The RingConn Gen 2 Air deserves to be your first smart ring
When talking about product adoption, a term that often comes up is “crossing the chasm.” Coined by marketer Geoffrey Moore in his book by the same name, it refers to the point beyond which a tech innovation can be considered mainstream, making it no longer exclusive to adventurous early adopters.
The book goes into more detail on how to achieve this, but it’s safe to say that smart rings as a category are close to crossing the chasm. Products such as the new RingConn Gen 2 Air are great examples of why. It offers a distilled experience with most of the features available on major smart rings at about half the price.
RingConn Gen 2 Air
Most smart rings either come with significant compromises or are too expensive. The RingConn Gen 2 Air is neither, which is not only rare but also impressive. A comfortable design, long battery life, and an easy-to-use app are just some of the many reasons to consider it.
- Very thin and light
- Over a week of battery life
- Robust companion app
- Cute little charging dock
- Prone to scratching
- The optional ring protectors feel cheap
Price, availability, and specs
The RingConn Gen 2 Air is a lite version of last year’s $299 RingConn Gen 2. The Air is priced $100 lower, at $199, and can only be purchased from the company’s website. Color options include Galaxy Silver and Dune Gold, with size options ranging from 6 to 14.
RingConn uses non-standard sizing. If you don’t know your ring size, request a free sizing kit to test the options and get a feel for yourself. New for this year is a new colorful palette of testers to check out. Since the ring only comes in two metallic finishes, I don’t see the point of these colors.
There are also trade-in offers for competing smart rings and smartwatches, earning up to a $60 discount when you buy the RingConn Gen 2 Air, or $90 if you return a first-gen RingConn smart ring.
What’s good about the RingConn Gen 2 Air smart ring?
Dimensions worthy of the ‘Air’ moniker
When a product gets the Air treatment, we expect it to bring new compromises in its pursuit of portability or a lower price. I’m glad to report that that isn’t the case with the RingConn Gen 2 Air. It is still one of the thinnest and lightest rings you can buy.
All the sizes are around 2mm thick and weigh around 3 grams. Those figures beat the top smart rings. I started wearing a ring recently, and it did not take me long to get used to it. It fits snugly on my index finger and seldom reminds me of its presence.
Since a ring is a finger accessory, it will come in the way of certain activities. For me, they were ultimate frisbee, weightlifting, chopping vegetables, and rubbing my eyes. Still, it did not affect my experience or performance for the most part.
Battery life for days
I have been a size 8 on RingConn’s scale. However, this time, I was curious to see how the smaller versions fared. Considering it is called Air, how much thinner could it be at the lower end? Because it’s easier to make the bigger sizes smaller.
So I chose the size 7 (second-smallest) RingConn Gen 2 Air, in the Galaxy Silver finish. This size has the smallest battery, but it gave me nine days of use on a single charge. That is mighty impressive.
The remaining battery life estimate in the app is quite accurate.
The average user’s fingers will be thicker than mine and need one of the larger ring sizes, which come with a bigger battery. I am certain that they should be able to cross the 10-day mark.
An app you’ll genuinely enjoy using
For a young company, RingConn has done a great job of improving its companion app over the years. Its first product came out less than a year ago, and I remember how inconsistent and unpolished it was. However, over the months, it added features, improved the user interface, and fixed errors. Most of the grammatical mistakes are gone, too.
It’s also an easy-to-use app. Spending a few minutes scrolling through it is sufficient to learn everything the RingConn Gen 2 Air is capable of. When you open the app, it takes about half a minute to sync data and upload it to the cloud (you’ll need both Bluetooth and data or Wi-Fi).
The first screen is the Insights tab, where you get your overall Wellness score along with a status message notifying you of major issues or concerns. Scrolling downwards reveals more information on your performance across sleep, activity, stress, and vitals.
Most fitness enthusiasts will be satisfied with the ring’s accuracy.
At the bottom, you’ll find the shortcuts to enable exercise tracking for outdoor running, indoor running, indoor cycling, outdoor cycling, and outdoor walking. You must keep your phone connected for these, as the ring does not have automatic exercise detection or GPS. In my experience, the RingConn Gen 2 Air is 80% to 90% accurate in most instances.
An arguably better charging experience
One of my major complaints with older RingConn smart rings was that their charging case was big, flimsy, and cheap-feeling. For the RingConn Gen 2 Air, the company did away with that case in favor of a new charging dock. While it was probably a cost-cutting measure, I feel it was the right way to go.
The puck is smaller and lighter, but it feels better built. It looks the part, too, with its metallic construction and minimal design. It doesn’t have a battery of its own anymore and now uses USB Type-C for power. This is a good way to reduce e-waste. Also, a small RingConn logo glows when the ring is positioned and looks cool.
I used to be in the charging case camp when it came to smart rings, but now that I have used a dock for a few weeks, it feels like a more elegant solution. My current lifestyle doesn’t include being away from a USB charger for over a week. When I have to charge my ring, it’s an hour-long affair when I am going about my life. If you’ll be off the grid for many weeks at a stretch and won’t have a power bank for that duration, a charging case makes more sense.
Related
Why smart rings are better fitness trackers than smartwatches for most people
Especially if you’re looking for general fitness improvement
What’s bad about the RingConn Gen 2 Air smart ring?
Daily wear (and tear)
I am not a careful smart ring user. I continue to do my activities, and power through them when the ring comes in the way. As a byproduct of my actions, my rings end up with a fair amount of scratches and scuffs.
It’s only been about two weeks, but my RingConn Gen 2 Air is already picking up some scratches. They are tiny and concentrated on the lower side of the ring, making them easy to ignore. However, this new glossy silver finish has fared better than the previous matte finish.
I’d still like RingConn to improve scratch resistance, as that is something many users are likely to value. I don’t want to worry about it each time life gets a little exciting.
Flimsy ring protection covers
As a solution to the scratches, RingConn sells ring protectors. One set includes seven sleeves in different colors and costs $13. They are thin, rubbery slip-ons that can be added to the ring for protection. If that line made you uncomfortable, I assure you that’s how I felt using them.
These sleeves feel like a cheap balloon that’s pulled over your ring to cover it. It’s flimsy, and the latex finish makes it look like I’m wearing a plastic toy ring. The colors make the situation even worse. These protectors ruin the look of an otherwise good-looking ring, and I don’t see anyone who has other humans around them using one.
Read our review
Should you buy it?
If you’ve made it this far in the review, you may be interested in smart rings. For most people who want to track their bodily functions better and get deeper insights, the new RingConn Gen 2 Air is an easy recommendation. It has a decent feature set, comprehensive tracking capabilities (sans sleep apnea monitoring), and a useful AI Health Plan that guides you daily with actionable steps for reaching your goals and improving overall well-being.
Its $200 price tag makes its minor missteps easy to digest. If you held off buying a smart ring because it was too expensive or limited in capabilities, check out the RingConn Gen 2 Air. It’s made for the masses, and I’m certain it will please most of them.
With RingConn evolving this quickly, it’s poised to rival Samsung, Oura, and Ultrahuman before long.
RingConn Gen 2 Air
Most smart rings either come with significant compromises or are too expensive. The RingConn Gen 2 Air is neither, which is not only rare but also impressive. A comfortable design, long battery life, and an easy-to-use app are just some of the many reasons to consider it.
