like all competitors, Ring Air will probably be a bit thicker than the rings you usually wear, such as a plain wedding band. It feels more noticeable on larger fingers. I hardly noticed Ring Air on my pinkie finger, but I do notice Oura/RingConn on my wedding ring finger. [gallery size="medium" ids="91133,91134,91135"] Wearing the Ring You can wear the ring whenever you want, and it is by no means essential to wear it 24/7. For example, you could wear it at night and use it only as a sleep tracker. You'd miss other data, but it beats wearing a watch to bed. I wore the ring for several sports with no difficulties or significant discomfort. The caveats I would add are that you probably will not be allowed to wear jewellery during team sports, and if you are gripping bars in the gym, there will be some mild discomfort. Base Sensor Support In addition to a motion sensor (accelerometer), Ultrahuman features a full range of sensors for a ring, including HR/HRV, temperature, and Blood Oxygen (SpO2). [gallery size="medium" ids="91168,91166,91164"] The sensors work by measuring reflected light that is shone into the body. A series of algorithms filters noise from the data and then infers aspects of your physiology, like sleep stage, breath rate, and female health stages. There is surprisingly good science behind most of these, although the evidence for sleep stages is less robust. Limitations of the Ring - Ultrahuman Ring Air Review The most significant limitation is that no smart ring accurately captures heart rate and movement during physical activity, such as sports. I cover other cons/negatives elsewhere, but the company can fix those or they are not especially serious. The current generation of smart rings is designed to track sleep and activity levels, as well as capture key wellness metrics, including resting heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). Unboxing, Contents, Onboarding & Basic Usage You get the Ring, a free app, and a USB charger. The setup is intuitive and quick. The ring features a metal outer casing that encloses a resin-like ring, which houses the electronics and sensors. The electronics are hidden when you wear the ring, but you can sometimes see the light shine on your finger. The light and sensors are in a tiny bump that ideally lines up with the fleshy underside of your finger. Wear or charge the ring whenever you want. The core insights assume you wear the ring to sleep, and I recommend you do that. You can take the ring off during activities; Ring Air WILL measure how your body reacts afterwards, which is perhaps more important from a wellness perspective. The more athletic amongst you will probably wear a sports watch for activities—for example, a Garmin, Fitbit, or Apple Watch, an ideal partner when connected to the Ultrahuman app. Ultrahuman App The app covers all the bases in detail - activity, readiness, sleep and more. The Ultrahuman app is continually improved and extended. It presents an impressively large amount of personal insights. Recent changes have seen visually revised charts, weekly reports, and the incorporation of data from the M1 glucose sensor (not tested). The overall look and feel of the app is 'busy', perhaps with too much data, too many colours and inconsistently styled chart types sitting closely together. Everything is accessed by starting on the main scrollable page of the app. Tap on any part of the screen for more information and insight. The key data is there and easy to discover. It could be better presented. Here is an example of the scrollable main screen across four images. The charts' positions change throughout the day based on their relevance. For instance, the first charts focus on your sleep and recovery in the morning, whereas movement and stress take centre stage later in the day. [gallery size="medium" columns="4" ids="90618,90617,90616,90615"] A Day With Ultrahuman I'll walk you through an imaginary day to explain how the ring can be helpful at different times. Unlike other wearables like Whoop, Ultrahuman has no vibration alarm feature. Once you've woken up, you should know how you slept, but checking in on the app can provide more insights into aspects of your night that may have contributed to a poor night's sleep. Here, you can have a good night's sleep. I've ticked all the boxes, but perhaps, ideally, I would have stayed a little bit longer asleep. [gallery size="medium" ids="90936,90938,90937"] The sleep stage information is interesting, with lots of DEEP SLEEP indicating recovery from exercise and time spent in REM Sleep indicating processing information from yesterday—a word of caution here: all wearables only estimate sleep stages, and none are correct. For example, Ultrahuman shows twice the amount of deep sleep compared to another wearable worn on the same night. Even if Ultrahuman agreed with another ring and wearable, it still wouldn't mean either is correct. Google Polysomnography for more. Q: Coffee Time? Answer: No! Not yet. Here's why... The app is full of novel and unusual insights and guidance to support the ones you expect to see. Here, we see the first of them—the Stimulant Window. The effect of caffeine has a half-life, and knowledge of our current caffeine charge can be excellent for those who exercise but less significant if we want some sleep. There is also scientific evidence suggesting that we avoid caffeine first thing in the morning (hmmm!). Put that together, and the app factors in your physiology and behaviours, suggesting the best time for a coffee and listing all common beverages and their caffeine content...pick your pleasure! Sometimes, you have to understand how your body feels. I feel groggy most mornings, and the new GROGGINESS feature confirms this. I take about 47 minutes to get over my grogginess, which is usually just enough time to have had that infeasibly large dose of caffeine. Should you have an easy day? Recovery and readiness to train are recently popularised metrics in the wellness space. I've used the HRV that underpins them for over a decade, and I'm pretty sure that many companies invent metrics that are not backed by science, whilst other companies draw inferences from HRV that shouldn't be made. Don't spend too much time worrying about HRV or readiness. You DO want to lead a balanced life that includes stress but, critically, the time to adapt to it. Your HRV variations during the day are not helpful; you only want your average nightly HRV to trend positively over time and within a normal range. A healthy lifestyle will deliver that, and there are few shortcuts. If you wake to a low readiness score in the short term, consider taking it more straightforward that day. So take Ultrahuman's recovery score with the same pinch of salt you would for all the other companies. You can see my 7-day rolling average trends downwards for HRV. Other things equal, that's probably not great, but if I exercise hard, I would expect to see gradually declining HRV as I increase the overall load. [gallery size="medium" columns="5" ids="90910,90909,90908,90907,90906"] Also included is the trend for resting heart rate. This tends to have an inverse relationship with HRV...until it doesn't. Look at them both, but pay more attention to the HRV. Note 1: I can't see the point of you and me looking at HRV overnight. Ultrahuman will use that raw data and some combination of SDNN / rMSSD to determine a nightly HRV score. Note 2: There is no accepted definition of readiness, so it can't be measured, and certainly not with a composite score. That said, a lot of science supports the correct use of HRV. Note 3: HRV is not stress. HRV represents how your body is coping with all the stresses you place on it. Ultrahuman has some excellent charts explaining stress from the perspectives of current stress, trends, and the time you spend in various stress states. The term 'Stress' covers how your body responds to EVERYTHING during the day, whether that is an annoying boss or a 5k run. Wearable tech cannot readily differentiate between the precise causes of stress, but tools like this can guide you towards healthier daily interactions. A Walk In The Park Ultrahuman tracks steps, movement, activity and calories. For me, the summary tile is more than enough, but if you want to delve deeper to see if your Movement Index comes from your steps or workouts, then dive into the details and trends. [gallery size="medium" columns="2" ids="90945,90944"] Note: It seems that Ultrahuman over-ambitiously counts many movements as steps. Don't rely on the step info. Late Morning Pilates or Run Ultrahuman won't accurately track your heart rate at higher levels of exertion, and, at the time of writing, the 'Workout Mode' for that was in beta. However, good-quality, video-guided content like the 3-week HIIT challenge or Ashtanga yoga was running. [gallery columns="6" ids="90947,90950,90951,91148,91149,91150"] For sportier activity tracking, link the Ultrahuman app to Apple/Google Health, and Ultrahuman will more accurately account for workouts you complete with, say, your Apple Watch. [gallery columns="6" ids="90942,90941,90940,90943,90948,90949"] A bit of work? With such a busy day, it can be hard to fit some work around other, more important things. Please turn on your Focus mode to avoid disruptions when it's time to work. Jeez, that Was Stressful Ultrahuman probably uses a combination of HR and HRV to indicate your stress level. That spin class you did earlier, that work call with your boss and even processing that meal all will cause stress. Ultrahuman estimates your current stress and lets you look back over the day to find what was perhaps the most stressful for you hour by hour. [gallery size="medium" ids="90904,90898,90900"] Time for Some Breathing How to relieve stress? Controlled breathing always sounds like a 'New Age', and most perceive it as ineffective. Check out this science for HRV Biofeedback, which involves breathing at a rate that maximises your HRV and elicits the maximum HR oscillations and maximum HRV output. This works acutely, but the positive effect is lost once you stop doing it daily. Ultrahuman has a section on guided breathing where you follow various breathing patterns ranging from Box Breathing to Qi Gong breathing and NSDR. Whether or not they are science-backed, I wouldn't like to say. The Box Breathing seemed to do something positive for me. Evening Closes In Ensure you avoid exercise and bright lights in the Phase Advance part of the day, as this can shift your body clock to earlier, ultimately making sleep more difficult. [caption id="attachment_90953" align="aligncenter" width="274"] Circadian Phase Alignment[/caption] The app includes many generic resources to help you improve sleep quality. There are limited SLEEP COACHING facilities, but here's one - a recommended bedtime. There's More There are weekly reports to view your performance over extended periods and instant notifications and widget popups, some of which count down to critical times of the day. There is info about your fitness, Age and your VO2max. Another interesting note backed by science is that VO2max is a good predictor of healthy longevity (healthspan....not lifespan). Get fitter, lose fat, live long and prosper...boost that VO2max. [caption id="attachment_90956" align="aligncenter" width="240"] VO2max and Fitness Age[/caption] Ultrahuman Ecosystem Naturally, there is the ubiquitous smartphone app. The app is rich in data and analysis and insights from the data. There is video and other content and features. You can see your Ultrahuman metrics in many spots on your phone. I have an iPhone. There is also an app for the Apple Watch, but that is very limited in scope, simply showing a few headline numbers over a few pages. Think of it as a screen for your ring, perhaps. [caption id="attachment_91160" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ultrahuman Watch app[/caption] Widgets You can place a relatively large 'widget' on any of your iPhone's pages. Press and hold a blank part of the screen, and you can edit it. It's similar to an app icon, except it has live data like Steps, but the widget saves you from opening the app and browsing the data you are interested in. There's also the Live glucose widget, but that requires an additional sensor (the same kind of blood sugar sensor you'll find in the Zoe or Abbot Libre apps) [gallery columns="5" ids="91151,91152,91153,91154,91155"] This next image shows how you can display a live workout on the iPhone lock screen. The same workout will also appear in the smart widget stack on an Apple Watch. In the first two images, you will see that Ultrahuman has sent a message of encouragement, which appears as a notification in the notification Centre on the lock screen. Also, on the lock screen in the second image, you can see a lock screen widget at the top that shows the battery status of four sensors: Whoop, Stryd, Oura and Ultrahuman. [gallery size="medium" columns="2" ids="90955,91142"] Finally, these images indicate how Ultrahuman is linked with many other wellness and fitness platforms. You can control exactly what data is sent and received for each one—I've shown that as an example with Apple Health. [gallery columns="4" ids="90948,90949,91157,91158"] Ultrahuman Ring Air Tests, Accuracy & Scientific Validation I can't find any independent, peer-reviewed scientific tests that validate Ultrahuman Ring Air. 'Independent' tests are often paid for, so bear that in mind if you find any for any product. Conversely, Oura has been around longer and does have several scientific studies to its credit. My Test Details For about six weeks, I took a 2-minute waking HRV measurement with a Polar H9 and the HRV4Training app on most mornings. I noted the average of my night's sleeping HRV from Oura and Ultrahuman. Because of the differences in the calculations of HRV, the daily values might not correlate, and they didn't. However, when looking at the baseline, they should all be broadly similar. They weren't. [caption id="attachment_90963" align="aligncenter" width="963"] Daily correlation left (ignore it), baseline correlation right[/caption] Ultrahuman Scientific Research In-house research by the company is listed here at ultrahuman.com. The most interesting are these: comparison to Apple Watch comparison to FDA-approved device These studies are too small in duration and scope. Is Ultrahuman Ring Air Accurate? General Accuracy Observations The general sleep metrics feel reasonable, but none of my sleep data sources agree with each other. Sleep and lack of movement are detected, but I often spend quite a while reading in bed, so it's sometimes unfair to expect wearables to distinguish that relaxed, motionless activity from sleep. HRV was notably and consistently higher on Ring Air than on every other ring and watch. I put this down to the ring worn on my smallest finger, but talking with people who know it shouldn't make a difference to the all-important trend deviations. When compared night by night, my sleep stages appeared visually similar to Oura Ring and Eight Sleep. Typically, they all see multiple shortish periods of deep sleep in the first half of my sleep and few, if any, in the second half. For fun, let's look at that in a bit more detail. Some Sleep Comparisons I have two nights of sleep data shown below from a selection of apps - Eight Sleep, Oura, Ultrahuman Ring Air and Circular. The first is a night where the Deep Sleep from each source is about two hours; sadly, in each case, at about 12:20, when they all thought I was in Deep Sleep, I was doing my nightly crossword. The REM shown vastly differs between the four, and there is a good hour difference in agreement on the time spent in bed. Eight Sleep thought I had a 100% quality night sleep, but Ultrahuman said 84%, and Oura said 88% (not shown). Sleep quality is a made-up composite metric, and each company has a different definition, with probably no scientific basis for the composite nature of the calculation. [gallery size="medium" columns="4" ids="91220,91219,91218,91217"] Despite the composite metrics not being honest, if you feel like you had a bad night's sleep, it's reasonable that the app may show you the cause, and you can take corrective action in the future. On 19 June, I was taking sleeping tablets to try to significantly advance my falling asleep time because of an upcoming event. There is a 1-hour difference in the agreement of Deep Sleep between the apps, and I have no idea which is correct as I was asleep at the time and didn't take notes! I felt good in the morning, but how I 'felt' about my deep sleep is irrelevant; either I was in a deep sleep, or I wasn't, and only an advanced sleep science lab can say. Even then, the labs struggled to be correct. [gallery size="medium" ids="91214,91215,91216"] The heart rate data in sports seems inaccurate, perhaps suffering from 'cadence lock', where it picks up the beat of high-impact footfalls rather than the beat of the heart. Other than that, lower HR readings were plausible. The movement index is more valuable, as it might give a better holistic view of your movement and be a better input for the calorie calculations. That said, the calories burned often seemed too high, coinciding with steps that were also over-recorded. The recovery/readiness score seemed to trend too flatly. FAQ - Ultrahuman Ring Air Q: How long does an Ultrahuman ring last? A: The battery lasts between 4 and 6 days. In my experience, it's usually toward the lower end. Q: Does the Ultrahuman ring require a subscription? A: No. Q: What is UltrahumanX A: UltrahumanX is more of an insurance policy and support boost than a subscription for advanced features Q: Does the Ultrahuman Ring Air count steps? A: Yes. And logs activities and sleep Q: What can an Ultrahuman ring do? A: Ultrahuman Ring AIR tracks Sleep, Movement, and Recovery metrics. This includes Heart Rate, HRV, Body Temperature, SPO2, Sleep Stages, Movement Frequency, and Recovery patterns. Q: Can I trade in my old ring? A: Yes. Ultrahuman offer a trade-in against other smart rings such as Ultrahuman R1 or Oura gen 2/gen 3. Q: What is my size? A: A free sizing kit is sent. Use that rather than basing your size on another ring. [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="91137,91138"] Ultrahuman Ring Air Review - Charging Ring Air's charger is not the prettiest I've seen and is too angular for my liking. It has an LED indicator that can annoyingly shine at night. That said, it charges the ring from 0 to 100% in about two hours, and, as mentioned elsewhere, you can expect at least 3 to 4 days of continuous use, with the claimed life being up to 6 days. [gallery size="medium" ids="91145,91146,91147"] It comes with a USB-C charging cable. Ultrahuman Vs Oura Vs RingConn vs Circular Here is a detailed comparison chart of the four key smart rings available in June 2024. Have a glance Feature Oura Gen 3 RingConn Ultrahuman Ring Air Circular Ring Price $299 - $550 +sub $199 $349 $259 Heart Rate Sensor Yes Yes Yes Yes HRV (Heart Rate Variability) Yes Yes Yes Yes Sleep Tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes Activity Tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes Temperature Sensor Yes Yes Yes Yes Blood Oxygen Sensor (SpO2) Yes Yes Yes Yes Continuous ECG Sensor No No No No Respiratory Rate Yes Yes Yes Yes Metabolic Health Tracking No No Yes No Stress Monitoring Yes Yes Yes Yes Recharge time 80mins 120mins 120min 90min Weight 4-6g 3-5g 2.4g-3.6g >2g Battery Life 4-7 days 5-7 days 4-6 days 3-4 days Water Resistance 100m 50m 50m 50m iOS/Android Compatibility Yes Yes Yes Yes As you can see, it's probably one of the most unhelpful charts ever, and the core aspects of the products are HIGHLY similar. Thus, the important differences are price, battery, and aesthetics. [caption id="attachment_91163" align="aligncenter" width="300"] L-R: Tapster, Circular, Oura, Ultrahuman Ring Air[/caption] One of the benefits of Oura, the established company, is the broader variety of ring styles and colours. Perhaps also included under the term 'aesthetics' would be the quality of construction and finish; Oura and Ultrahuman are the best here. Battery life is fundamentally important, but my view has always been that once you get a multi-day battery life, you stop incorporating the ring's charging into your daily routine (as you don't have to do it daily!). Thus, it comes down to how well the app or ring reminds or alerts you to recharge and how quickly the ring recharges. Then, most batteries have a fixed number of recharge cycles, at which point they rapidly degrade. That information is not specified, and reviewers cannot test it. Finally, you should consider the app as that is what you will most interact with. After all, the ring sits on your finger, seeming to do nothing. The more advanced apps are Oura and Ultrahuman, which integrate and share features with the broader smartphone ecosystem, such as widgets or links with other wellness platforms. If you are looking for a more streamlined and visually focused app, then Circular and RingConn would be the ones to consider. [caption id="attachment_91162" align="aligncenter" width="300"] L-R: Tapster, Circular, Oura, Ultrahuman Ring Air[/caption] Other smart rings are not covered here and have a different focus. For example, some can be security keys to unlock your computer, and others, like Tapster, have an inbuilt payment mechanism. Those rings seem distinct from wellness rings in 2024, but I expect Samsung and Apple to blur the boundaries soon when they release new products and subsequent iterations. Ultrahuman Ring Air Review - Alternatives to a Ring So, if you don't get a ring, what else does a similar job? There are smart watches and smart bands worn on the wrist. The Apple Watch is better and more accurate than most if you have an iPhone to work with, but the Galaxy Watch is much better now than it used to be. The Whoop 4.0 Band is an alternative that can produce the same metrics as the Ultrahuman ring ... and more. Like a ring, it can more readily be worn to bed, but Whoop is more activity-focused and will produce accurate levels of sporting HR when worn correctly. Its subscription soon adds up even though the device itself is free (here). Ultrahuman - Where Next For the Smart Ring? Ultrahuman is doing well commercially right now and is investing in the future. I expect to see new software features related to sleep coaching and alarms. Two of the biggest trends in the ring market are supporting female health and providing insights into longevity. Expect to see more of those. Smart rings find it fundamentally difficult to get accurate sporting-level heart rates. Expect to see continued efforts to improve the filtering algorithms and sensor tech. Perhaps the next generation of wellness rings will have the possibility of buzzing/alerting or even tap-and-go payments. We will most likely see improved versions of the current sensors, but 2025/26 should also see new types of sensors that can detect other aspects of physiology. Whether these will initially be sufficiently small to fit into the ring format, I don't know (probably not initially). Perhaps that's why we already see Ultrahuman incorporating Blood Glucose data into the same app, albeit you need to buy the additional M1 patch sensor for that. Ultrahuman Ring Air Review of the Reviews Ultrahuman Ring Air is reviewed highly on Amazon with several hundred 5-star ratings. Elsewhere, reviews on Wired, Reddit, and TechCrunch are all generally positive. It's a good product. Ultrahuman Ring Air Discounts Buy USA: $314 (includes discount) Buy UK: £296 (includes discount) Buy RoW: $314 (includes discount) In many countries, fulfilment is via Amazon. You can also buy directly from Amazon but will not get the discount. Ultrahuman Ring Air officially retails at $349/£329, but you can get 10% off with my code, the5krunner. More than that, if you have an older ring or some competitor rings, you can get a further discount of up to $65. [gallery size="medium" ids="91123,91124,91125"] There is a 30-day return service. There is also the UltrahumanX service, which is insurance. Check if you already have devices like this that are automatically insured with your regular household cover. Using my discount for the Ultrahuman Ring Air brings the price down to below that of Oura Gen 3, which requires an additional subscription. Ultrahuman Ring Air Review - Take Out & Recommendation Despite the drawbacks shared by all smart rings, I recommend Ultrahuman Ring Air over the competition. The Oura Ring is probably a tad better overall and offers more cosmetic designs, but the subscription cost is relatively high. Ring Air is one of the best holistic app trackers covering sleep, stress, readiness, and many activity levels. The ring format makes the product highly accessible and convenient to wear at almost any time. Add to that the finger is one of the best places to measure your resting heart rate, and there is a decent chance that a smart ring will capture your sleep stats more accurately than an Apple Watch or Garmin. Sportspeople can wear a smart ring to assess sleep, readiness, and recovery; others, more interested in general wellness, can use one to guide their entire day. But the ring is NOT suitable for thoroughly logging sports activities. The elephant in the room is the data accuracy and claims made by most wearables in this regard. A smart ring can provide valuable insights that can improve your life. Ring Air offers lots of insights! When you buy your first smart ring, do so with your eyes open. They are not medical-grade devices, but they will give you great indicative feedback and guidance. Follow the trends; don't analyse the minutiae. It's a good product.
