While looking for the best smart rings on the market, I stumbled upon RingConn. I’ll be honest: I am a core Oura user and have been for more than a year. But that shouldn’t stop me from trying out newer smart rings.
I compared my experience wearing Oura to that of RingConn and found some really interesting insights in both. Oura remains the one truly worthy winner, but RingConn has also nailed its app interface and stress analysis.
Specifications
| Specifications | RingConn Ring | Oura Ring Gen 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Titanium & PVD Coating | Durable titanium, PVD coating |
| Weight | 3-5 grams | 4-6 grams |
| Dimension | • 2.6mm thickness • 7.8 mm width | • Thickness- 2.55mm • Width-7.9mm |
| Ring Size | Nine sizes (6–14) | Eight sizes (6 to 13) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2 (Low power Bluetooth module) | Bluetooth Low-Energy (Bluetooth Smart®) |
| Ring battery Life | 7 days | Up to 7 days |
| Ring Charging Time | 90 Minutes | Up to 80 minutes |
| Charger | Portable charging case (Can charge the ring up to 18 times) | Wireless Charging dock |
| Portable Charger Charging Time | 90 Minutes | N/A |
| Water Resistance | • IP68 • 50 meters | • Upto 100m/ 328 ft. • IP54 |
| Dustproof | Yes | No |
| Compatibility | • iOS 12.0 or later • Android 8.0 or later | • iOS devices running on iOS 15 or above • Android devices running on Android 9.0 or higher |
| Operating Temperature Range | -10°C -41°C/14°F-104°F | -10–52°C / 14–125°F. |
| Free Sizing Kit | Yes | Yes |
| FSA / HSA Eligible | No | Yes |
| Memory | Up to 7 days of data | 7 days of data (also depends on the frequency of use) |
| Warranty | One year | One year from the date of purchase |
| Compatible With Other Apps | Yes | Yes |
| In-Built GPS | No | No |
| EMF-Safe | Yes | Yes |
| Airplane Mode | Yes | Yes |
Design & Colors
I bought the Gold RingConn Ring from the available 3 colors- Black, Silver, and Gold. I wanted to have a different colored ring, and the other two colors were just quite regular. I was awe-struck by the RingConn Ring’s sleek finish and declared it one of my must-have finger accessories on a daily-basis.
Oura offers 6 color options in total. Gold, Stealth, Silver, Black in Heritage, and two extra color options for Horizon, i.e., Brushed Titanium and Rose Gold.
After much consideration, I settled for the Black Oura Gen 3 Heritage Ring. I wish I could have the Brushed Titanium or Rose Gold shade, though. Better luck next time!
| Design & Colors | RingConn Ring | Oura Ring |
|---|---|---|
| Colors Available | Black, Gold, and Silver | • Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon: Brushed titanium, Rose Gold, Gold, Stealth, Silver, Black • Oura Ring Gen 3 Heritage: Gold, Stealth, Silver, Black |
| Design | A square-oval-shaped ring | • Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon: Round-shaped ring • Oura Ring Gen 3 Heritage: Round ring with a flat-top design (plateau design) |
When I was considering buying a smart ring, I wanted a ring with advanced features and an eye-catching design. Both of my rings are aesthetically pleasing and distinct from each other. While the RingConn Ring is square-oval, the Oura Gen 3 Heritage Ring is round with a flat-top design.
I am pretty much impressed by their colors and design, but I expected Oura to launch rings in more diverse and bold colors. Since it has done a good job in designing its Heritage Ring, I give it a pass!
Comfort, Material, & Durability
I was comfortable wearing both rings. They fit well and are easy to remove on normal days. However, I have to adjust my RingConn Ring a bit due to its design. When my fingers are swollen, I feel a bit of pressure, and I have no option but to remove them and wear them on other fingers.
Despite looking bulkier, I found the RingConn Ring lighter than the Oura Ring. The weight is quite negligible, and I feel that I have not worn a ring at all. Well, Oura doesn’t weigh a stone, and it is also comfortable to wear. So, for me, weight is not an issue.
| Specifications | RingConn Ring | Oura Ring Gen 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Titanium & PVD Coating | Durable titanium, PVD coating |
| Weight | 3-5 grams | 4-6 grams |
| Dimension | • 2.6mm thickness • 7.8 mm width | • Thickness- 2.55mm • Width- 7.9mm |
| Ring Size | Nine sizes (6–14) | Eight sizes (6 to 13) |
However, my concern was the durability of the rings. After all, I am not spending hundreds of dollars on delicate rings, right? Since both of them are made of Titanium and have a PVD coating, they are good for daily wear and withstand normal pressure.
I avoid using them when I work with sharp objects or doing workouts that might damage the finish of my rings. So, by far, I don’t have any dents and scratches. I am not going to test them in harsh conditions to see if they can survive accidental blows. I’m sorry for being selfish here!
However, I would suggest you not wear them during intense exercises or doing activities that involve sharp objects that might harm the rings. In short, be conscious and cautious while wearing these smart rings.
Sensors
| Sensors | RingConn Ring | Oura Gen 3 Ring |
|---|---|---|
| PPG Sensors |  | |
| Skin temperature Sensor | | |
| Photodiodes |  | |
| 3D Accelerometer | | |
| Infrared LED | | |
| Green LEDs | | |
| Red LEDs | | |
In terms of sensors, Oura Ring Gen 3 is well-equipped with highly advanced sensors that track my body metrics 24/7. Though RingConn Ring also has a number of sensors like Oura Ring, it lacks infrared LEDs and photodiodes.
According to me, Oura Ring Gen 3 wins here without a doubt. While the RingConn Ring has enough sensors to track basic health metrics- HR, HRV, SpO2, sleep, nap, respiration rate, skin temperature, etc., Oura Ring’s sensors further measure advanced metrics like VO2 Max training, pregnancy insights, illness, recovery, etc.
Health, Fitness, And Activity
In terms of tracking health and fitness, Oura covers more metrics than the RingConn Ring. Both Oura and RingConn track HR, RHR, & HRV all day, even during workouts.
Both cover similar metrics, such as blood oxygen saturation, skin temperature, calories, sleep, etc., to analyze overall health. However, I find Oura Ring’s reading more satisfactory compared to the RingConn Ring.
Whenever I went to a run or did an HIIT workout wearing RingConn, the ring couldn’t detect the maximum bpm, while Oura had no trouble in giving me my elevated heart rate. Even though I don’t fully rely on Oura’s numbers as well for workouts, it was still helpful to see the HR data for my workouts.
My overall experience with both the rings was fairly good, but I would definitely recommend the Oura Ring for tracking health and fitness metrics more accurately.
Sleep Tracking
There’s no debate about it, Oura wins in all of its sleep battles. Gen3 has never once skipped my night’s data tracking. The red light for SpO2 is up all night. The data that I see in the app rightly summarizes my sleep. Giving me an idea about the quality, efficiency, latency, timing of the sleep and much more.
Along with sleep, it tells me my lowest HR at sleep, HRV, movement, and breathing regularity. RingConn also pretty much tells me the same things that Oura shows. The only difference was that RingConn missed or miscalculated some nights of data. Initially, this happened quite frequently, but with time, this issue has been resolved.
RingConn is adding more features related to Sleep Apnea, but since I haven’t tested it yet, I cannot comment on its accuracy.
Oura Ring observes sleeping patterns and sleep times more deeply and gives more elaborate insights than the RingConn Ring. So, I now prefer the Oura Ring for my sleep tracking. So, I find Oura Ring a better option for tracking my sleep cycle.
Female-Centric Metrics Tracking
As I mentioned above, Oura has indeed done a better job of tracking women’s health and goes beyond the menstrual cycle, unlike the RingConn Ring. While I really appreciate the RingConn Ring’s insights on periods or skin temperature changes during the menstrual cycle, I find Oura Ring’s tracking method and insights more elaborate and helpful.
Oura, in its Cycle Insights feature, tells which menstrual phase you are in right now and what your body’s capacity to function is. This is not something I found in RingConn.
The Oura Ring, in fact, has a Pregnancy Insight feature that would surely help expecting mothers. It tracks hormonal changes and trimesters quite accurately. It is good to see that Oura has broadened the female health metrics and included these important features. RingConn can learn and adopt the same in its future version.
Companion Apps
In terms of apps, both of them have user-friendly features and easy-to-read graphs. I like the bold and dark layouts of these apps and am actually impressed with their ways of presenting data into descriptive graphs.
However, I have to struggle a bit to understand RingConn’s data. Oura app, on the other hand, is straightforward, comprehensive, and easier to read.
The RingConn app has only three tabs (Insight, Trends, and Me) that cover the complete body metrics and show scores and insights according to them. However, the Oura app has more diverse tabs –Home, Readiness, Sleep, Activity, and Resilience—each with its own respective slides containing more information. So, in my opinion, the RingConn app is still behind the Oura app in sophistication.
Features
| Features | RingConn Ring | Oura Ring Gen 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Heart Rate | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Variability (HRV) | Yes | Yes |
| Resting Heart Rate | No | Yes |
| Workout Heart Rate | Yes | Yes |
| Blood oxygen levels (SpO2) | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Nap detection | Yes | Yes |
| Detailed sleep analysis | Yes | Yes |
| Bedtime Guidance | Yes | Yes |
| Respiration Rate | Yes | Yes |
| Skin Temperature | Yes | Yes |
| Steps | Yes | Yes |
| Equivalent Distance/ Distance Traveled | Yes | Yes |
| Calories | Yes | Yes |
| Standing Time | Yes | No |
| Activity Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic Activity Detection | Yes | Yes |
| Workouts | Yes | Yes |
| Cycle Insights | Yes | Yes |
| Period Prediction | Yes | Yes |
| Pregnancy insights | No | Yes |
| Illness Detection | No | Yes |
| Health Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Set Personalized Goals | Yes | Yes |
| Personalized Wellness Assistance | No | Yes (on the basis of scores) |
| Insights Feature | Yes | Yes (on the basis of scores) |
| Trends | Yes | Yes |
| Guided Sessions | No | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes |
| Recovery | No | Yes |
| Rest Mode | No | Yes |
| Readiness Score/Wellness Score | Yes | Yes |
| Cardiovascular Age (CVA) | No | Yes |
| VO2 Max | No | Yes |
| Body Clock | No | Yes |
| Chronotype | No | Yes |
| Daily Summary | Yes | Yes |
| Sedentary Reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Health Timeline & Note | Yes | No |
| Breathing exercise | No | Yes |
| Average Pace | No | Yes |
| Meditation | Yes | Yes |
In terms of features, Oura Ring Gen 3 is way more inclusive, upgraded, and covers more female-centric metrics like pregnancy insights.
Though I was satisfied with RingConn Ring’s features earlier, the upgraded features of Oura Ring are far more practical and insightful. One of my favorite features of Oura Ring is its Illness Detection ability. It gives me a pre-warning whenever my vitals don’t match the standard health metrics. So, I have a heads-up to take care of myself.
The other significant metrics that RingConn Ring lacks are- Recovery, Rest Mode, Cardiovascular Age, VO2 Max, Body Clock, and Chronotype.
Though it gives insights into how I performed the day and what I need to do to avoid exertion, an elaborated detail with scores would be more helpful. Anyway, Oura Ring does this for me, and its guided sessions & personalized assistance further help me out.
Battery And Charging
In terms of charging, I liked RingConn more because it has a longer battery charge than the Oura Ring. Moreover, it is easier to charge the RingConn Ring using the portable charging case.
The case holds up to 18 charges at one go, so unlike the Oura Ring, I don’t have to worry about charging the case every time. The additional benefit of the charging case is that it works as a storage box for me. So I don’t have to put the ring randomly and have a lesser chance of misplacing it.
Oura Ring has a wireless charging dock instead. So, it’s like a fancy charger with an extended USB cable. I have to connect the charging dock to the power extension to charge my Oura ring. I hope that Oura will learn from its competitors and become smarter with charging methods as well.
| Charging Details | RingConn Ring | Oura Gen 3 Ring |
|---|---|---|
| Official Ring Charging Time | 90 minutes | Up to 80 minutes |
| My Ring’s Charging Time | 90-100 minutes | 80-100 minutes |
| Official Battery Durability | 7 days | Up to 7 days |
| My Ring’s Battery Durability | 5 days | 4-6 days |
The main problem I have with the Oura Ring is that the battery drains really fast, especially when I use the SpO2 monitoring feature throughout the day. It hardly lasts around four days with this feature on!
Otherwise, the Oura Ring battery lasts up to six days. RingConn Ring, on the other hand, lasts up to five days. I strongly feel that Oura should make some serious upgrades to solve the problem.
Accuracy
Here comes my favorite part! I kept a log of how both rings tracked and measured my body vitals. I found a few negligences in counting my steps by the RingConn Ring.
For example, last Saturday, I decided to take a break and sat down on my couch to binge-watch the House of Dragon series. I had all the snacks right in front of me. So, I didn’t get up and watched 4 episodes back-to-back.
When I checked the RingConn Ring app, it showed me that I had walked 147 steps in that duration. When I checked the Oura app, it showed only 18 steps that I could have taken while getting my Coke can or chips! I guess the RingConn Ring tracked the random foot movements that I had taken while seeing Daemon mercilessly killing people or when the dragons got murdered! My point is that the Oura Ring has tracked steps more accurately than the RingConn Ring.
I also found out that there were considerable differences between my skin temperature readings, specifically on my period days. Oura did a good job of predicting the cycle, while the RingConn Ring’s prediction was one day late. However, earlier, it had predicted the correct date.
HSA/FSA Eligibility
I bought the Oura Ring Gen 3 through my HSA account and got a good discount. However, I had to pay full price for the RingConn Ring. So, people with an HSA/FSA account can now buy the Oura Ring with some relaxation on the actual price.
It is quite a good initiative by Oura Ring as it would help several health enthusiasts buy it at a more reasonable rate. The discount percentage varies from provider to provider. So, don’t forget to inquire before making the purchase.
Unfortunately, the RingConn Ring does not fall under the HSA/FSA eligibility category. So, people who want the ring must pay the full price.
Prices, Subscription, & Availability
I bought the RingConn Ring at a discounted price, which cost me $259. Mine, Oura Gen 3 Heritage, cost $299. As you can see from the price difference, the Oura Ring is undoubtedly way more expensive than the RingConn Ring.
In fact, Oura Ring prices go up to $549! I was skeptical about the price when I decided to buy the Oura Ring. However, after using it, I found its price to be worth it. Still, I feel that Oura should launch more affordable smart rings that wouldn’t burden people’s pockets!
| Pricing Details | RingConn Ring | Oura Ring 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Official Price | $279 | $299-$549 |
| Discounted Price | $259 | N/A |
| Subscription | Free | $5.99 a month/ or $69.99 a year |
I didn’t have to spend money to access the RingConn app, but I had to subscribe to the Oura app to access its features. RingConn’s Ring price includes the app, which is totally free. I use the monthly subscription plan, which costs $5.99. If I don’t re-subscribe, the Oura ring will not show detailed data. I wish it had been without a subscription!
Currently, the RingConn Ring is available for shipping in the United States, Canada, EU countries, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The Oura Ring has more market presence than the RingConn Ring and is available across major continents in selected regions.
Final Verdict
While I bought the RingConn Ring earlier than the Oura Ring Gen 3, I am more satisfied with the latter one. Though the RingConn also tracks several important metrics, its inability to provide accurate readings cannot be ignored.
Though I find the Oura Ring more expensive, plus it has a subscription, it is a smart choice and worth the money. I won’t mind spending a few more dollars on my health and betterment. RingConn is okay-ish for tracking basic health and fitness, but if you ask my opinion, I would suggest you go for the Oura Ring without a second thought.
