Once the preserve of wealthy wellness buffs, top-of-the-line smart rings are becoming increasingly affordable and available. Although our top pick is still Finnish pioneer Oura's Ring 5 (from $399), the company is no longer the only fish in the smart-ring sea, thanks to upstarts like Ultrahuman and RingConn, established fitness-tracking brands like Amazfit, and even tech giants like Samsung. I expect to see more entrants in the coming months, but for now, these are the best smart rings we’ve tried.
For more wearable recommendations, check out WIRED's guides to the Best Smartwatches, the Best Fitness Trackers, and the Best Fitbits. Add us as a preferred source on Google to see more of us. Best Smart Ring Overall The original Oura Ring unilaterally created the health smart ring category.
This stylish, unobtrusive ring, popularized by biohacking billionaires, soon brought miniaturized fitness tracking to the masses. Why WIRED recommends: The latest Oura Ring 5 is 40 percent smaller than its predecessor, making it one of the comfiest wearables to keep on all day and night. The titanium exterior has a new coating applied with physical vapor deposition (PVD) to improve scratch resistance, and the ring itself features redesigned sensors, stronger signal detection, and consequently, better accuracy.
It also has improved battery life, lasting up to nine days of use. The biggest upgrade is Oura's push toward AI-powered health guidance. Similar to Google Health Coach, the Oura Advisor can answer wellness questions, provide personalized recommendations, and help identify patterns across your long-term data.
New health features, including blood pressure signals and nighttime breathing insights, expand Oura's focus beyond basic fitness tracking. The trade-offs: While it now supports live activity tracking through the app and can work with compatible heart rate monitors, the Ring 5 isn't the best choice for athletes who need live workout stats or a built-in GPS. If you already own a Ring 4, I'd probably wait another generation, considering that most software additions are coming to older hardware anyway.
Finally, you'll need an Oura membership ($6 per month or $70 annually) to unlock most of its insights. (Without it, you can only view your Readiness, Activity, and Sleep Scores.) TL;DR: Though still subscription-based, the Oura Ring 5 is the best sleep tracker, one of the best fitness trackers, and the best smart ring for most folks. Specs Weight From 2 grams (depending on ring size) Battery Life 6 to 9 days Durability 100-meter water resistance; IP68 rated for water and dust Subscription $6/month (first month is free) Compatibility iOS and Android Best Subscription-Free Smart Ring I'm currently testing the RingConn Gen 3, but the Gen 2 Air remains one of our budget picks thanks to its affordable price and subscription-free model. Why WIRED recommends: The RingConn Gen 2 Air is slimmer, lighter, and much more comfortable than previous models.
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