The new best budget’s smart ring

Always looking for a real Oura Ring challenge, I have been following Ringconn’s portfolio since the first release in 2023. Last year I gave the company Gen 2 smart Three and a half stars for their comfortable design, impressive battery life and competitive price point. The latest RingConn Gen 2 Air drops the price by $ 100, while it still delivers a robust experience.

Introducing a budget -friendly device is a knowledgeable feature of a market dominated by high priced smart rings, making advanced health and Fitness Tracking Available to a wider audience. While it sacrifices a few headlines (I come to my charger below), after spending a few weeks of gene 2 air ring on hand (or should it be finger?), I’m even more excited than ever about Ringconn’s place in the smart ring call.

As of its elementary monician, the Gen 2 air lands between 2.5 and 4 grams, which means you hardly feel it on your finger. Compared to Oura Ring 4, it is noticeably lighter and, more important, extremely comfortable. Even with bulbess sensors (unlike Oura’s surface), the ring never digs in my fingers. I removed it before some activities, such as white -baking roasting machine, but thought it was surprisingly little intrusive during others, as weight lifting.

The Gen 2 air also holds up well for everyday dives, and shows far fewer scratches than my our ring after several weeks of wear. Aesthetically I appreciate how the metallic finish waterfalls down the side of the ring for a refined look, while Oura Ring 4 Has a sudden, unbeated strip on the side as cheaper its overall impression.

In a moment, Gen 2 air looks and feels a lot like the more expensive siblings. With its stainless steel construction and imperfect circle design, the ring is available in two finishes: Galaxy Silver and Dune Gold. I tested the latter (out of respect for Timothée Hal Chalamet) and found the look elegant classic. An unreasonable childhood fear of Barracudas strengthened my preference for underrated jewelry, and Ringconn’s finish fit perfectly to that bill perfectly.

By using the company’s free size sets, I landed on the same fit as my gene 2, even though I use this ring on the index finger. It took less than a day to adapt to the 2mm band, and thanks to the excellent battery (which I will cover next time), I forgot everyone, but I was wearing it.

Battery life of Gen 2 Air is nothing less than luxurious. Despite the weak reduction compared to Gen 2 (10 days against 12), the Gen 2 air still feels as if it lasts forever. In practice, it easily lasted a whole week at a cost – about twice the duration of Oura Ring 4.

This was one of the prominent features of the ring: I did not need to stress about charging constantly or monitoring the battery level of the app. When I checked in, Ringconn provided useful information, including an estimate of the remaining useful life and a proposed ‘charging after’ window when the ring fell under a certain threshold. When I threw the ring on the charger, the app switched to estimate how long my device needed to reach full charging. This small touch improves the overall experience of Ringconn’s rings significantly.

However, I was disappointed to see the company moving away from the clamping case to Gen. Gen 2. Gen 2-air uses a puck-style charger, a significant step backwards. Instead of a portable charging case with a built-in battery, the air charger requires connecting via USB-C, equal to Oura’s devices. It is a minor but noticeable loss in simplicity.

A budget model of any setup typically sacrifices some advanced features, and Gen 2 Air is no exception. Along with the downgraded charging experience, the less expensive ring also lacks sleep apnea detection, a feature reserved for gene 2. Although this is not surprising, it is a remarkable difference for users with related health problems.

That said, the air still tracks the same core health goals as Ringconn’s advanced model, including sleepStress, activity, menstrual cycles and vital signs. It also pairs with the same extensive companion app. Although the app can at times feel tight, it provides an abundance of data divisions and analysis that really grew on me through this review. It is well organized, intuitive and now has more personal analysis and recommendations.

Ringconn has also added an AI component to the “Plan” tab. After answering some questions about my sleep, stress and activity habits, I got a personal set of goals related to each, along with steps. A strange thing about this tool is the inconsistent language it uses; For example, the analysis sometimes blends the pronoun difficult, such as “I slept a little less, lay down early today.” Despite this distinctive, the function is effective, if there is something basic. With minimal user efforts, it does a good job of highlighting trends and changes. There is also a Beta AI -Chat feature available, but it only accepts scripted questions. At this time, the tool feels more gimmicky than really useful – although I may just be bitter that it called five hours of sleep “good.”

When it comes to activity tracking, I would like to see Ringconn add more than just four training mode. Currently, the data that is currently available at least the basics, including steps, calories and active minutes. Automatic training detection will also be an important addition as a smart ring is a large point of view. Personally, I would prefer not to have a companion app to record activities.

Like other smart rings, the device automatically detects and tracks and tracks. During this review period, I found that my sleep was consistent with much closer to reliable devices than I experienced with Gen 2, an improvement that is great to see. Ringconn also works with a function of sleep improvement plan, which I look forward to trying when available.

Meanwhile, to only $ 199, Ringconn Gen 2 Air $ 100 is cheaper than Gen 2 and $ 200 Less than the Last Oura and Galaxy Ring. The only comparable smart ring at this price point is Amazfit Heliowhich has half of the battery life and fewer size options. In addition, Ringconn’s calls remain subscription -free, unlike Oura Ring 4, which requires a monthly membership fee.

Overall, RingConn Gen 2 Air is an impressive budget -friendly alternative to Premium Smart Rings like Oura Ring 4 (399 dollars at Amazon) or galaxation ($ 399.99 at Amazon). While it sacrifices a few advanced functions such as sleep apnea and a portable charging case, make it up for it with excellent battery life, a comfortable fit and a robust companion app. In addition, Oura does not offer my preferred charging style either (although Samsung does).

For only 199 dollars, Gen 2 Air provides solid tracking of sleep, stress, activity and vital signs of a fraction of the costs of higher end models and does not require an ongoing subscription fee. By offering nuclear functions at a lower price, the Ringconn places the air as an appealing alternative for budget -conscious consumers (without compromising on quality). As mentioned, Amazfit’s reasonable heldiors (199.99 dollars at Amazon) Is only available in limited sizes.

Currently, Ringconn Gen 2 Air is the best option to dip a toe in the smart ring world, without blowing too much money. Sure, the unit has room for improvement, especially in activity tracking and AI functions, but there is a strong challenger in the growing space.