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6 surprising ways to use a smart ring
Disguising themselves as jewellery, smart rings sit discreetly on your finger while gathering helpful insights into your health and daily activity.
The smart ring industry is still finding its footing, but brands such as Samsung and Oura have set a high bar for what a tiny sensor can do. Some smart rings can even match a few of the capabilities of a smartwatch, despite being a lot smaller.
If you think your ring is just for tracking sleep stages and daily steps, you’re only scratching the surface. Here are six surprising other ways you can use smart rings.
Want to know which one will suit you? Take a look at our guide to the best smart rings.
1. See a daily readiness score
Smart rings come up with daily scores to rate how ready you may be for the day ahead. You can see it in your ring’s companion app.
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring calculates an Energy Score based on heart rate, activity and sleep data, mainly from the past 24 hours. This could help you decide whether to push yourself or take it easy.
Oura Ring has a readiness score that takes into account your recent activity, sleep patterns and other metrics such as resting heart rate, heart rate variability and body temperature. It provides an overall view of your health, rather than being based on the previous day.
2. Track your menstrual cycle
If you menstruate, smart rings can support you in keeping track of your cycle, predicting periods, gaining insights into different phases and understanding how your body is affected.
The tool works mainly by monitoring skin temperature during sleep, along with logging details such as your period start and end dates. This can help you learn about your cycle length, patterns and symptoms. Most apps need around two months of temperature data before making predictions.
It's worth noting that smart rings aren’t meant to be used for pregnancy planning or contraception.
Which? hasn’t tested the accuracy or reliability of smart rings’ menstrual cycle tracking. However, research published in The Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) suggests that Oura's wearable device detected 96.4% of ovulations effectively with an average error of ±1.26 days.
3. Get personalised AI advice
Smart rings collect a lot of personal health data, and then use AI to spot trends or suggest improvements.
Samsung’s Wellness Tips feature uses Galaxy AI to analyse your recorded health data over time, compare it with your goals and give tailored advice, such as opting for a walk on low-energy days or recommending mindfulness exercises.
Oura Ring has an AI chatbot built into the app, which can provide advice based on the data it has collected. You can ask questions, get suggestions or learn about different areas of health and wellness and how they relate to your data.
Having trouble sleeping? Here's why you shouldn't use a sleep tracker.
4. Use gesture controls
Some smart rings, such as the Samsung Galaxy Ring, have clever gesture controls to use your smartphone without even touching it.
For example, double pinching your fingers while your camera app is open can take a photo or start recording a video. The same gesture can also dismiss alarms. This only works with Galaxy smartphones from the S24 series and newer, running Android 11 or above. It’s not compatible with iPhones or other Android phones.
5. Automatic exercise tracking
Smart rings don’t have a screen but they can still track a wide range of exercises, activities and workouts, similar to a smartwatch.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Ring and the Oura Ring 4 automatically detect when you are exercising and start tracking the workout for you. So if you start running, the ring will work alongside your phone to track your route, speed and more.
It’s worth mentioning that rings may not be as precise as smartwatches for exercise tracking, because you don’t set a specific start and end time, but they’ll still provide useful information about how much you’ve exerted yourself that day.
6. Potentially spot illness early
Some smart rings, such as the Oura Ring 4, claim to spot early signs of illness up to two days before symptoms appear, enabling you to be proactive about your rest and recovery. This early warning effectively signals when to slow down, prioritise rest and not overdo it.
The feature attempts to predict illness by noticing changes in your skin temperature, respiratory rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV).
The algorithm powering it was developed with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), using two years’ worth of anonymised member data.
Which? hasn't tested the reliability of this tool, so it’s important to remember that smart rings aren't medical devices, and results aren’t guaranteed to be 100% accurate, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions or are pregnant. Always consult a healthcare professional before making changes to your routines or treatments.
For measuring your workouts, why not consider buying one of the best fitness trackers instead?
Popular smart rings
The Samsung Galaxy Ring and the Oura Ring 4 are two smart rings that have proved popular with readers online.
Samsung Galaxy Ring
We like: Long list of features, including sleep and menstrual tracking
We don’t like: Only compatible with Android phones
The Samsung Galaxy Ring pairs a discreet, unassuming design with a robust suite of health features, including heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking and activity logging for sports such as tennis and swimming.
To ensure a perfect fit, you can order a kit to help you pick from one of the eight sizes available. While the Ring is compatible with most Android devices, pairing it with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone unlocks its full feature set.
Read more in our Samsung Galaxy Ring review.
Oura Ring 4
We like: Tracks a long list of sports and sleep
We don’t like: App requires a paid subscription
The Oura Ring 4 is compatible with Android phones and iPhones, although you'll need to pay for a monthly subscription to make use of all its features (£5.99 a month at the time of writing).
It tracks a long list of exercises, records your heart rate, calories burnt and VO2 Max. It also provides in-depth sleep tracking, with handy scores and summaries to help you understand what each measurement means.
Read more in our Oura Ring 4 review.
