RingConn Gen 3: One minute review

RingConn has always been a solid challenger to Oura in the smart ring space, and after spending two weeks testing it, I can safely say the new RingConn Gen 3 continues that trend. You’ll get most of the same health, sleep and recovery tracking features as rivals in our best smart rings guide here, but without the monthly subscription that puts some people off buying a smart ring altogether.

The Gen 3 tracks heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, respiratory rate, stress, activity and sleep. New additions include a haptic motor for some alerts and reminders, improved battery life and new vascular health trend insights, which are designed to give you a picture of your cardiovascular wellbeing over time.

However, this version does feel similar to the Gen 2 that came before it. The design and app experience feel largely unchanged and many of the core features will already be familiar to anyone thinking of upgrading from a RingConn Gen 2.

Although that's not necessarily a bad thing. The lightweight titanium design is still incredibly comfortable to wear and the app is simple to navigate. RingConn also continues to stand out by offering useful features like sleep apnea monitoring, something that still isn't standard across the smart ring market.

The experience here isn't perfect. During my testing, I found that some health insights can feel generic, certain wellness scores lack meaningful context and some of the messaging around features like vascular insight trends can be confusing. And, while the app is clean and easy to use, it still doesn't feel quite as refined or polished as Oura's.

But RingConn continues to occupy a compelling middle ground. It isn't the cheapest smart ring you can buy, but it undercuts premium competitors while delivering a similar experience overall.

The RingConn Gen 3 may not be the most exciting smart ring launch of the year, but for anyone looking for comprehensive health tracking without an ongoing subscription, it's shaping up to be one of the easiest smart rings for me to recommend.

RingConn Gen 3: Specifications

RingConn Gen 3: Price and availability

• Priced at $426 / $454; £322 / £343 (approx)
• Rolled out from late May 2026
• No subscription needed

Pricing starts at $426 for the silver, gold and matte black versions. That rises to $454 if you’d like the new brushed silver and brushed rose gold finishes.

I only tested the standard silver, but the brushed effect is really appealing. At least what I can see from promo shots, it makes the ring look a little more refined and if I was buying one myself I’d probably pay extra for that finish.

UK pricing hasn’t yet been confirmed at the time of writing, but that US pricing works out at approximately £322 to £343, depending on the finish you choose.

That places the RingConn Gen 3 firmly in the premium smart ring category. It's not cheap by any means. You can now find more affordable smart rings, like the Circular Ring 2, which starts at $349 / £280 / AU$497.

However, it still manages to undercut some of its biggest competitors, making a tempting value proposition. For context, the new Oura Ring 5 starts from £399. Which, granted, isn’t that much more expensive. But you do need to factor in the ongoing monthly subscription, which you’ll need to unlock all of the Oura’s features. That costs $5.99 / £5.99 per month. So paid monthly, that’s around an additional $70 / £70 per year.

What makes RingConn stand out is that there are no subscription fees here. Once you've bought the ring, you get access to all of the core health and wellness features without any additional monthly costs.

It’s worth mentioning that other smart ring brands are offering their devices without a monthly subscription too. And the gap between RingConn and its premium competitors isn't quite as large as it once was, especially as smart ring prices continue to rise across the board. But when you factor in the lack of subscription fees and the breadth of features on offer, the RingConn Gen 3 still represents good value.

• Value score: 4/5

RingConn Gen 3: Design

• Lightweight and comfortable design
• Distinctive squared circle shape
• New finishes and expanded sizing options

The first thing you'll notice about the RingConn Gen 3 when you take it out of the box is its unusual shape. Rather than being perfectly round, it has a subtle squared-off design. It looks a little unusual at first, but I really liked it. Plus it seemed like a refreshing choice in a market where so many smart rings are almost indistinguishable from each other.

At between 2.5g and 3.5g depending on which size you get, and measuring 2.3mm thick, the ring is light and discreet enough to forget you're wearing it. I wore it day and night when I was testing it, including while sleeping, without any issues.

That weight and thickness are both fairly standard compared to other smart rings. The only notable exception is the new Oura Ring 5, which has been designed to be slimmer and lighter than previous generations and almost all rivals.

The Gen 3 ring is made from titanium with a medical-grade resin interior and is rated IP68 and 10ATM for water resistance. In practical terms, that means you can wear it in the shower, while swimming and during workouts without worrying about taking it off. During testing, I rarely had to think about removing it, whether I was washing up, showering or exercising — though I did remove it when lifting weights to avoid any scratching.

RingConn has also expanded its sizing range this time around, now offering up to size 15. Many competing brands don't go beyond size 14. One thing to be aware of here is that RingConn says the Gen 3 sizing may differ slightly from standard ring sizing and other smart rings. Which means it may be worth using the sizing kit first just to be safe. Although I tested my usual size without any issues.

There are several new finishes available, including brushed silver and brushed rose gold. I tested the glossy silver model, which held up surprisingly well during testing. After more than a week of daily wear, there were no visible scuffs or scratches, even on close inspection.

That's really notable because when I’ve tested many smart rings in the past I've found that some finishes, particularly matte black ones, can start showing signs of wear after only a few days.

That said, if I were buying this ring myself rather than reviewing it, I'd probably choose one of the new brushed finishes, even though they cost a little more. After years of testing smart rings, I've come to think that the super glossy finishes are often what make them look like gadgets rather than jewellery. So if making sure a smart ring blends in is important to you, the brushed options are probably worth considering.

My only real criticism is that there isn't an obvious external marker showing which way round the ring should be worn. That's really nit-picking, but it's something some competitors have added. While it's easy enough to identify the correct orientation from the sensor placement inside the ring, a small external indicator, like a tiny notch, would make it quicker and easier to position correctly for the most accurate readings.

The charging case is handy. It's compact, easy to throw into a bag and feels more refined than previous versions. Unlike some competitors, it's also not tied to a specific ring size, which might be useful for you if you know someone else who has a RingConn ring.

• Design Score: 4/5

RingConn Gen 3: Features

• Subtle haptic alerts
• Comprehensive health and wellness tracking
• Sleep apnea monitoring and vascular insights

You’ll find all of the health and wellness features you'd expect from a premium smart ring here. The Gen 3 continuously tracks heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiratory rate, skin temperature, stress, activity levels and sleep. There's also menstrual tracking and a Baby Prep mode to support ovulation prediction.

Alongside these core features, RingConn offers a few more advanced tools that are designed to help it stand out from rivals. One of the most useful is sleep apnea monitoring. Once enabled, it monitors for the core signs of sleep apnea and provides short-term risk indicators alongside longer-term trends.

Like any wearable health feature, it's not designed to diagnose a medical condition. But I think it could be useful if you're concerned about your sleep quality or breathing patterns and want some additional information before you speak to a doctor.

New for the Gen 3 is a built-in haptic motor, which means the ring can now vibrate for health alerts, inactivity reminders and low-battery warnings.

At first, I was conflicted about this addition. Part of the appeal of smart rings for me is that they collect data in the background without demanding attention in the way a smartwatch can. Fortunately, RingConn has taken a restrained approach. The vibrations are subtle, focused on health-related notifications rather than phone alerts and can be disabled entirely if you'd prefer that.

Another notable addition is RingConn's vascular health tracking. Rather than attempting to estimate blood pressure directly, the feature combines overnight vascular load data with blood pressure readings and lifestyle information to provide longer-term cardiovascular insights.

To use it, you'll need to periodically enter blood pressure readings from a traditional blood pressure cuff. Initially, I wasn't convinced of the value of this feature. Wouldn’t you just use a cuff instead of the ring if you have one? But it became clear during testing that the goal here isn't to replace a blood pressure monitor. Instead, it's designed to help identify broader patterns over time.

One reason for the confusion is likely that in the app this section is labelled as 'blood pressure trends', which RingConn tells me is out-of-date copy and will be changed to 'vascular insights' soon to make it clear this isn't just a blood pressure reading feature.

Because the data you get here is about circulation stress tracking, which RingConn describes as a measure of how effectively your body moves between activity and recovery. Results are then also broken down into areas such as day-night rhythm, sleep breathing, post-exercise recovery and stress response.

The insights aren't especially deep, and if anything is flagged you'll need to go and search for what it means, but they're among the most detailed explanations available in the RingConn app and provide useful context without becoming overwhelming.

• Features Score: 4/5

RingConn Gen 3: Performance

• Clean, easy-to-use app
• Excellent battery life
• Strong sleep and wellness tracking

As with any smart ring, the Gen 3 relies heavily on its app, and RingConn gets a lot right here. While it doesn't feel quite as polished as Oura's software, I found it easy to navigate through the different menus. I also liked the flower-like Wellness Balance graphic at the top of the dashboard, which provides a quick visual snapshot of your overall health.

The app makes it easy to check key metrics at a glance, while more detailed charts, historical trends and explanations are there if you click through into each dedicated section, including sleep, activity and stress. Stress tracking was a particular highlight, making it easy to spot recurring patterns and periods of higher pressure throughout the day.

Some of the written insights can feel a little generic though, as daily summaries occasionally surfaced observations that felt obvious or lacked enough context to be genuinely useful. Sleep insights tended to be more helpful, with more detailed explanations and recommendations.

Sleep tracking is one of RingConn's strongest areas. The app presents sleep duration, efficiency, stages, overnight heart rate and movement data clearly without overwhelming you with information. During testing, it also handled my occasionally unusual sleep schedule surprisingly well, which meant that on nights when I woke up for an hour in the early morning before falling back asleep, RingConn correctly identified this as a brief 'awake' period rather than ending the sleep session entirely.

In terms of accuracy, I wore the RingConn Gen 3 alongside a Whoop 5.0. The two devices produced very similar results. Whoop measured a 84% sleep performance, 6 hours and 31 minutes of sleep and a 49bpm average overnight heart rate. RingConn gave me a 77 sleep score, recorded 6 hours and16 minutes of sleep with a 48bpm average overnight heart rate

Sleep stage breakdowns also aligned closely, with only minor differences in deep and REM sleep estimates. No wearable tracks sleep perfectly, but the results were broadly consistent.

I also appreciated how RingConn handles unusual readings. Rather than generating alarming warnings whenever a metric moves outside of its normal range, the app generally presents changes with reasonable context. I'd still like more explanation in some areas, particularly when a metric is flagged. I was often felt feeling a little frustrated at the lack of context and additional information as to why a reading deviated and what that really means. But the overall approach feels useful and sensible.

Sleep apnea monitoring is well implemented here. The feature presents trends clearly, includes some useful explanations and feels more mature than some of the app's other health insights. It's worth noting though that monitoring won't function properly once battery levels drop below 30%.

Exercise tracking is more basic than what you'll get from a dedicated sports watch, although that's true of most smart rings. During testing, the ring automatically detected walking, running and strength-training sessions without requiring manual input. You just need to acknowledge it’s identified your activity correctly and there are a wide range to choose from.

In the activity section you’ll find useful information like activity intensity, active time, calories burned and step count, which should be enough for most users.

Step tracking was accurate, although RingConn did seem to slightly under report compared to other devices. On one test day it recorded 5,167 steps versus 5,500 on the Whoop, a pattern I noticed in a few other comparisons.

Battery life is still one of RingConn's biggest strengths. The company claims between 11 and 14 days per charge, and in my testing the ring lasted nearly 12.5 days with both vascular insights and haptic alerts enabled.

That comfortably exceeds most rivals these days. For comparison, the Oura Ring 5 offers up to 7 days, the Samsung Galaxy Ring up to 7 days, while the Ultrahuman Ring Air and Circular Ring 2 both offer around 6 days.

For me, this is one of the RingConn's biggest selling points. The less often you need to remove a wearable for charging, the more likely you are to wear it consistently and collect uninterrupted data. RingConn also displays both remaining battery percentage and an estimate of days remaining in the map, which is a small but useful touch.

Overall, the RingConn Gen 3 delivers a strong experience. The app isn't quite as refined as Oura's, and some insights could go further, but the combination of comprehensive health tracking, clear data presentation, excellent battery life and a subscription-free model makes it one of the most compelling smart rings currently available.

• Performance score: 4/5

RingConn Gen 3: Scorecard

RingConn Gen 3: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

I tested the Ringconn Gen 3 for just over 2 weeks. I wore it all day and all night, only taking it off to either charge it or lift weights — I've learned many times in the past that smart rings are very easy to scratch with metal dumbbells. The smart ring was on throughout workouts, while I was working, out socializing, relaxing on an evening and sleeping at night.

I've been reviewing smart rings since the very first version of the Oura ring came out back in 2017. Since then, I've tested almost every generation from every smart ring brand that came after it. This puts me in a solid position to not only test the newest rings, but compare the models, tell you which one might be right for you and bring you loads of context about the smart ring space.

• First reviewed: June 2026

The Garmin Cirqa is making waves in the fitness community. I put the new screenless tracker through its paces over 10 days of intensive testing, and awarded it 4.5 stars in my Garmin Cirqa review. As part of the testing process, I wore it for all of my workouts over the past couple of weeks — and, unusually for a device I've been testing for review purposes, I'm still wearing it now.

I normally alternate between an Apple Watch Ultra 3 or a Garmin Fenix 8, but I've found myself loathe to ditch the Cirqa just yet. This isn't only because it's good: I'm gravitating towards the Cirqa because it interfaces with a system I already use, and because it's helping me get over the dreaded "Strava-itis".

Last month, our writer Becca Caddy wrote about optimization culture — how wearables are causing us to engage in unhealthy mindsets and disordered behaviors. I can certainly attest to that: I'm guilty of glancing at my watch during a run, wanting to push my pace even on zone 2 sessions and easy days, because I know the end results are going to end up on my Strava account for all to see.

Even uncoupling my watch from automatically uploading my run to Strava is only half the battle. I'm constantly glancing at the watch to check my pace and time, engaging in subconscious judgement, comparing my own performance to that of my mates, colleagues and acquaintances. I didn't realize quite how much my self-judgement was sapping my enjoyment of exercise.

The Cirqa, and to some extent the Google Fitbit Air I tested earlier in the year, goes some way to changing all that.

While the Cirqa offers up some fitness and wellness metrics (certainly plenty to understand the effect of exercise on your body and health), what it doesn't give you is workout specifics. You won't find split pace per kilometer, for example, which runners use to measure average speed across a distance run, or heart rate zones to display a workout's intensity. With other models, I get those statistics piped into my ears at regular intervals, and my watches offer them at a glance.

Having access to such statistics removed during the workout can be detrimental to performance or for those times you're training for a specific event, but it's oddly freeing for day-to-day fitness training. I ran a 10km route during the testing period (at least, I assume it was 10km based on previous runs) and the Cirqa recorded plenty of heart rate-based statistics and applied them to recovery metrics such as my Training Readiness Score, along with how it improved stats such as my VO2 Max and Fitness Age.

However, it informed me of these statistics after the run, and didn't deliver any specific run performance information at all beyond time and heart rate information. Without my watch to glance at during the workout, I wasn't adhering to a target pace: I was running on vibes and perceived effort.

I concentrated on how my body felt, and responded to that in the moment. I paid attention to my form, my music, the trees and the road. I didn't feel guilty about stopping to stretch part way through, nor did I pause the Cirqa for that particularly pause, as doing so would invalidate the whole "complete, holistic workout overview" thing it's got going on. For the first time in quite some time, I had no idea at all about how fast I had run — but I knew that it was a good workout as a result of every other metric and the fact that I felt awesome.

Although it isn't a running-specific device, the Cirqa is exactly what I needed to reinvigorate my relationship with the road. When the time returns to take my training seriously again, taking speed and times on board again, I'll switch back to my best Garmin watch, with all my fitness stats ready to be incorporated into Garmin's workout plans.

Do you run without a fitness tracker, or use a screenless model, to better run on vibes, or are you a metrics-fiend with a dedicated running watch? Let me know in the poll below.

• Latest Garmin rumors point to details on the Garmin Fenix 9
• We could get three sizes
• And MIP solar technology may not be dead yet

The Garmin Fenix 9 range is likely to be arriving soon. The rumor mill, fuelled by comments made by CEO Cliff Pemble on Garmin's quarterly earnings call earlier this year, suggest this is going to be the case. But plenty of Garmin fans were wondering how the Fenix 9 line would look.

The Garmin Fenix 8 line came in three sizes (43mm, 47mm and 51mm), and two screen options: a standard bright AMOLED screen of the sort you see on many smartwatches, and a duller memory-in-pixel (MIP) varient with solar charging. The MIP displays used to be used on all of the best Garmin watches as it was more battery-efficient, but these days it's almost entirely used for models that use Garmin's Power Glass solar charging tech, which uses a solar panel behind the display to suck up lumens and extend the watch's battery life in bright conditions.

It's likely that once Garmin figures out how to do the same with its AMOLED watches, MIP screens will bite the dust permanently, which is a shame. There are lots of fans of the lower-power screen tech, as this poll suggests.

A year after the already-premium Garmin Fenix 8 line entered the fray, we got the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, a model which came in two sizes (47mm and 51mm) with InReach messaging connectivity using Garmin's satellite communication network, LTE which uses a standard internet connection, and on some models an even brighter MicroLED screen.

So, where does that leave the upcoming Fenix 9?

Three sizes, two Pros, two MIP displays

According to Garmin Rumors, the Garmin Fenix 9 will arrive in three sizes like its predecessor, and in three different models; the base version, the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro (with the release not being staggered like the Fenix 8/Pro) and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro InReach.

This time, all three models are said to be arriving in all three sizes, so those with smaller wrists are still getting the Pro experience. The Fenix 9 Pro InReach is obviously getting access to Garmin's satellite network for off-the-grid messaging, but GarminRumors is not sure what upgrades the Pro will sport over the base model. Apart from one.

Both the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro and Pro InReach are said to be getting Solar models, which means the MIP screen would be back for another generation — but the standard Garmin Fenix 9 will remain an AMOLED watch. This would be the first time a standard Garmin Fenix won't get an MIP model, but it does make sense if Garmin is now reserving its solar charging for its premium Pro models.

If true, it's a shame. The MIP display isn't just a vehicle for solar charging: its lower-power technology is reminiscent of a digital watch, and as well as being more battery efficient, it's a way for Garmin users to distinguish their training tools from other, say, Apple and Samsung smartwatches. There's also no info on the Garmin Enduro 4.

We'll have more details on the Fenix 9 range as we get closer to its likely launch date. Stay tuned!

• Whoop has partnered with women's health tracking app Natural Cycles
• Whoop users get one year of the app totally free
• Natural Cycles will use that data to provide a 'daily fertility status' through its app

Whoop has partnered with women's health tracking app Natural Cycles, offering a year's worth of membership to existing Whoop users free of charge.

Whoop users also using the Natural Cycles app can now enable their Whoop app to import skin temperature data into Natural Cycles, said to 'eliminate the need for manual daily tracking' using a fingertip sensor or similar. Natural Cycles will incorporate this data to provide a daily fertility status, as basal body temperature is a key indicator in cycle tracking.

“At Natural Cycles, we're committed to making digital contraception as seamless as possible for our users," Dr. Magda Armbruster, VP of Product at Natural Cycles, said in a statement.

"Integrating with WHOOP removes friction from the experience by allowing members to use the wearable they already rely on to automatically capture overnight skin temperature used by the NC° app to determine daily fertility status."

It's worth noting the integration is only available with Whoop MG and Whoop 5.0 devices: anyone still rocking the Whoop 4.0 is unfortunately left out in the cold.

Whoop isn't the only wearable that Natural Cycles works with. Natural Cycles can use data from Whoop's fellow subscription-powered premium wearable, the Oura Ring, as well as the best Garmin devices and Natural Cycles' own NC Band.

Natural Cycles costs $149.99 in the US, £89.99 in the UK or AU$149.99 in Australia, so you're saving a packet here.

Natural Cycles is unusual for a women's health tracking app in that it claims to be the 'only FDA-cleared, hormone-free birth control app'. Clearance from the US Food & Drug Administration is a badge of quality in the consumer health tech space.

The Whoop's recently seeing a new challenger in the screenless smart band form factor: the Garmin Cirqa. You can watch our video review of the device below.

I didn't realize I'd developed an unhealthy obsession with wellness and optimization. But looking back, there were definitely signs. This was more than a decade ago, long before recovery scores, longevity influencers and what the best smart ring colors are became water cooler conversation.

As a technology journalist, reviewing health gadgets and fitness trackers has always been part of my job but they gradually spilled over into my personal life too. At one point, I was wearing multiple fitness trackers at the same time because I didn't fully trust any single device. I'd compare the data, then transfer it into spreadsheets each night so I could better analyze it myself.

Most days I walked more than 20,000 steps. Some days it was closer to 30,000 and I got such a kick out of seeing those numbers climb up. I became fascinated by the idea that there was an optimal way to do almost everything. An optimal diet, optimal morning routine, optimal supplement stack and an optimal sleep schedule.

Every new wellness trend arrived with the promise of hidden knowledge and I was eager to believe it. I spent money on retreats, courses and gadgets. I followed advice that ranged from questionable to ridiculous. And the less said about the gruelling fasting retreat where we were all given daily wheatgrass enemas, the better.

The strange thing is that none of this felt unhealthy at the time — if anything, it felt virtuous. My trackers congratulated me for hitting goals and fitness apps handed out badges and streaks. There was always another target to hit and another metric to improve. The obsession disguised itself as self-improvement so effectively that I barely questioned it.

What I didn't understand at the time was how thin the line between discipline and obsession can be. You can cross it gradually, one habit and one goal at a time, until something that started as a genuine attempt to look after yourself becomes another source of pressure, anxiety and control.

More than a decade later, as wearables, recovery scores and optimization culture have since become mainstream, I don't think my experience is unusual. If anything, I'm surprised we don't talk more about the psychological cost of constantly measuring ourselves and the role technology plays in keeping us focused on the numbers.

Why health data can become a trap

For a long time, I assumed my experience was unusual. When my obsession with optimization was at its worst, there weren't podcasters talking about longevity-maxxing and relatively few people owned fitness trackers.

Over time, I managed to develop a healthier relationship with exercise and health data. But as wearables have become more common and self-tracking has moved into the mainstream, I've started noticing some of the same patterns I once recognized in myself.

When I spoke to psychotherapist Sarah Dosanjh, who works with people experiencing health anxiety and disordered relationships with food, much of what I'd experienced sounded familiar.

"What I'm noticing in my practice is that people who already have some form of anxiety seem particularly drawn to health data technology devices," she says. "An anxious client seeks certainty and control and health information feeds a sense of control, making it very appealing to an anxious person."

Looking back, some of the periods when I was most immersed in tracking and optimization were also periods when other parts of my life felt uncertain or difficult. The data gave me something concrete to focus on. It offered numbers, targets and routines at times when everything else felt far less predictable.

Dosanjh explains the irony is that tools designed to help people feel more in control can backfire. "The most common devices I see people struggling with are food and exercise tracking apps and continuous glucose monitoring devices," Dosanjh says. "But what starts as feeling in control can quickly turn into feeling controlled by the technology."

She describes people becoming increasingly preoccupied with maintaining specific numbers and avoiding anything that might disrupt them.

"Closing exercise rings, achieving a certain step count and keeping blood sugar within a specific range can turn into a compulsion,” she tells me. “Anxiety peaks at the mere thought of not hitting numbers. What feels like a good thing to do for your health can become a source of intense anxiety instead."

These behaviors rarely look unhealthy from the outside. Going for a walk, exercising regularly or paying attention to what you eat are generally considered positive things. The difficulty is knowing when useful habits become rigid rules and when health stops being something that supports your life and starts becoming the thing your life revolves around.

Dosanjh says that cycle can become self-reinforcing. "This situation becomes more dangerous when the person believes they can manage this added anxiety by setting even higher goals,” she explains. “They are chasing the initial relief and dopamine hit that they experienced early on in their tech use. It can become an addictive trap, driving people further into disordered eating and compulsive exercise."

I think that’s what makes optimization culture so difficult to talk about. For some people, tracking genuinely is helpful. It can encourage movement, show them useful patterns and provide much-needed motivation via streaks and digital rewards, such as badges and kudos from other users. For others, particularly those already vulnerable to anxiety, perfectionism or compulsive tendencies already, the same tools can pull them further down a path they may not even realise they're on.

When tracking went mainstream

When I first started reviewing fitness trackers, this kind of behavior felt relatively niche. Most people weren't tracking their sleep. Very few people knew what heart rate variability was. The idea of waking up and checking a readiness score before deciding how hard to exercise would have sounded bizarre. But today, optimization is everywhere.

More than 45% of people in the UK and around 60% of people in the US now own a smartwatch or fitness wearable. Even if you don't actively seek out health tracking, many of the features, like step counts and calorie estimates, are now built directly into devices like Apple Watches or smartphones that we all use every day.

Despite this, researchers are still trying to understand the psychological impact of living with a constant stream of biometric data. There's no clear evidence that large numbers of wearable users are developing serious problems. But a growing body of research does point towards some worrying patterns. Several studies have linked fitness tracking technologies with increased anxiety, body dissatisfaction and rumination. Others have found associations between wearable use and higher levels of obsessive-compulsive traits, like perfectionism and over-conscientiousness.

I found that one study even introduced a new term: technohypochondria. Researchers defined it through three features: biometric data obsession, digital catastrophizing and a pathological need for algorithmic feedback. Unlike traditional health anxiety, which tends to focus on illness itself, technohypochondria describes a dependence on the continuous flow of personalized health data and the reassurance it appears to provide. I guess I’m a recovering technohypochondriac?

What I found particularly interesting was that researchers working on one of the key studies raised a really important question: “are people with pre-existing compulsive tendencies more drawn to wearables, or do continuous tracking and feedback loops foster or exacerbate these tendencies?”

It’s a chicken-and-egg sort of question and the answer is probably complicated. But the researchers do suggest a feedback loop may exist, where pre-existing vulnerabilities and constant self-tracking reinforce one another.

None of this means that everyone who wears a smartwatch is heading towards a crisis. I know personally that I did already have compulsive tendencies and controlling behaviors with food long before Fitbit released its first device. But I think it does suggest that the emotional impact of optimization deserves more attention than it often receives. Because once tracking becomes woven into everyday life, it can be surprisingly difficult to tell where useful information ends and unhealthy fixation begins.

When the numbers become the point

When I asked my friends and followers on social media to share their experiences with wearables and health tracking, I expected a handful of disparate stories. Instead, I heard from people who described becoming trapped by numbers in ways that felt extremely familiar.

Some were dealing with chronic illness. Others were recovering from major health events. Some simply wanted to get fitter or sleep better. But again and again, there was the same pattern. What began as a search for reassurance gradually became another source of anxiety.

I spoke to Emma, who started relying heavily on health data after cancer treatment and surgical menopause left her worried about the long-term impact on her health. "My watch became reassuring," she tells me. "I thought if my heart rate looks normal, I'm probably okay."

But over time that reassurance became its own form of dependence. "It felt like I was controlling my health anxiety," she says. "But I think I was just making it worse."

Sarah, who has used wearables for years while managing endometriosis and dysautonomia, described a different concern. "I wake up and let Oura tell me if I've slept well and then Visible gives me a score for the day, and that just feels wrong," she says. What impacted her most was the lack of trust she had in her own judgement. "I think it's made me lose trust in myself a little. Am I actually tired and am I really that stressed because an app said so?"

I think that gets to the heart of what can make continuous tracking so complicated. The problem isn't necessarily that you’re looking at data a lot — the problem is what happens when the data becomes more important than your own lived experience.

Understanding the cycle

Even though all of the stories I heard about wearables were different, a common thread was just how many seemed to be born from a feeling of trying to manage uncertainty.

Many of the people who contacted me weren't trying to become superhuman, chase longevity records or optimize every minute of their lives when they first started tracking. They were dealing with health scares, chronic illnesses, anxiety, weight issues and burnout.

And the data that their wearables collected offered reassurance. But the problem is that reassurance doesn't tend to last.

"Many of my clients understand that something doesn't feel quite right about their technology use, but they are afraid to stop using it," Dosanjh tells me.

She often explains this through what psychologists call the anxiety cycle. It starts with uncertainty. Am I healthy? Am I eating the right thing? Am I doing enough? The device provides an answer, whether that's a sleep score, a heart rate reading or a closed exercise ring. The anxiety temporarily decreases and the brain learns that checking the data creates relief.

But, over time, that starts to fade. "The temporary relief that comes from hitting a target or seeing a reassuring number keeps feeding the illusion of mastery over your health," Dosanjh explains. "Helping clients understand that what they are seeking in the tech is certainty, and since complete certainty is impossible, the focus of our work moves from trying to eliminate anxiety to developing the capacity to tolerate uncertainty."

That really describes my own experience. The more I tracked, the more I felt I needed to track. The more information I had, the more information I wanted. The pursuit of health slowly became the pursuit of certainty, which, as we all know logically, isn’t something you can ever get, achieve or “win” at.

What actually helped me

A big part of getting better was realizing that my obsession with health data wasn't really about the health data at all.

Looking back, some of the periods when I was most preoccupied with optimization were also periods when other parts of my life felt difficult, uncertain or out of my control. The trackers gave me something concrete to focus on. There was always another metric to improve, another target to hit, another problem that seemed solvable.

But many of the things I was actually struggling with couldn't be fixed with a spreadsheet or a sleep score. Therapy helped me recognize that pattern. So did learning to tolerate uncertainty a little better. Over time, I became less interested in controlling every variable and more interested in understanding why I felt the need to control them in the first place.

That doesn't mean the tendency completely disappeared, I still recognize it in myself from time to time. The difference is that now I see it for what it is and can catch the early warning signs.

Should wearables be designed differently?

I don't think every fitness tracker needs to be redesigned around people like me. The most effective intervention for my own unhealthy behavior was surprisingly simple: I took all the devices off. But some researchers argue that the design of wearables does deserve more attention.

One of the studies I looked at found that some of the negative psychological effects associated with fitness technologies could be linked to the features themselves. Feedback systems, gamified rewards, social comparison tools, constant notifications and the stream of immediate statistics can all encourage people to engage more frequently with the data, sometimes in ways that become unhelpful.

The researchers believe that psychological wellbeing should be treated as an important measure of success alongside more familiar metrics, like engagement, accuracy and battery life.

That doesn't necessarily mean removing goals or progress tracking. But it could mean giving people more control over how they interact with the technology.

Based on what I’ve seen from years reviewing wearables, that could mean less judgemental language, fewer alarming warnings, more ways to take breaks without feeling punished, and more flexibility over what data is displayed and when.

Most wearable companies already offer some degree of customization. Yet many products are still built around the assumption that more engagement is always better. In many cases that's true; regular use makes the data more useful over time because you can see patterns and track trends. But there should always be room for people to step back when they need to. A healthy relationship with wearable technology shouldn't require constant engagement, and users shouldn't feel punished for taking a break.

Health should improve your life, not become your life

The irony is that I became interested in health and fitness because it genuinely helped me. I learned from a really young age that exercise improved my mood, moving more reduced my anxiety and looking after myself made life feel calmer and more manageable. But I started paying way too little attention to how I felt and too much attention to what the numbers said.

These days, I still review fitness technology and sometimes still wear trackers outside of work. But I pay attention to different things now. If I feel guilty taking a device off, that's a warning sign. So is chasing a target despite being exhausted and spending more time thinking about the data than paying attention to my actual experience.

But most importantly, I ask myself what else is going on. Because when I feel like I’m becoming overly fixated on optimization, there's often something else happening underneath. Data is usually not the cause. It's just where all that energy and anxiety ends up being funnelled.

Dosanjh encourages people to approach health data as information rather than instruction. "Health tech should be an enhancement in your life and not an additional source of stress," she says. "Prioritize your wellbeing over optimization."

She also encourages people to regularly check whether the technology is still serving the purpose they originally bought it for. "How you feel is a more helpful barometer of wellness than numerical data. Be clear about your reasons for using the tech and check they align with your life values,” she says.

That's the lesson I wish I'd understood years ago. Health should improve your life but not become your life. Because no matter how sophisticated our trackers are there are still some things they can't measure. Like whether you have enough energy to spend time with the people you love, whether you're enjoying your life and whether you're actually feeling well. Those are infinitely more important than if you hit 10,000 steps today.

• Live heart rate data will be free for Garmin Cirqa users
• Early testers noticed it had been put behind the Connect+ subscription
• The new tracker costs $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99

We've already put the newly unveiled Garmin Cirqa through an extensive hands-on testing session, and came away very impressed. However, there were complaints from those who had early access to the device that live heart rate data was locked behind a paywall.

Now Garmin is taking that negative feedback on board: as reported by seasoned tech reporter Ray Maker (via Android Police), live heart rate data will be available to every Cirqa user "in the coming days", with or without a Garmin Connect+ subscription.

The subscription, which applies across all of Garmin's wearables, has been the subject of much debate since it launched last year. For $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 a year, it gives you access to more metrics and more insights about the fitness data you're amassing.

Live heart rate readings aren't usually locked behind Connect+, so it's strange that Garmin initially made this the case with the Cirqa. Whatever the reasoning or confusion, the anomaly is now being dealt with, which is good news.

The rise of subscriptions

If you're new to the Garmin Cirqa (and it was only announced a few days ago), it takes on the likes of the Whoop wearables and the Fitbit Air by giving you a capable, lightweight wrist tracker without the distraction (and battery drain) of a display.

Both the Cirqa and the Fitbit Air offer basic tracking features and functionality for free, with a pile of extras available if you sign up for a subscription. With Whoop bands, like the Whoop MG, a subscription is compulsory, otherwise it's pretty much useless — plans start at $199 / £169 / AU$299 per year.

As we've written about before, it's a sign of the times that so many tech devices, from smartwatches to security cameras, now come with monthly subscriptions attached — usually stealing away the best features for the device in question.

If you're tempted by a Garmin Cirqa and its display-free design, it's available for $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99 direct from Garmin, with availability from tomorrow, July 24 — and you will be able to record real time heart rate data, via the accompanying Garmin app.

• There was very little mention of the Samsung Galaxy Ring at this year's Unpacked presentation
• Nevertheless, it sounds like a Galaxy Ring 2 is coming
• I interviewed Annika Bizon, VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience, who gave me the inside scoop

What a day! We've just seen Samsung's vision for the future of wearables at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, including its AR glasses and the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Watch 9.

However, conspicuous by its absence was the next iteration of Samsung's smallest wearable, the Samsung Galaxy Ring. While Samsung did confirm the Samsung Galaxy Ring's sleep apnea detection functionality was getting a coveted FDA certification — a significant badge of quality — very little else was said about the Ring, or its next generation.

While the silence has led some to believe that the Ring might be a one-and-done device, people are still passionate about the smart ring form factor. After all, the Oura Ring 5 was released this year, so I thought Samsung would be looking to follow up its smash-hit Galaxy Ring with a Galaxy Ring 2.

While it didn't appear in this year's presentation, it seems that a successor is, indeed, on the way. During an interview with Samsung's VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience, Annika Bizon, I asked if there was any word on a potential Galaxy Ring 2.

"I will say yes, we are looking at the future of Ring, watch this space," Bizon told me. "It will definitely form part of our future portfolio of wearables."

I noted that Bizon was wearing a Samsung Galaxy Ring as we were speaking. "Well, I love it because it's discreet health," she said. "It tells me some of the things I need to know and when I put my watch back on, they'll work together."

There was definitely a "yes" in there, and the remark about the future portfolio suggests a new device, as well as a follow-up to the existing one, could be in the works. And the Galaxy Ring has certainly got fans inside Samsung's executive team.

Besides, Samsung aggressively pursuing certifications for the first-generation Ring shows it remains committed to investing time and money into its smallest wearable form factor. The short segment at Unpacked felt like a reminder that yes, the Ring exists, and there's more on the way.

Even though it's a mere tidbit compared to all the big news we got at the event, this is exciting stuff for fans of the best smart rings. The recent announcement of the blood-pressure monitoring startup Signal Ring from ex-Head of Android Tom Moss shows that tech companies are still pushing the limits of what smart rings can do.

Samsung has officially confirmed that the Galaxy Ring 2 is in development. Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Samsung’s Digital Health Team, recently told Forbes that the company is “working on the next generation” of its smart ring.

Beyond confirming that a successor ring is on the way, Pak offered only a few hints about what we might expect. But the smart ring market looks different than it did when the original Galaxy Ring launched in 2024.

Competition is growing rapidly, with new smart rings appearing almost every month. While many still struggle to match the devices in our best smart rings guide, the bar has been raised considerably. The original Samsung Galaxy Ring remains our top overall pick, while the newly launched Oura Ring 5 is one of its strongest rivals.

I’ve tested many of the latest smart rings, and if Samsung wants its next ring to remain at the top, these are the upgrades I’d most like to see.

1. Resist the temptation to add a subscription

Even though interest in smart rings has surged over the past few years, I think we can still say they’re a relatively niche category. And I think one of the biggest barriers to entry is the ongoing subscription fee some brands charge.

For example, Oura requires a monthly membership of $5.99/£5.99 per month to unlock its full experience, and subscriptions — optional or otherwise — are on the up with fitness apps. Meanwhile, rivals like Ringconn have built some of their appeal around offering a similar health tracking experience without that additional fee.

Samsung certainly got this right with the original Galaxy Ring. And there are currently no signs a subscription is coming. But maintaining that approach feels increasingly important. We’ve already seen some companies introduce subscription-free products only to later place some features behind a paywall.

If Samsung wants to keep the Galaxy Ring truly competitive, it must make core health insights available without a monthly fee.

2. A slimmer and lighter design

Designing a smart ring has always been a challenge. Manufacturers need to pack in sensors, batteries and processing power all while making the ring feel as comfortable and jewellery-like as possible.

That’s one reason the new Oura Ring 5 has generated so much attention. It’s managed to become smaller and lighter while still adding some new capabilities.

Now, the Galaxy Ring 2 doesn’t necessarily need to be the smallest ring on the market. But even a slight reduction in size and weight would demonstrate that Samsung understands just how important comfort is when you’re asking people to wear something 24 hours a day.

3. Better battery life

Battery life is such an important part of the smart ring experience. The more I take off a ring, the less likely wearing it everyday will become a habit. And the more likely I become to forget about it. It also makes monitoring for trends and average vitals more tricky and less accurate.

As I write this, I’m testing the RingConn Gen 3, which promises significantly longer battery life than many of its rivals at 12 days on average. Other manufacturers are also exploring new battery technologies and the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 is rumored to be getting a powerful solid-state battery upgrade

The original Galaxy Ring already offers a good battery life, but expectations are rising fast. And again, Samsung doesn’t necessary need to beat every rival. But if competing rings continue pushing to longer runtimes, the Ring 2 will need to remain competitive.

4. iOS support

I think we can safely say this one feels less like something I’d like to see in the next generation of Samsung Galaxy Ring and more like something that must be a necessity.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring was only for Android users. Now, reports already suggest Samsung is working towards iPhone compatibility. If that’s true it could dramatically increase the Galaxy Ring’s appeal.

Because at the moment, limiting the ring to Samsung’s ecosystem excludes loads of potential buyers. Sure, Samsung users will continue to benefit from deeper integrated and additional features. But core functionality across both Android and iOS feels like a necessity.

However, we know Apple's already filed a patent for ring technology — see the above diagram — so even if it never comes to fruition, it's certainly a form factor Apple is mulling over.

5. Add a compelling new health feature

Most smart rings track the same core metrics, like sleep, heart rate, activity, stress and recovery. That means Samsung may need to offer something genuinely distinctive to stand out.

I say that because I’ve been testing the RingConn Gen 3 over the past few weeks, which adds features like vascular health insights and sleep apnea monitoring. Now, whether those features prove valuable to most users over the long term remains to be seen. But, they give the ring a clear point of differentiation.

I don’t think Samsung needs to copy those exact features. But offering something beyond the standard collection of health metrics could help the Galaxy Ring 2 feel like a meaningful upgrade over the original and a solid choice in a sea of similar offerings.

6. AI that isn’t annoying

I’m generally sceptical about AI chatbots in wearables because most implementations I’ve tested simply repeat the same information that’s visible in the app or provide really generic recommendations.

That said, some of Pak’s comments to Forbes do suggest Samsung is thinking beyond a basic execution of AI. Explaining that people have different motivational styles, so the approach needs to be tailored accordingly: “Over the next two to three years, the AI will be able to say, based on this person's characteristics, I'm going to nudge them this way, and 70 or 80 per cent of the time I can predict that person is going to exercise more or sleep more.”

I’m still cautious, especially as Samsung has already added some AI features to Samsung Health. But many wearable brands underestimate how much language matters when it comes to behavior change. The best implementation isn’t just telling users to sleep more, it might identify useful patterns, changes or spot warning signs and deliver advice in a way that’s genuinely personalized.

If Samsung can achieve that, AI could become one of the Galaxy Ring 2’s most compelling features rather than another box-ticking exercise.

There’s a good chance we’ll learn more at Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event, which is scheduled to take place in London on July 22, 2026.

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: One minute review

Amazfit has been a company I’ve been keeping an eye on since their Bip 3 ‘budget’ smartwatch blew through all my expectations (and then some), followed by a slew of other watches across a range of price points, aiming to undercut the likes of Garmin — but most notably the $99 / £99 Amazfit Active 2, which earned five stars in our review. So when they put the word “Premium” on a product, it piques my curiosity.

Not only does the Amazfit Active 3 Premium have a bunch of excellent features that rival some of the biggest in the business, like excellent sleep and fitness tracking, but it’s also a fantastic-looking smartwatch.

The ‘Premium’ moniker signifies the addition of the super-tough sapphire glass coating, and the inclusion of the NFC payment feature. This was the distinction that the Amazfit Active 2 Premium used to separate itself from the base Active 2: however, there is no base Active 3, so even though this watch uses the ‘Premium’ model distinction, it’s the only watch in its range.

Despite this, it’s not an expensive buy. Sure, it’s pricier than the older Active 2, but it’s still undercutting the cheapest Apple and Garmin watches while delivering performance that belies its price. Another excellent example of a fitness tracker from Amazfit, a company which has by now shown itself to be a serious contender in the fitness tech space.

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Specifications

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Price and availability

• Starts at $169 / £169 / AU$239
• Not Amazfit’s cheapest, but still cheaper than many rivals
• Available in three color options

It’s hard not to look at the Amazfit Active 3 Premium and not feel as though there’s a catch somewhere when it comes to its price, but it really is a sub-$170 / £170 / AU$250 fitness watch with the kinds of features and accuracy you’d have spent double that for not long ago. Our review unit is the Atlas Blue model, but it’s also available in Apex Silver and Aero White.

• Value score: 5/5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium review: Design

• Heavier than some alternatives
• AMOLED display

Regardless of your color choice, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is a looker. It has a circular body with a metallic finish, with the underside color-matched to the bands for Atlas Blue and Aero White (Apex Silver would be my pick, but the whole body is silver with a black strap).

The strap itself is the standard polymer-style you’ll have felt on just about any other smartwatch, but the fact that the Amazfit Active 3 Premium uses a pin system like a more traditional watch adds a touch of class (and some minor fiddliness). It’s got a 1.32-inch display, which isn’t large —but it’s the same size as the Amazfit Active 2. I didn’t feel like I was losing much in terms of screen space compared to some of Amazfit’s larger watches, but I was surprised to find it’s slightly heavier than the Coros Nomad I tested recently.

With that said, I’m not sure I’d consider it rugged. I wasn’t prepared to hurl my review unit to the ground to test its durability, despite its sapphire glass and scratch-resistant coating. It might not be the watch you’ll want to take on an ultramarathon, but it’ll stand up to runs, rides and gym workouts with ease.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Features

• Full-color maps
• HybridCharge is great
• 170 sports modes

Ok, so the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is a looker, but does it have the smarts to back it up? Despite the relatively low price, the answer is a resounding yes. You’ll need to use the Zepp app, and while I’ve tested it before and found it to be a little cumbersome, I am pleased to report that (at least in the time I’ve been away), it’s much slicker these days.

You can use it as a dashboard, and there are badges to collect that include step goals, monthly targets, and much more.

Fitbit Premium’s Daily Readiness Score has led the charge to distill a bunch of complex metrics into an easy-to-read number that calculates how hard you can push your workout on any given day, and Amazfit’s version is called “HybridCharge”.

It takes into account sleep, heart rate, activity, and recovery, as well as subjective inputs like stress, health, and more, to help you make a judgment on whether today is a workout day or a rest day, and it does so pretty well.

One day during testing, I’d struggled to sleep and had an early start at work, and the app and watch understood that maybe I needed to take it easy and recover that day. It’s something you used to need a premium subscription for with other manufacturers, but I’m glad to see it’s included in the price of the product here.

PAI is also back, so those looking for a quick look at a glance to see how their natural fitness is holding up can check it out by testing their heart rate zones. The watch supports basic notification features, and of course offers that NFC payment digital wallet feature for convenience. A barnstorming inclusion is full-color maps, offering turn-by-turn navigation. This is a premium feature crammed into a value package, offering turn-by-turn navigation during runs, rides and walks.

• Features score: 4.5/5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Performance

• AMOLED display
• 12 days of battery life
• Excellent accuracy

Performance is uniformly excellent across the board with the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. Fitness tracking offers a deep suite of metrics, including running ones like stride length, ground contact, and just about anything else you could possibly ask for as a runner. And, if you’re just learning what all of these measurements are, fear not: Everything is handily explained within the Zepp app.

When you’re done, the app also does a great job at showcasing your fatigue level, which then feeds into the aforementioned HybridCharge metrics.

I very rarely check my sleep outside of Apple’s Sleep Score number, but the Amazfit Active 3 Premium does make me want to dig deeper — and offers plenty of data to do so. I was surprised at how often I was getting up in the night without realising it, and the Aura section of the Zepp app even includes relaxing music to help you settle back down.

Battery-wise, Amazfit claims you can get 12 days from a single charge. In my experience, it’s been closer to 10 days, but it’s still very respectable given the amount of data it’s collecting day in, day out. The AMOLED display is plenty bright for just about everything, even direct sunlight.

The only minor gripe I have with the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is that it doesn’t automatically offer to track a workout if you start walking/running/doing anything. As someone who still forgets to hit the button before setting out, it’s nice when devices like the Apple Watch give a nudge.

• Performance Score: 4.5 / 5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Scorecard

Amazfit Active 3: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Amazfit Active 3 Premium

I’ve been testing the Amazfit Active 3 Premium while walking, hitting the gym for weights and cardio (primarily using the cross trainer), and wearing it for just about everything in life.

I tested the GPS across various areas of London and more remote areas like the countryside where I live, and wore it to bed, too. I tested many of its measurements by pairing it with my Apple Watch Series 11 on the opposite wrist.

I’ve been writing about fitness tech for years, and we’re finally at a point where more affordable fitness trackers are now every bit as capable as models that would have cost hundreds of dollars or pounds, little more just a few years ago. That’s not to say premium options don’t have their place too, but many of the standouts this year have certainly been on the cheaper end.

Whether it’s screenless devices showing less can be more, the latest iteration of the popular Oura Ring, or a pair of Amazfit options that can cut it with much more expensive models, here are the best fitness trackers in 2026 so far, in no particular order.

1. Google Fitbit Air

• Release date: May 26
• Rating: 4/5

Whoop bands are growing in popularity for their distraction-free, sensor-packed, highly comfortable nature, and Google didn’t want to be outdone.

The tech giant’s answer to Whoop’s popularity, the Google Fitbit Air’s companion app boasts an effective but controversial AI-powered premium tier for additional insights, courtesy of Google’s new AI Health Coach. However, even on the free tier, this comfortable tracker weighing just 12 grams and reasonably priced at $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 is well worth a look.

Its real strength is heart rate metrics, which are consistently impressive for a cheap device, and it includes FDA-certified background AFib detection for additional peace of mind.

Our main gripe (outside of the two-tier app offering) is that it lacks GPS, and therefore run data feels less accurate than we’d have liked – even at this price.

Watch our YouTube review of the Google Fitbit Air here:

2. Oura Ring 5

• Release date: June 4
• Rating: 4/5

From the low-priced end of the spectrum to the expensive, the Oura Ring 5 is the latest offering from the company that, if they’re not the only game in town, more or less popularised the smart ring form factor.

Starting at $399 / £399 / AU$649, it’s hardly cheap, but it does a great job of offering a less intrusive way of tracking your wellness and fitness. In fact, despite its size, the fact that it could easily be mistaken for a piece of jewellery, and how comfortable it is, it’s remarkably accurate, too.

With a week of tracking between charges (including sleep), it offers more color options and better connectivity (Bluetooth 6.0 vs 5.4) at the same price as the Samsung Galaxy Ring. It’s also somehow 40% smaller than the last generation of Oura Ring, while still matching up with a dedicated chest strap for heart tracking.

Watch our YouTube review of the Oura Ring 5 here:

3. Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro:

• Release date: April 16
• Rating: 4/5

When a company like Amazfit (one of the best budget tracker manufacturers) takes aim at the premium market, it’s wise to take notice. The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro offers a Garmin-like experience with a bunch of runner-focused tools like training plans and detailed metrics, all with marathon-tackling 31 hours of dual-band GPS tracking.

Using it day-to-day can get you 20 days of battery life, and while it is a fairly bulky watch on the wrist, it’s a much cheaper rival to Garmin offerings.

GPS tracking is solid, but offline maps could use some work. Still, if you’re a runner, this is one of the models to beat this year.

4. Amazfit Active 3 Premium

• Release date: February 26
• Rating: 5/5

Another Amazfit, sure, but if the Cheetah 2 Pro is too much for you, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is well worth a look. Despite the name, it’s priced very reasonably at $169 / £169 / around AU$325), while still offering an AMOLED display, built-in GPS, and a fairly weighty (but comfortable) 54.6g chassis.

Battery life can run you for up to 12 days according to Amazfit (but I hit around 11 in testing), and the Zepp app has improved massively in recent years so it’s a very solid running companion with some bona fide coaching options.

You’ll likely want something a little more durable if you’re going off-trail, but what it lacks in ruggedness, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium makes up for by being a great-looking budget option.

5. Garmin Forerunner 70

• Release date: May 15
• Rating: 4/5

Reviewer Mike Sawh wasn’t kidding — the Garmin Forerunner 70 really might be better value than its more premium cousin, the Garmin Forerunner 170.

High praise indeed, but even without Garmin’s latest, more expensive sensors, it packs accurate metrics alongside an easy-to-read AMOLED display and physical buttons that make it easy to use, excellent sports tracking, and impressive training insights.

It does lose the affordability of the Garmin Forerunner 55, and doesn’t have smartwatch features like NFC payments, but for a runner it’s a great option that’s one of the year’s strongest.

• Samsung is phasing out the Vascular Load feature on Galaxy Watch in the US
• It's replacing it with Blood Pressure Trend in late July
• Users believe this is due to FDA compliance issues

Samsung's range of smartwatches covers every base when it comes to fitness tracking, but the tech giant is pulling the plug on a health monitoring tool it rolled out only last year. Don't fret; a replacement feature is on the way.

The company’s experimental Vascular Load feature, a tool that was introduced alongside the launch of the Galaxy Watch 8 at last year’s Galaxy Unpacked 2025, will be phased out in the US by late July. Its removal aligns with the upcoming Samsung Health 7.0 and One UI 9 watch updates, but it appears that Vascular Load will still be available to users outside of the US following the changes.

When Samsung removes Vascular Load at the end of the month, you'll no longer be able to access this data in the Samsung Health app. However, you can download your existing data by opening the app and tapping Samsung Health Settings, then find Samsung Health Information to continue.

Users are currently being notified via the Samsung Health app, but the company has yet to issue a wider announcement, which is a little frustrating, as I can imagine users just want a bit of clarity. That said, Samsung isn’t leaving you high and dry.

Vascular load feature being removed in the US from r/GalaxyWatch

To make up for the loss of the Vascular Load monitoring tool, the company is offering an alternative: Blood Pressure Trend — which Samsung says will be available in the upcoming Galaxy Watch (we assume this is referring to the Galaxy Watch 9).

While Vascular Load uses your heart rate data to measure factors like changes in blood volume, Blood Pressure Trend is designed to monitor your blood pressure periodically and show you a trend over time. In addition to this, it will also offer you tips and tricks to help maintain healthy habits.

To get started with Blood Pressure Trend, Samsung highlights in the notification that you’ll need to use a blood pressure cuff with your Galaxy Watch, and then once every 28 days to maintain accuracy (according to Android Authority). The company also shared that Blood Pressure Trend “is for wellness only”, and “not for the diagnosis and treatment of any medical condition”.

It’s still early days, and Galaxy Watch owners are awaiting further information on the upcoming changes, which have sparked online debate regarding the reasons for its US removal.

A vast majority of the online commenters believe that Samsung is concerned about Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance — one user says that the FDA often drags out approvals like this. While this idea gives the removal credibility, Samsung has yet to detail the reasons for its decision to stop access to Vascular Load, so we have to take this speculation with a pinch of salt.

If you've been making the most of the sunny weather by getting out and exercising, then you'll no doubt have considered buying one of the best fitness trackers around. But with so many different brands and models to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which is best for you.

Well, maybe the decision became a whole lot easier because the Fitbit Charge 6 is now on sale at Amazon for just £79 (was £139.99). That's a spicy 44% discount for those interested in the numbers.

For the price, it has excellent exercise tracking, sleep tracking, ECG functionality, and irregular rhythm notifications, all of which add up to an impressive feature-rich smartwatch.

Today’s best Fitbit deal

If you've had a look at our Fitbit Charge 6 review, then you'll notice that we only awarded it 3.5 out of five stars. That might put you off, but it's worth stating that the rating was given when we compared it to full-on fitness watches.

If you're only looking for a watch for occasional health tracking and some exercise tracking, then the Charge 6 is well worth a look, especially at this price.

Our reviewer actually concluded by calling it a “solid companion for all kinds of activities", and with a widespread array of features, including an ECG heart health reader and full GPS, there's a lot to commend it.

And let's not forget that it's a Fitbit, which means you get all the benefits of the Fitbit ecosystem with a six-month free trial to Fitbit Premium bundled in.

Still exploring your options? If you're a runner, then one of the latest Garmin deals is worth a look. Alternatively, if you want a better all-rounder with broader smartwatch integration, such as receiving and responding to texts, then have a look at the best smartwatch deals available right now.

• The Fitbit Air is getting its first software update
• It should fix problems with automatic workout detection
• An old Fitbit app workaround is going away

The first software update for the Fitbit Air is rolling out now, and the hope is that it's going to fix one particular bugbear for users — but there's also bad news for those who are still using the older Fitbit app rather than the Google Health replacement.

First up, the update is rolling out now, as reported by 9to5Google, though you might not see it right away: look for a notification inside the Google Health app that an update is ready. As per Google, it contains "bug fixes and general improvements".

There's a bit more detail in a post on the Google Health support forum from last month, suggesting that there are fixes to exercise tracking, split runs, exercise exports, multiple device support, and how the device deals with lost connectivity when tracking.

As noted by Android Authority, one of the most commonly reported problems on the Fitbit Air has been the inaccurate labeling of workouts that are detected automatically — tagging runs as general workouts, for example — and this issue now seems to have been resolved.

No more Fitbit app workarounds

Google Ending Support for Fitbit App July 15, 2026 from r/fitbit

While a software update is positive news for Fitbit Air owners, those who have been clinging on to the old Fitbit app on their phones won't be pleased that Google has now closed off a workaround for avoiding the upgrade to Google Health.

As explained by Gadgets & Wearables, some users have been sideloading older versions of the Fitbit app: these older versions don't get automatically replaced by Google Health, so it's a way of sticking with the old app interface and layout.

From July 15 though, these older versions of the Fitbit app are going to stop working. Users will have no choice but to switch to Google Health, which moves around a lot of the key elements on screen and introduces a new AI coach.

Fitbit fans have been complaining loudly about the changes that the Google Health app brings with it, and many are unhappy about being forced to upgrade: "I think I'm going to have to find an alternative to the AI slop," writes one Redditor.

As TechRadar's Senior Fitness and Wearables Editor, I'm usually testing at least one smartwatch, and sometimes two at once. But occasionally I get overwhelmed with the volley of notifications or the compulsion to check my metrics, and swap the tracker out with something more discrete and screenless.

I'm not the only one. 'Focus' wearables are on the rise, be they fitness bands without screens, smart rings, or something else like hybrid watches. They're different form factors, but they all do fundamentally the same thing — passively track your health and fitness in the background, rather than actively show you information during a workout like the best smartwatches.

Below is a trio of fitness trackers I've personally tested, along with my verdict about what kind of person they're best suited for — and where to find the best deals for Amazon Prime Day.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

If you dislike the idea of a smartwatch but still want a useful fitness tracker — maybe you want to wear a proper analog/digital watch — then I would recommend you start your search by looking at these three wearables.

1. Google Fitbit Air

• Best for: everyday exercise, budget buyers

I recently reviewed the Google Fitbit Air and really liked it. The old Fitbits have been redesigned as a screenless fitness tracker, around 12g including strap, with all the information being fed into the app so you can check it at your leisure. There's a haptic alarm you can tap to get rid of, but that's really all the interaction you have with the wristband, other than charging it around once a week.

It's very comfortable to wear during sleep because of its lightweight, and it cleaves very close to chest-based heart rate monitors and the likes of the top-tier Apple Watch Ultra 3. It's very popular because it's cheap too, at just $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 — at its base tier.

It does have an AI-powered premium health coach attached, which is an optional extra costing $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99 a month, or $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$140 annually. Without this, you get your base stats such as sleep, steps, recovery, heart rate, and workout tracking. As you'll see later on in this article, premium tiers and subscriptions are becoming a theme. But whether you choose to subscribe or not, the Fitbit Air remains a solid choice for screenless tracking.

Read our full Google Fitbit Air review

2. Oura Ring 4

• Best for: holistic wellness, sleep tracking

The Oura Ring 5 is out, true, but that just means there are lots of deals on the Oura Ring 4 this week. Another subscription-based wearable, starting at $349 / £349 (less if you snag a Prime Day deal) with a $5.99-in-all-regions subscription attached, the Oura Ring 4 sits firmly at the premium end of the finger.

But it is undeniably impressive. It's even more comfortable than the Fitbit above (and thus a top-tier sleep tracker), boasts accurate metrics, and has an impressive suite of features, including a tag-based system to allow you to add context to your day's metrics and a sophisticated auto-exercise detection feature. It emphasizes holistic wellbeing, with emphasis on balance and mindfulness, even if the option for in-app blood tests is a bit creepy and, for want of a better word, 'biohacky'.

It comes in a range of finishes and colors, so it is a lot more discreet than the cheap plastic Fitbit. Price aside, it's an excellent fitness tracker, and the Prime Day deals should help soften that blow.

Read our full Oura Ring 4 review

3. Whoop 5.0

• Best for: serious athletes, optimizers

The screenless fitness tracking pioneer, Whoop is a wearable for perpetual optimizers. Whoop is designed to effectively be never taken off: the charging puck included with two of Whoop's three membership tiers effectively allows you to charge the device while it's still attached to your wrist, so you need never, ever take it off at all. Whoop collects and organizes an enormous amount of data, spitting it out in the form of all sorts of metrics, from your Whoop Age to its proprietary Strain score.

Its app is fantastic, implementing AI features well and housing an intuitive, comprehensive workout builder for gym rats. It's an excellent device for competitive athletes, casual CrossFit and Hyrox enthusiasts, and weekend warriors.

But Whoop is a premium device which you don't exactly buy: you rent access to it each year, starting at £169 / $199 / AU$299 per year for the Whoop One 5.0 and rising to £229 / $239 / AU$419 per year for the premium Whoop Peak tier, which nets you extra features like Whoop Age.

The highest tier is Whoop Life, which gets you a premium Whoop MG device with medical-grade heart health features, costing £349 / $359 / AU$629 per year. In my opinion, paying that each year in perpetuity doesn't represent good value — unless you can score an Amazon Prime Day deal on it.

Read our full Whoop MG review

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

It's a tale as old as tech time: a new flagship device appears on the scene, which means the device it's replacing gets a price drop, and potentially offers better value for money for the discerning gadget buyer.

For this guide, we're going to be looking specifically at the Oura Ring 4 (which launched in 2024) and the Oura Ring 5 (launched in 2026). The Oura Ring 4 is likely to see some great Amazon Prime Day deals, but should you go all in on the latest and most expensive model? Or is the older model the better investment when bought at a discount?

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

There's no doubt that both models qualify as two of the best smart rings on the market right now, but which one is right for you depends on your budget and what your priorities are. Here's how they compare.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: pricing

While pricing varies as special offers come and go, the Oura Ring 5 launched for a starting price of $399 / £399 / AU$649, with some finishes costing extra at $499 / £499 / AU$799 – that's a little more expensive than the original Oura Ring 4 (note that the prices for Australia are for third-party resellers, not from Oura directly).

There's an upgraded charging case available for $99 / £99 / AU$159 for the Oura Ring 5, and then there's the monthly subscription: $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$9.99 a month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$109.99 a year. While a subscription isn't technically necessary to use an Oura Ring, you do need one to access the bulk of its features.

So what about Oura Ring 4 price drops? At the time of writing, the starting price is $349 / £349 if you go through the official channels, and we're seeing some good deals on the Oura Ring 4 already, which you can find below. Given that it's an older model, you're much more likely to see discounts on this smart ring on both the Oura shop and third-party retailers like Amazon.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: specs and features

What you need to know first is that the Oura Ring 5 is notably slimmer than the Oura Ring 4: for the most affordable finishes, it's 6.09 mm (0.24 inches) wide and 2.28 mm (0.09 inches) thick, down from 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) and 2.8 mm (0.11 inches), which is a reduction of about 40%.

That can make a difference when it comes to comfort and day-to-day wear. The new model is lighter too, with those reduced dimensions, weighing 2 grams rather than 3.3 grams. Both models are available in a variety of ring sizes to fit your finger, though the Oura Ring 5 introduces a new sizing scheme that doesn't match its predecessor.

The Oura Ring 5 is also more scratch resistant, while both models offer the same level of waterproofing (down to a depth of 100 meters). Battery life has been improved on the new model too, with the official estimates standing at 5-8 days for the Oura Ring 4, and 6-9 days for the Oura Ring 5.

As for sensors and health tracking features, this is where the rings are mostly tied. Oura says the fifth-generation model is more accurate because of a change in the sensor layout, but the core sensor tech is the same between the two models, and the software experience through the app is the same for tracking steps, activity, heart rate, and more.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: Verdict

There's clearly a lot that's new and improved in the Oura Ring 5: it's slimmer and lighter, and offers better battery life. Oura says it's also more accurate, though that's not something we've finished testing ourselves just yet. That said, the tracking capabilities, sensors, and app features are more or less identical between the models.

Where the Oura Ring 4 really has the potential to outdo the newer model is in terms of pricing. As time goes on, you're likely to see bigger and bigger discounts on the fourth-generation model — and don't forget that we awarded it our Health & Fitness Device of the Year award for 2025. It's a seriously impressive bit of kit, and if the right discount comes along during Amazon Prime Day, it'll certainly be a better-value package than the Ring 5.

Regardless, you'll need to weigh up what's most important to you for your next smart ring, and how much you're prepared to spend to get it. Both of these premium smart rings from Oura will give you years of use — so we might be talking about the Oura Ring 6 before you need to think about upgrading again.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99