Новини світу мікро- та наноелектроніки

The first demonstration of scandium aluminium nitride (ScAlN) thin films grown by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition PEALD expands application to complex 3D structures, according to a University of Michigan study published in Applied Physics Letters and funded partly by the Army Research Office (W911NF-24-2-0210)...

The device is Melexis’ first dual-input inductive ASSP sensor, purpose-built for demanding automotive applications like steer-by-wire and torque feedback.

Intel has pulled back the curtain on Panther Lake, the first client architecture built on its advanced 18A process node.

Life is rife with dichotomies. Good and evil. Black and white. Up and down. Left and right. And, apparently, Ultrahuman and Ringconn ;-). My previous post detailed my experiences, observations, and conclusions from a week or so evaluating the Ultrahuman’s Ring AIR smart ring, following up on last month’s smart ring introductory overview write-up. This one will cover its also-scheduled-for-shipment-cessation-on-October-21 competitor, RingConn’s Gen 2.

What do I mean by dichotomy in this regard? Well, several of the Ultrahuman weak points were, in contrast, RingConn’s strengths. What did I like the most about the Ultrahuman smart ring? It’s the same thing I liked least about RingConn’s alternative device.

Color shortcomings

Let’s dive into the details, starting with that last nitpick bit, since it matches the ordering cadence from last time. Here again are all three smart rings I initially tested, simultaneously located on my left index finger:

The RingConn Gen 2 is at the right, with the Ultrahuman Ring AIR in the middle and Oura’s Gen3 Horizon at left. Color options specifically selected for my evaluations are as follows:

• RingConn Gen 2: Future Silver
• Ultrahuman Ring AIR: Raw Titanium
• Oura Gen3 Horizon: Brushed Titanium

As mentioned last time, the Ultrahuman ring is the closest match to my wedding band on the left-hand ring finger. The Oura Gen3 Horizon is next in the similarity line, although, as you’ll see in near-future detailed coverage of it, the differentiation from my band is more obvious when it’s standalone on the index finger. And the sketchiest match, at least from the standpoint of the wedding band’s body color, is the RingConn Gen 2, although in exchange, it alternatively does a decent job of accentuating the wedding band’s bright edges:

The irony here is that the original RingConn Gen 1 did come in a duller Moonlit Silver color option, which likely would have been a closer match, but for some unknown reason, the company decided not to continue it into the next-generation offering:

Other folks are apparently displeased with the shinier evolutionary trend, too, and have dulled their Gen 2s using abrasive-side kitchen sponges, Dremels, files, and the like. I’m impressed with the results, although I’m admittedly not sure I’ve got the moxie to follow in their footsteps:

Battery life and other bonuses

From this point forward, pretty much everything else came up roses. I’d bought my ring, gently (and briefly) used, off Mercari (no, I never seemingly learn, but this time the outcome was positive) back in mid-June for ~$200 inclusive of tax, shipping, etc., representing a 33.3% (or more) discount off the normal sale price. Initially, the battery charge level only dropped ~5% per day, translating into a whopping nearly three weeks of estimated between-charges operating life (although I never let it completely drain to see if the discharge rate was truly linear or not). Even now, roughly three months later, the drain is still notably less than 10% per day. And it recharges very quickly.

To the best of my recollection, the ring (originally introduced in August 2024) has also received only one firmware update the entire time I’ve owned it, which installed successfully and drama-free. I really do like RingConn’s direct (vs inductive) charging scheme, which reliably mates the ring to the dock (courtesy of magnetic attraction between the two sets of contacts) and preserves existing dock investments if you change ring sizes:

And the high-end Gen 2 comes with an official (from-RingConn versus third-party) battery case, convenient for use when traveling (for long durations, mind you, given the ring’s inherent lengthy between-charges operating life):

Standard charging docks, factory-bundled with the lower-priced Gen 2 Air (which I’ll cover next), can also be purchased separately for both Gen 2 smart ring models.

The lower-priced, apnea-less alternative

The mainstream Gen 2 smart ring I tested normally sell for $299 or more (minus occasional promotional discounts) on Amazon and elsewhere, and comes in three color scheme options:

• (aforementioned) Future Silver
• Matte Black
• Royal Gold

For $100 more ($399 total), there’s also a (fourth) Rose Gold color option.

RingConn also sells a $199 “Air” version of the Gen 2 smart ring. There are, as far as I know, only two differences between it and the more expensive alternative:

• Only two color options this time: Galaxy Silver and Dune Gold, and
• No sleep apnea measurement and analysis capabilities (which may reflect a reduced sensor or other functional allotment, or may just be a software feature lock-out)

The latter point is one for which I have personal interest, so I’ve spent a fair bit of time assessing it. For one thing, the RingConn Gen 2 is the only smart ring I’m aware of on the market that offers this feature. I tested it a bit; here’s the report I got on September 5, for example:

which closely correlated with the data that came directly from my Resmed CPAP machine:

That said, the comparative results for the next night weren’t quite as synonymous, although they were still “in the ballpark”:

What you’re looking for when comparing results, at least at first, is the AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index) number, which Resmed’s software alternately refers to as “Events/hr” in its summary screen. Here’s an overview description, from the Sleep Foundation website:

The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) quantifies the severity of sleep apnea by counting the number of apneas and hypopneas during sleep. Apneas are periods when a person stops breathing and hypopneas are instances where airflow is blocked, causing shallow breathing. Normal AHI is less than 5 events per hour, while severe AHI is more than 30 events per hour. The AHI guides healthcare professionals in their diagnosis and in determining effective treatment.

A key point to note here: I was using my CPAP machine both nights, which is why the AHI was so low in the first place. To that point, a sleep apnea-assessing smart ring is IMHO of limited-to-nonexistent value once you’ve been diagnosed and treatment is in process, since further apnea is suppressed (assuming your treatment regimen is effective, that is). Anyway, the treatment equipment is likely already reporting the data you need to assess effectiveness. Save the $100 in this case. Conversely, though, as an early-warning indication of potential apnea, which you don’t yet realize you’re suffering from? Given the large number of people who are reportedly sleep apnea-afflicted but don’t yet realize it, from study results I’ve seen, as well as how significantly apnea can health-compromise a person, I’m gung-ho on RingConn’s smart ring for that scenario.

Oh, and before going on, here’s the report that RingConn’s app generates after it’s gotten at least three nights’ worth of sleep data point sets to comparatively assess:

Other observations

Much of what follows echoes what I said about the Ultrahuman smart ring in my previous post and/or in last month’s initial overview piece. Nevertheless, for completeness’ sake:

• It (like others) misinterpreted keyboard presses and other finger-and-hand movements as steps, leading to over-measurement results, especially on my dominant right hand.
• While the Bluetooth LE connectivity extends battery life versus a “vanilla” Bluetooth alternative, it also notably reduces the ring-to-phone connection range. Practically speaking, this isn’t a huge deal since the data is viewed on the phone. Picking up the phone (assuming your ring is also on your body) will prompt a speedy close-proximity preparatory sync.
• Unlike Oura (and like Ultrahuman), RingConn provides membership-free full data capture and analysis capabilities. The company also sells optional extended warranties.
• And the app will also automatically sync with other health services, such as Google Fit and, more recently, its Android Health Connect successor. That said, I wonder (but haven’t yet tested to confirm or deny) what happens if, for example, I’m wearing both the ring and my Health Connect-cognizant (either directly or via the Health Sync intermediary) smartwatches from Garmin or Withings. Will the service endpoint be intelligent enough to recognize that it’s receiving concurrent data from two different sources and either discard one data set or reconcile them, rather than just adding them together?

And with that, a few hundred words shorter than its Ultrahuman predecessor (which in this case definitely isn’t a bad thing from a RingConn standpoint), I’m going to wrap up this write-up.

It turns out I’ve got two different Oura posts coming up; I ended up picking up a gently used Ring 4 to supplement its Gen3 Horizon precursor. Plus, two different smart ring teardowns, as well. So, stay tuned for those. And until then, please share your thoughts in the comments!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.

Related Content

• The Smart Ring: Passing fad, or the next big health-monitoring thing?
• Can a smart ring make me an Ultrahuman being?
• The 2025 CES: Safety, Longevity and Interoperability Remain a Mess
• Smart ring allows wearer to “air-write” messages with a fingertip

The post RingConn: Smart, svelte, and econ(omical) appeared first on EDN.

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