I Tested A Subscription-free Smart Ring That Rivals Oura - And It's $50 Off For Prime Day

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Ultrahuman Ring Air is nan brand's first foray into nan smart ringing space, and it's disposable for $349, nary subscription required
• The ringing is awesome for hardcore fittingness enthusiasts and recreational exercisers looking to usage their wellness information to optimize their wellness routines
• The app's personification interface could beryllium improved for easier entree to regular logging functions.

For Amazon Prime Day, nan retailer is offering nan Ultrahuman Ring Air astatine a $50 discount, bringing it down to $296, nary subscription required.

As 1 of nan hottest smart rings connected nan market, nan Ultrahuman Ring Air offers features and information postulation that goes a measurement beyond Oura for individuals looking to optimize their health. 

I tested 1 alongside nan Oura Horizon ring for a month, wearing some astir nan timepiece and logging everything from my greeting java to my late-night cocktails. Suffice it to say, nan Ultrahuman ringing will excite group dialed into their wellness and fitness.

Also: Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4: Should you bargain nan discounted smart ringing still connected waste aliases nan brand's newest?

While Oura seemingly appeals to conscionable astir anyone looking to put successful a smart ring, Ultrahuman's offering, while much niche, is arguably better. If nan Oura Ring is nan woman adjacent door, nan Ultrahuman Ring Air is nan Silicon Valley-based, Bitcoin-mining neighbour who drinks Soylent. 

But while it will group hardcore fittingness enthusiasts connected nan correct path, this ringing will besides thief anyone, moreover recreational exercisers, optimize their assemblage to a tee.

Unlike nan Oura Ring, which requires a $6 monthly subscription, nan Ultrahuman Ring Air is subscription-free. The Ultrahuman comes successful matte gray, matte black, silver, and gold. Out of each nan smart rings I person tested, it is by acold nan thinnest, astir discreet, and unassuming. Plus, nan matte grey decorativeness hasn't scratched aliases tarnished aft a period of use, thing I can't opportunity astir nan different smart rings pinch shiny metallic finishes.

Also: We've entered nan era of nan smart ring. Here's why it will shingle up nan wearables market

From nan infinitesimal you aftermath up to nan infinitesimal you autumn asleep, Ultrahuman is sending you notifications connected really to make nan astir of your disposable power and assemblage clock. With each these technological insights into my body, I couldn't thief but consciousness for illustration I was hacking my wellness -- aliases playing God. 

Within an hr of waking, Ultrahuman pings maine astir my "residual adenosine levels." My what? I had to look it up arsenic well. Adenosine is simply a people occurring chemic associated pinch wakefulness. It tells maine to hold consuming stimulants for illustration caffeine until astir 2 hours aft I've been awake to flush adenosine retired of my strategy and boost nan effect of caffeine connected my power levels. It besides reminds maine to expose myself to agleam ray aliases workout during this model if I want an earlier bedtime and wake-up time.

Throughout nan day, I get pings for illustration this. Ultrahuman tells maine erstwhile my stimulant permissible window, nan model wherever I tin devour caffeine without it disrupting my sleep, is coming to a close. Not only that: Ultrahuman besides tells maine really overmuch caffeine is successful definite stimulants, really agelong they will enactment successful my system, and whether they transcend nan caffeine intake of my window.

As nan time goes on, Ultrahuman pings maine to agelong my legs and erstwhile nan perfect bedtime for a capable nighttime of slumber would be. All this is calculated based connected my wake-up times, sleep, and betterment data. 

Also: The champion smart rings of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

The Ultrahuman Ring Air measures bosom rate, tegument temperature, bosom complaint variability (HRV), and resting bosom complaint to glean information for sleep, recovery, and movement. It besides measures VO2 Max, aliases really nan assemblage utilizes oxygen during workouts. 

Ultrahuman presents each this information successful an easy-to-understand format done an app, pinch scores (and explanations) for nan large three: sleep, movement, and recovery. For example, erstwhile I sewage a 95 slumber score, it told maine I fell dormant faster and stayed dormant for astir of my remainder duration. In tandem pinch my precocious slumber score, I sewage a 90 betterment score, and nan blurb told maine that my scores were successful awesome shape, truthful I "might want to push a small much towards your cognitive and beingness fittingness goals." 

On a time erstwhile my slumber people was 49 and my betterment people 64, nan app instructed maine to spell connected a agelong locomotion and effort a "non-sleep heavy remainder session" during nan day.

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Other wellness data, for illustration HRV, VO2 Max, and resting bosom rate, are tracked and nan day-by-day information is aggregated and shown done graphs pinch daily, weekly, and monthly trends -- depicted pinch greenish and reddish indicators.  All these information points travel pinch explanations of what each parameter intends astir one's wide health, elucidating nan complexity of them.

Another wellness characteristic nan Ultrahuman ringing offers is nutrient logging, which leverages ChatGPT-powered AI nutrient insights. I log nan nutrient I eat passim nan day, and its Food Optimization AI provides what it calls cyborg insights -- no, really -- astir really to debar glucose spikes erstwhile I devour definite foods. 

When I logged a container of murphy chips, it told maine to brace nan chips pinch food aliases different protein, for illustration a hard-boiled egg, to slow down nan absorption of glucose. It besides told maine to portion h2o earlier and aft eating nan chips and return a brisk locomotion aft eating them to little my glycemic response. While I seldom took this advice, this is simply a adjuvant characteristic for fittingness and group who want to optimize their fare and wellness data.

Also: The Oura smart ring's superb caller features outshine moreover its titanium finish

Of course, you besides tin log workouts, thing I did often while training for my half marathon. The ringing doesn't automatically observe that you're exercising, however, if it goes unlogged. I dream Ultrahuman improves this successful early updates. I liked that I could spot nan representation of wherever I ran, my mean bosom rate, my max bosom rate, nan calories I burned, and my mean pace. Plus, it showed my workout zones, too, thing basal for search agelong runs.

The past characteristic that makes this ringing perfect for workout junkies is nan Discover tab, which offers video classes for everything from Pilates and weight training to HIIT and yoga. There are besides podcasts disposable for meditation and soundscapes for falling asleep. 

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

You tin deterioration nan ringing for astir 5 days earlier nan artillery dies. I tested its artillery life compared to Oura's by charging some to 100% connected a Tuesday day and waiting to spot really agelong each would past done regular deterioration and activity. By Sunday morning, nan Oura ringing was astatine 7%, and nan Ultrahuman Ring Air was astatine 6%. I will note, however, that nan Ultrahuman ringing gets basking to nan touch aft charging.

Also: Oura Ring users tin now sync information pinch Strava -- here's really to move it on

In nan adjacent update of nan Ultrahuman Ring Air, I'd for illustration to spot nan app's personification interface improve. It could return immoderate notes from Oura's app, which offers sleep, readiness, resilience, and activity connected apical of a location tab that aggregates this information connected nan bottom. Ultrahuman's bottommost tabs see home, metabolism, zones, Discover, and a bare-bones floor plan section. I'd besides for illustration to spot a much accessible logging characteristic wherein you don't person to scroll each nan measurement down nan app to usage for food, workout tracking, weight, and more.

ZDNET's buying advice

Who should bargain this ring? I tin ideate that anybody who's dialed into fittingness and wellness metrics will get afloat usage of nan Ultrahuman Ring Air. And fixed really often my slumber long and slumber and betterment scores from nan Ultrahuman mimicked that of Oura's, I wouldn't beryllium acrophobic to telephone this a subscription-free Oura dupe pinch rivaling information and artillery life.   

Ultimately, nan Ultrahuman Ring Air impressed me. It's breathtaking to spot specified a caller merchandise measurement up to beryllium a competitory fittingness smart ring, being conscionable niche capable to carve retired an assemblage of devout fittingness freaks but pinch information presentation, wellness metrics, and AI suggestions that could cater to nan mean Joe conscionable arsenic well.

This article was primitively published connected March 21, 2024, and was updated connected July 8, 2025.