Smart ring wants to stir up the wearable market

The Movano Evie ring has an open design. (Image: Movano Inc)

Tech at work: Wearables come in many different forms these days. Most of them are headphones, watches and fitness bands.

Movano, a company from California, wants to stir up this market with a smart ring. Slated for release later this year, the Evie Ring will offer features typically found in fitness trackers – and then some.

The Evie Ring does not require a subscription

Although smart rings are still a relatively young category of wearables, Movano are not the first. Their biggest competitor is Oura, which has now launched the third generation of its smart rings.

However, the new rings from Oura have one major shortcoming: They have a high purchase price, which adds to that a paid subscription. The latest Oura ring costs 314 euros as a one-off payment and then 6 euros a month.

If you cancel this membership, the functions are restricted.

The new Evie ring from Movano does not require a subscription and costs a one-time fee 270 US-Dollar. The smart ring was already presented at CES 2022 and has been in development for some time. When designing, the company opted for an open ring design that does not completely enclose the finger.

Very inconspicuous: At first glance, you would not know that the ring is a wearable. (Image: Movano Inc)

According to the manufacturer, the smart ring offers the most common functions that are also known from fitness trackers:

• pulse measurement
• Oxygen saturation measurement (SpO2)
• Measure skin temperature
• sleep tracking
• Step and calorie counter

For women, there is also a function for tracking menstrual cycles.

The Evie ring is set to launch in September this year. An announcement for the European market is still pending.

Are you interested in a smart ring? What features would you wish for in one and what do you think of the Evie ring? Would you buy it? What new wearable categories can you think of that might make sense? Do you think smart rings have the potential to become a mainstream product? Tell us what you think about it in the comments!